PHILADELPHIA, MS -- With a $57 million investment Weyerhaeuser Company will install two continuous direct fired kilns and a new planer mill at a softwood lumber mill in Philadelphia, MS.

When making the announcement, company officials cited a competent workforce at the Mississippi mill as a reason for the upgrades, The Neshoba Democrat reported.

The Philadelphia sawmill is one of the Weyerhaeuser’s longest-running manufacturing facilities, WCBI reported. The mill was purchased from DeWeese Lumber Company in 1967 and employs approximately 188 people. The mill produces approximately 220 million board feet of Southern Yellow Pine lumber and products are shipped to more than 140 customers in 30 states throughout the Midwest, Northeast and Southeast, the Democrat reported.

Timber is a vital part of Neshoba County’s economy. The mill has been on its present site since 1911.

Weyerhaeuser also operates lumber manufacturing in two other Mississippi counties as well as a cellulose fiber facility. Weyerhaeuser manages more than 811,000 acres of timberland in 53 counties in Mississippi, the Democrat reported.