NEWS

Timber-industry leader Martin Sustainable Resources LLC in Alexandria has committed $2 million as the leadership gift toward the construction of Louisiana Tech University’s new Forest Products Innovation Center.

The State of Louisiana will soon select the architect to design the building, which will be located on South Campus and provide space for a transdisciplinary approach to solving the challenges associated with the timber industry.

From left: Scott Poole, President and Chief Operating Officer for RoyOMartin; Roy O. Martin III, Chairman, CEO, and CFO for RoyOMartin; Dr. Les Guice, Louisiana Tech President; and Dr. Gary Kennedy, Dean of the College of Applied and Natural Sciences

“Louisiana Tech is uniquely positioned to serve our vast industry across the southern United States,” said Scott Poole, Scott Poole is President and Chief Operating Officer for RoyOMartin, a subsidiary of Martin Sustainable Resources. “The Forest Products Innovation Center will become a hub for discovering new methods to capture, produce, and utilize our renewable and sustainable forests for generations to come. We are proud of Louisiana Tech and the spirit of growth and community engagement the University embodies.”

RoyOMartin Chairman, CEO, and CFO Roy O. Martin III said the company’s support of the new Center and Louisiana Tech’s Forestry program is a natural partnership.

“Louisiana Tech has the leading Forestry program in Louisiana,” Martin said. “The University is well situated to help our industry develop new wood products for future manufacturing. We look forward to seeing new innovation created in the spirit of collaboration for which Louisiana Tech is so well known.”

The Center was developed in response to the University’s Tech 2030 strategic initiative to create programs and research that bolsters collaboration and partnerships within academic areas, a unique aspect of the Tech culture.

“Faculty and students from across our University will have the opportunity to contribute to the timber products industry using their unique academic lenses,” said Dr. Les Guice, Louisiana Tech President. “We anticipate research in new uses of our vast forests to create greater economic opportunities for our state by focusing on more effective and efficient processing of forest products while also contributing to sustainability and a low carbon future.

“This new building will also provide space for research collaborations with the industry and other partners, and each of these initiatives will help our students be better prepared for careers in the forest-products and other industries.”

Academic programs in Forestry, Agriculture, Biology, Engineering, Science and other disciplines will all contribute to the learning, research, and service that will happen in the Forest Products Innovation Center. Partnerships with state and national industry will further enhance the Center, helping create an unparalleled educational experience for students.

“Many of our graduates have gone on from their academic achievements to make a significant impact on the forest-products industry through work at RoyOMartin,” said Brooks Hull, Vice President of University Advancement and CEO of the Louisiana Tech University Foundation. “We are grateful for their leadership in this transformational initiative that will make a long-lasting impact on the largest agricultural industry in the state of Louisiana. Their continuing commitment to Louisiana Tech will spur economic development and job creation for our region, state, and nation.”

Founded in 1923, RoyOMartin is one of the several wholly owned, professionally managed subsidiaries of Martin Sustainable Resources LLC, an equity investment company privately held by multiple generations of the Martin family with a commitment to sustainability.