Aug 26, 2014. /Lesprom Network/. Highland Pellets LLC, an Arkansas company to build a 500,000 metric ton per year wood pellet facility in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The $130 million plant will create over 35 direct jobs and a further 482 indirect jobs, with a direct financial impact of $86 million annually that will benefit local communities, as the company said in the press release received by Lesprom Network.

Groundbreaking is expected to commence in October and deliveries from the plant to begin March 2016.

“While this plant is the first built under the Highland brand, our colleagues Mike Ferguson and Scott Jacobs bring decades of industry leading experience in the engineering and operating of industrial wood pellet plants,” Highland Pellets Chairman Tom Reilley said. “Together with Highland’s leadership team who are veterans of Cargill, Black River, JP Morgan and EnerNOC, we are excited to complete our Pine Bluff facility and expand our footprint.”

Highland Pellets is a privately held company with industry veterans from the wood pellet, finance, and energy markets. Wood pellets are a sustainably sourced feedstock for use by European industrial utilities to lower their carbon footprint and provide sustainable base load power.