The Lumber Manufactory (TLM) has started production at its first sawmill in New Albany, Mississippi, marking the entry of a new player into the US lumber industry. Founded in 2023 by executives with backgrounds in technology and advanced manufacturing, the company plans to build a nationwide network of standardized sawmills, with more than a dozen mills targeted before 2030.<\/p>\n
The New Albany facility became operational in early August following an investment of more than $15 million. The mill has annual production capacity of 45 million board feet, produces Southern Yellow Pine dimensional lumber and is expected to employ more than 50 people.<\/p>\n
Mississippi was selected because of the availability of pine sawtimber. TLM says access to timber resources, logging infrastructure and an experienced forest-industry workforce were among the factors behind the location. The project also provides another sawtimber outlet for private forest owners in the region.<\/p>\n
The Mississippi Development Authority is supporting the investment through the MFLEX incentive programme, while AccelerateMS and Union County are also involved.<\/p>\n
Tech background and investors behind new sawmill player<\/strong><\/p>\n TLM's origins differ from those of most established US lumber producers. The company was founded in 2023 by a team whose previous experience includes companies such as Anduril, Blue Origin and Nvidia, bringing backgrounds in technology, aerospace and advanced manufacturing into the sawmill industry.<\/p>\n The financing behind the company is similarly unusual for the sector. TLM has attracted venture-capital investors more commonly associated with technology and industrial startups. Its backers include Convective Capital, Slow Ventures, Humba Ventures and Ravelin Capital.<\/p>\n The company initially raised $4.1 million in seed funding in 2024. Funding data subsequently reported a $35 million Series B in September 2025, taking disclosed funding considerably higher as TLM prepared to move beyond its first mill.<\/p>\n The investment case extends beyond the New Albany operation. TLM is developing a standardized manufacturing platform intended to be deployed repeatedly rather than engineering each new sawmill as an entirely separate project.<\/p>\n A sawmill designed to be replicated<\/strong><\/p>\n TLM describes its mills as standardized and modular, with common technology and operating systems that can be transferred between locations. Individual plants can then be adapted to local timber resources, logistics, workforce and lumber markets.<\/p>\n New Albany is the first operating example.<\/p>\n The Mississippi mill covers the process from log intake and breakdown through drying and finished lumber production. Permitting documentation shows four natural gas-fired batch kilns rated at 4.8 MMBtu\/hour each, together with log debarking and processing, lumber sorting and stacking, planing and residual-handling systems.<\/p>\n TLM is also developing automation, software and production systems for use across the planned network, including scanning and optimization, production controls, automated sorting and stacking, kiln management and production reporting.<\/p>\n The New Albany site therefore serves both as a commercial lumber operation and as the first plant on which TLM can develop and refine systems for subsequent mills.<\/p>\n More than a dozen mills planned<\/strong><\/p>\n TLM says several additional locations are already under development and is targeting more than 12 sawmills before 2030.<\/p>\n CEO Michael Grasso describes the opportunity behind the expansion as a mismatch between US timber resources and domestic processing capacity. At the opening of New Albany, he said the US has a \u201ctimber surplus and a lumber manufacturing deficit.\u201d<\/p>\n TLM's strategy is to add processing capacity in timber-producing regions using the standardized mill concept. Its expansion plans are nationwide rather than limited to Mississippi or the US South.<\/p>\n New Albany provides the first test of that strategy: a 45 million board feet\/year Southern Yellow Pine mill backed by investors betting that its production model can be repeated elsewhere.<\/p>\n For the US lumber industry, TLM is therefore an unusual newcomer \u2014 a venture-backed company founded by executives from technology and advanced manufacturing, starting with one Mississippi sawmill but planning to develop a multi-mill production network before the end of the decade.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Lumber Manufactory (TLM) has started production at its first sawmill in New Albany, Mississippi, marking the entry of a new player into the US lumber industry. Founded in 2023 by executives with backgrounds in technology and advanced manufacturing, the … Continue reading