New Hampshire

Concord, NH - The forest products industry in the Northern Forest region of New Hampshire, New York, Maine and Vermont has lost thousands of manufacturing jobs in recent decades as a result of automation, adoption of digital media, falling energy costs for substitutes and foreign competition in forest products. Paper mill closures coupled with low electricity prices have cut demand for biomass electricity and left millions of tons of wood without a market in the region. Thousands of acres of working forests are being rendered unproductive due to the loss of jobs in several industries including forest supply chain, logging, trucking, sawmills and other wood products manufacturers. In New Hampshire, five biomass power producers were at risk of closure, and throughout the Northern Forest region, paper mills have closed, sawmills have insufficient markets for their residuals, and wood pellet manufacturing plants are on partial production or closed due to lack of demand.

In September 2017, EDA invested $526,000 in Economic Adjustment Assistance funds to provide specialized innovation-focused technical assistance to at least ten wood products manufacturing companies in the region. The Northern Forest Center located in Concord, New Hampshire is taking a leadership role in helping forest-related businesses as their industry navigates the long transition to new products and markets. To do so, the Center is providing technical assistance to wood products companies, developing market demand in the wood heat industry through marketing and business technical assistance, and fostering growth in the destination tourism industry by providing specialized technical assistance in marketing, product development and business innovation.

In providing this broad scope of technical assistance the Center expects to support the retention of 393 jobs, create seven new jobs, and attract more than $1,600,000 in private investment.