Production facility site selection factors for Texas value-added wood producers

Value-added wood products manufacturers serve an important role in the economies of many U.S. regions and are therefore sought after by entities such as economic development agencies. The reasons why certain locations for a prospective production facility would be more attractive to secondary wood industry producers are not clearly understood. Therefore, this research attempts to increase our understanding of why a secondary wood producer would choose to place a production facility in one location versus another. All known value-added wood producers in Texas were surveyed to investigate the importance of 31 factors related to the plant location decision. The most important factors were determined to be property taxes and labor costs. Cost-related factors were ranked as most important when considering a location in a state other than Texas. Significant differences in factor importance were found for respondents who had recently made a location decision versus those planning a future decision. Implications are drawn for policymakers and economic development officials who are seeking to attract more value-added wood producers to a particular area.