The forestry and fiber industry sector encompasses traditional paper, pulp, secondary wood products, and food manufacturing. The region’s papermaking infrastructure and workforce enjoy considerable foreign and domestic investment. The companies in this sector are pursuing efficiency and innovation to sustain and strengthen a well-developed cluster of firms manufacturing specialty wood products.
The forestry industry includes a wide range of employers, including loggers, cellulose manufacturing, and, paper and pulp mills, and manufacturers.
The Northland is well-known for its food manufacturing and processing, which today includes wild rice, snack foods, caviar, and other products. The University of Minnesota Duluth supports the food industry with its technology for extracting and isolating compounds from natural resources. The region also exports peat as a soil enhancer.
A virtually untapped market is biobusiness, which spans this cluster and crosses over into the innovative manufacturing, biomedical, and healthcare sectors.
Major forestry companies include:
- Associated Contract Loggers & Truckers – Gilbert
- Hedstrom Lumber Company – Grand Marais
- LP Building Products – Two Harbors
- Minnesota Forest Industries – Duluth
- Minnesota Timber Producers Association – Duluth
- Packing Corporation of America – International Falls
- Sappi North America – Cloquet
- Verso Corporation – Duluth