🔒Hancock Lumber looks to have ‘panel’ factory ready by early 2027
A groundbreaking ceremony was held May 21 for Hancock Lumber’s partially completed manufacturing component facility in Oxford. Company officials from left to right: Mike Hall, chief innovation strategy officer; Florian Knappe, chief financial officer; Rebecca Hatfield, chief strategy and growth officer; Paul Wainman, president and CEO; Dan Louzé, project manager; Kevin Hancock, executive chairman; Erin Plummer, chief marketing officer; Mark Hopkins, chief operating officer; Bobby Morissette, component and business development manager; Hillary Roy, chief people officer; and Mike Boulet, regional general manager. PHOTO / JIM NEUGER
Hancock Lumber officially broke ground on a factory that will produce panelized sections of walls that can be trucked onto job sites and installed by a on-site crew.
The Oxford plant, expected to be operational by early 2027, reflects a growing trend among construction firms toward more efficient build times. The sections reduce the need for traditional framing — which can take more time and can be slowed by weather and the availability of subcontractors. The factory will produce panels up to 20 feet long, with sheathing, as well as stair systems.
Kevin Hancock, executive chairman of Hancock Lumber, led a ceremonial groundbreaking on May 26 at the site, which was formerly a drive-in movie theater.
The facility will be 40,000 square feet, plus 4,000 square feet of office and conference space. (Hancock Lumber has operated a smaller wall-panel shop in Windham since 1999, and already has much of the crew in place.) The building is on a 12-acre parcel.
Hancock Lumber's expansion of the panel business fits in with a growing portfolio of framing products — including "loose" building materials (including framing lumber), engineered floor systems and trusses for use in roof and floor construction. The trusses are made at Hancock Lumber’s Mainely Trusses facility in Fairfield.
View inside of Hancock Lumber’s partially completed manufacturing component facility in Oxford, which is due to open in early 2027. PHOTO / JIM NEUGER
Construction of the Oxford facility is being overseen by Falmouth-based Penobscot General Contractors.
Design was by KW Architects, of Wells. Sebago Technics, of South Portland, handled civil engineering, while Trillium Engineering, of Falmouth, handled the structural side.
Hancock Lumber, which is based in Casco, owns 12 lumber yards, three sawmills, nine kitchen design showrooms, as well as Mainely Trusses. The family-owned business has 735 employees.
