Klausner asks Suwannee County, Florida, commissioners for more time before committing to build 700 mmbf/year sawmill; attorney confirms company is considering other locations

Wendy Lisney

LOS ANGELES , October 1, 2012 (Industry Intelligence Inc.) – A representative of Klausner Lumber One LLC, part of Austrian-owned Klausner Group, met with the Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 25 to ask for more time before committing to build a sawmill near Live Oak, Florida.

Previous media reports have indicated that Klausner is considering North Florida as a potential location for a 700 million board ft./year sawmill. The county approved a development agreement on Sept. 18, but Klausner One representative Thomas Mende told commissioners on Sept. 25 that the company wants more time to weigh options, the Suwannee Democrat reported.

Klausner is reported to be considering alternative locations in North and South Carolina. Its US subsidiary Klausner Holding USA, Inc., based in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, has applied to the North Carolina DNR for an air permit for possible site in Halifax County, and has made a similar application for a site in Orangeburg County, South Carolina.

Ben Brooks of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP in Atlanta, one of Klausner's attorneys, confirmed that Klausner was looking at other sites and said he was not sure what the company's intentions were at this point, the Suwannee Democrat reported.

Suwannee commissioners have been in talks with Klausner for almost two years on the proposed sawmill, and voted 3-1 in favor of the development on Sept. 18.

The primary source of this article is the Suwannee Democrat, Live Oak, Florida, on Sept. 25, 2012.

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