Wood Manufacturing
Langlade County's Wood Products Manufacturing Gives Wisconsin a Competitive Edge
Langlade County is home to some of Wisconsin’s most abundant natural resources — creating ideal landscapes for tourists and providing resources to support the state’s wood products industry. According to the Wisconsin Economic Development Institute, over 125 wood products businesses in the surrounding area — including sawmills, wood preservation, millwork, window and door manufacturers — employ nearly 9,000 workers with an annual payroll of more than $270 million dollars. The demand for wood flooring, construction materials and other quality wood products is growing around the world. Here is what Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection has to say about the expanding Wisconsin’s Wood Products Industry.
The forests and woodlands of Langlade County give the state a strong national edge in the area of wood products manufacturing. The wood products industry in Langlade County provides an estimated 686 jobs, totaling wages of nearly $24 million dollars, and providing nearly $115 million dollars total in output.
Langlade County is located near the geographic center of a nationally important wood products industry cluster. Using multiplier analysis, the total impact of the wood products industry in Langlade County nearly doubles the direct impact of employment and wages. In addition, Langlade County demonstrates some of the nation’s strongest sustainability initiatives in the wood products industry with the majority of public lands managed for long-term sustainability.
Source: UW-Extension Langlade County
Sustainability, Technology and Advanced Wood Manufacturing Training Critical to Success
With millions of acres of forest land in Wisconsin, there is a lot of planning going into sustaining Wisconsin’s forest. Here is what the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Associates has to say about Protecting a Multiple Use Forest for Future Generations. This is why Langlade County is one of the nation’s leaders in forest products manufacturing because of its sustainability and sophisticated mills.
As wood product manufacturing has evolved over the last few decades, Langlade County has initiated several workforce education initiatives with regional educational institutions in order to provide wood product manufacturers with a skilled workforce. Langlade County, the city of Antigo, Northcentral Technical College (NTC), local k-12 schools and local wood manufacturers have collaborated to expand educational opportunities in the wood manufacturing industry. With funding assistance from the Economic Development Association (EDA), the 27,000 square foot Wood Technology Center of Excellence was established on the Northcentral Technical College campus in Langlade County. This Center offers students the option to earn a Wood Processes Associate Degree, a Wood Manufacturing Technical Diploma and a Basic Wood Manufacturing Certificate. Students work with state-of-the-art machinery used for designing and fabricating wood products — providing this key industry with the skilled workforce necessary to compete on a global basis.