A state investment aimed at adding and retaining high-value manufacturing jobs complements a $30 million private investment for an expansion at Mercer Mass Timber LLC in Spokane Valley, a move local leaders say will anchor the company’s future in the region and strengthen Washington state’s manufacturing industry.

The $250,000 award, from the Governor’s Economic Development Strategic Reserve Fund, will be administered through Greater Spokane Incorporated. Revenue for the fund comes from unclaimed lottery prize money.

Joey Gunning, director of economic development at GSI, says the funding will help Mercer install assembly line infrastructure at its 270,000-square-foot Spokane Valley facility. The state grant, he adds, is intended to ensure the manufacturer remains in Washington state as it evaluates future production options and to support job growth in a sector viewed as central to the region’s clean-manufacturing economy.

The state award complements a $30 million private investment, expected to create about 50 new jobs at the facility.

“These funds from the governor’s office need to meet specific industry requirements,” Gunning says. “You need to align with the state’s goals, and often, clean energy and manufacturing are big ones. This manufacturing project caught the eye of the governor, and we were able to make the case that without this investment, the state of Washington, and Spokane County specifically, would lose the business.”

Mercer Mass Timber designs and manufactures mass timber systems used in construction. The company's Spokane Valley facility is located on about 38 acres at 19202 E. Garland. It operates as a subsidiary of Vancouver, British Columbia-based Mercer International Inc., a global producer of mass pulp and solid wood products with mills in Canada, Germany, and Australia. The Spokane Valley facility was acquired in 2021 for $50 million from Katerra Inc. after Katerra filed for bankruptcy and laid off its staff. Currently, the Mercer plant employs 82 people.

The facility’s main product, cross-laminated timber, consists of several layers of kiln-dried lumber boards that are stacked in alternating directions, bonded with structural adhesives, and pressed to form a solid, straight, rectangular panel. The wood panels can then be assembled into various components, including heavy timber posts and beams, beam and panel, bearing walls, heavy timber frame with infill, or steel frame with infill, among others. According to the company’s website, the facility produces up to 140 boards per minute and 104,000 cubic meters of CLT annually.

Mercer’s director of marketing, Shel Tejamo, says in a statement that the investment from the state will help strengthen current operations while laying the groundwork for future growth.

“While our Spokane facility expansion is part of our long-term growth strategy — planned for the next three to five years — our immediate focus is on manufacturing innovation that enhances efficiency, sustainability, and product performance,” Tejamo says.

The facility has been successful in meeting Build America, Buy America Act standards on all projects, Tejamo says. The act, established in 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, requires that any infrastructure project in the U.S. receiving federal funds must source materials from the U.S., including iron, steel, and manufactured products.

Automation has also helped the facility engender innovation, and an expanded tree species roster that includes Spruce-Pine-Fir South and Hem-Fir will broaden product capabilities while supporting regional forest health, Tejamo adds.

The expansion also enhances Washington’s forestry and manufacturing industries, and sustainable building structures, accounting for about 30% of North American mass timber manufacturing capacity, according to a press release from Gov. Bob Ferguson's office.

Gunning says the state’s support reflects the competitive nature of large-scale manufacturing projects and the need to intervene when local jobs are at stake. He notes that the reserve fund is awarded sparingly — over the last five years, there have been only a few other instances when the funds have been allocated, including to Spokane Valley-based CarbonQuest Inc., Liberty Lake-based Precision Cutting Technologies Inc., and Spokane Valley-based SkyOne Aerospace LLC.

GSI’s strategy, he says, is to support the region’s strong industries, which include health and life sciences, manufacturing, and clean energy. When possible, the agency seizes on opportunities to help those industries and companies grow, while retaining jobs and investments in Spokane County.

“This investment ensures our region remains at the forefront of advanced manufacturing and sustainable building innovation,” Gunning says in a statement. “This project keeps new market opportunities anchored here in our region, creating ripple effects that benefit both rural communities and urban centers across the state.”