More than 100 faculty, staff, students and supporters of Louisiana Tech University gathered at South Campus Friday afternoon to celebrate the groundbreaking for the Forest Products Innovation Center.
The FPIC will provide space for a transdisciplinary approach to solving the challenges associated with the timber industry, a sector that employs more than 37,000 Louisianans. The new building will provide space for research collaborations, not only within the forestry industry, but also with other state and national industry partners. Academic programs in forestry, agriculture, biology, engineering, science, and other disciplines will all contribute to the learning, research, and service created by the FPIC.
“It’s a win for industry, it’s a win for education, and it’s a win for our faculty and students as well,” said Gary Kennedy, dean of the College of Applied and Natural Sciences. “This is going to be a state-of-the-art facility that will be for education, for research, for discovery and to serve a multibillion-dollar industry that’s all around us right here in Louisiana.”
The center will include chemistry and analytical labs, an engineered wood products lab, and a wood products testing lab, all aimed at advancing the innovative application of wood-related products and enhancing the educational experience of students within our forestry program, Kennedy said.
The creation of the FPIC is made possible with help from the likes of RoyOMartin, Hunt Forest Products, Bakelite Synthetics, Arclin, Weyerhaeuser, and the Pipes Foundation. Once it’s operational, its work will also be supported with help from grants via organizations like the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“The center will play a key role in driving research and identifying sustainable solutions for wood products,” said Roy Martin III, chairman and CEO of RoyOMartin. “I look forward to collaborating and working together in the new state-of-the-art center, where transformational discoveries will become innovative solutions, successfully increasing forest productivity in the region. The recent closure of the Campti IP papermill heightens the urgency of this project as the demand for kraft paper continues to decline. To support the forest products industry’s current levels of employment, we must find viable new products to make with our vast timber resource, Louisiana’s number one crop.”
Louisiana Tech President Jim Henderson said the forestry industry has a huge impact on the state with benefits to everyone in the area.
“This is a landmark day,” Henderson said. “Today is a celebration of a landmark event for an industry that is often underappreciated but is so much to our state and our people.”
The FPIC has an expected completion date of Fall 2026.
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