Fernandina Beach officially congratulates Rayonier Advanced Materials plant on recent achievement

Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
February 3, 2021

The City of Fernandina Beach has recognized the Rayonier Advanced Materials (RAM) Fernandina Beach Plant for achieving the production milestone of manufacturing its ten millionth ton of high quality softwood cellulose specialties. City Commissioner Bradley Bean, a RAM team member, delivered the congratulatory proclamation to Mark Homans, Plant Manager, at the February 2, 2021 Fernandina Beach City Commission (FBCC) Regular Meeting.

The proclamation noted that the Fernandina Beach Rayonier Advanced Materials facility was constructed in 1937 and for the past eighty-one years, has employed three generations of City, county, and regional residents who enjoy salary and benefits in excess of $90 million dollars annually. Rayonier Advanced Materials contributes $35 million annually to Florida’s wages and salaries and $2 million annually to Florida’s property and sales taxes.  

Rayonier Advanced Materials is arguably one of Fernandina Beach’s largest employers and economic engines. They employ 300+ dedicated individuals and are responsible for indirectly providing thousands of jobs in the logging, trucking, contracting, forestry, service, and maintenance industries. The Fernandina Beach plant specializes in producing high quality softwood cellulose specialties which are utilized in a wide-range of commercial applications as well as manufacturing everyday household products.

On January 11, 2021, Rayonier Advanced Materials reached an industry milestone, the production of its Ten Millionth metric ton of cellulose.   Commissioner Bean said, “This achievement is directly attributed to Rayonier’s commitment to environmental management, as demonstrated by their legacy of adhering to the high standards of the Forest Stewardship Council, as well as their commitment to ensuring the continued financial sustainability of the City, Nassau County, and across northeast Florida and southeast Georgia.”

In accepting the proclamation, Plant Manager Mark Homans was joined by union representatives Wayne Peterson and Mark Turner.  Homans indicated that he has been a City resident and Rayonier employee for 22 years.  He thanked the FBCC for recognizing what is a major achievement for a single line pulp mill.  He credited generations of employees along with industry and community partners for the mill’s success.

“In addition to all the accomplishments noted in the proclamation,” Homans said, “I’d like to highlight that these ten million tons of specialty cellulose provide multiple times the amounts of everyday consumer products and it’s a renewable product that helps sustain 150,000 acres of forest in the region.  We are very proud of this achievement and look forward to producing 20 million tons.”