Fort Pierce will be home to Chemical Technologies Holding Corporation’s (ChemTech) flagship facility, a one-of-a-kind lumber treatment plant created to showcase the company’s ground-breaking TechWood product.
Production at the Techwood facility will begin in late August. This first phase, 8,000 square feet on Commercial Circle, will employ approximately eight people and has been third-party qualified and certified to produce and apply ChemTech’s protective, environmentally friendly treatments to soft wood lumber, plywood and engineered wood. Expansion planning is underway for another 2,000 square feet of operations and additional jobs.
“Using patented, proven chemistry, decades of expertise, and state-of-the art technology, ChemTech has created an innovative treatment process that stabilizes and protects wood products from mold, rot, termites and fire,” said ChemTech President Tom Comery. “Our Fort Pierce facility was created to model the TechWood application process for structural building component manufacturers, sawmills and lumber dealers as we build a network of applicators.”
“TechWood is innovative, non-hazardous and offers ten times the capacity of competitive producers,” Comery said. The patent-pending treatment produces a semi-permeable barrier that allows the wood to breathe while locking in long-lasting protections, he said.
“Construction activity is booming in St. Lucie County so locating the TechWood facility here makes perfect sense,” said St. Lucie County Commission Chairman Sean Mitchell. “We need pioneering U.S. companies like ChemTech as we grapple with ongoing supply chain disruptions and unprecedented demand for housing.”
TechWood sequesters 73% of formaldehyde emissions and other volatile organic compounds resulting in healthier indoor air quality, is 30% lighter than pressure-treated lumber, offers a 50% reduction in moisture absorption, and improves dimensional stability by 69%, said Comery.
“Siting ChemTech’s flagship facility here in St. Lucie County creates great synergy due to the high demand for home-building materials in our region and as we expand our area’s advanced manufacturing capabilities,” said Pete Tesch, president of the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County (EDC). “This was an exciting project for both the EDC and our county.”