AFA NEWSROOM - September 12, 2025

Georgia-Pacific Announces $800 Million Capital Investment in Alabama River Cellulose Mill

Georgia-Pacific today announced a new capital project for the company's Alabama River Cellulose mill in Perdue Hill, Alabama. The $800 million investment will modernize, expand and streamline the facility's production capabilities.

The project, scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2025 and conclude in 2027, will enhance and expand essential manufacturing equipment. This is expected to augment the mill's operational efficiency and increase its production capacity by about 300 tons per day. Close to one million tons of fluff and market pulps will be produced yearly at the mill. A state-of-the-art digester, new pulp dryer and a more efficient power boiler will be installed. Modifications and upgrades will also be made to the brown stock washing and recausticizing systems, recovery boiler, evaporators and lime kiln. Once the project is completed, the Alabama River Cellulose mill will be the largest and one of the most technologically advanced softwood pulp mills in the U.S.

2025 AFA Annual Meeting - One For The Books!

What an incredible few days we had at the 2025 AFA Annual Meeting! From start to finish, it was clear that forestry truly took over the Perdido Beach Resort. The weather was beautiful,& the time together was even better.

This year’s gathering was one of our LARGEST (it's looking like over 550 crossed the threshold) & most successful yet- thanks to the amazing energy & engagement of our members, partners, & friends of Alabama’s forestry community.

Photos & Highlights Coming Soon

Stay tuned -we’ll be sharing photos, & more highlights from this year’s meeting in the coming weeks. Did you visit the Alabama AG Credit photo booth? We may need to make a highlight reel of just those pictures alone!

Thank you again to everyone who joined us and made this year’s meeting such a success. We are already looking forward to next year!

Special thanks to our SPONSORS!

We could not make this meeting possible without the generous support of our sponsors. Your commitment to forestry in Alabama ensures that we can continue building a stronger, more connected community.

Regional Pellet Production Efficiency

In the wood pellet industry, labor costs are often one of the top three expenses during the production process. In general, manufacturers try to optimize labor costs to achieve the highest output of a given product with the least amount of labor, thus increasing margins. Using Energy Information Administration pellet production and full-time employee equivalent data, we can analyze labor trends at pellet manufacturing facilities on a “ton per full-time employee” basis. Conventional wisdom would suggest that newer, larger and more capitalized facilities would generally have higher production levels per employee and improve those levels as time progresses.

Jack Williams honored as Tuberville and Ledbetter drive record turnout at Alabama Forestry Association annual meeting

“This year’s Annual Meeting was a tremendous success for the forest industry,” Isaacson said. “From the record attendance of our members to the speakers and the topics that were covered, I am proud of the growth and resilience we are seeing in our industry. This meeting proved our membership is energized for innovation and collaboration, and we are excited to continue to work on the future of the forest industry.”

Take a Look

Georgia Lawmakers Coming to Grips with Mill Closings

The impact of International Paper’s decision to close two pulp and paper mills in Coastal Georgia at the end of this month will spread far beyond those workers directly affected, state Commissioner of Agriculture Tyler Harper said Wednesday.

“This is more than 1,100 jobs,” Harper told members of the Georgia House Rural Development Committee meeting on the campus of South Georgia State College in Douglas. “This is tire shops, truck dealerships, mom-and-pop restaurants.”

But most affected by the impending shutdown of mills in Savannah and Riceboro will be Georgia’s timber industry, still reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Helene nearly a year ago and a longer-term drop in demand for wood due to foreign competition, increased use of recycled wood, and technological innovations that have led to lighter wood products.

AFA Connect-

September 18th

Mountain Longleaf
Pine Restoration

This presentation will provide an overview of longleaf pine conservation efforts in the montane range of longleaf pine from central Alabama to northwest Georgia. Topics will include prescribed fire, timber stand improvement, and silvicultural systems to convert loblolly pine plantation to longleaf pine woodlands. Attendees will learn about the socio-economic benefits of longleaf pine, approaches to restore and maintain healthy and functional longleaf pine woodlands, and restoration challenges.

Presenter: Davis Goode, The Nature Conservancy in Alabama

AFF & Partners are Hosting Upcoming Events Across the State

Curious about how Prescribed Fire can enhance the health of your woodlands? The Alabama Forestry Foundation and its partners invite you to register for upcoming Learn & Burn events. Keep checking back - we will be adding more events across the state!

🔥 Hands-on learning

🌿 Expert insights

📍 Multiple locations – more counties coming soon!

Visit our events page to learn more about that county's upcoming Learn & Burn and secure your spot today!

Events Calendar

Online CE Available For PLM & CFE

Still need CFE hours? Check out AFA's online CE Classes available for CFE & PLM credit.... 2024 Bundle (5 Hours) is still available. Click the link below to see all the classes available.

AFA Online Education