Gov. John Bel Edwards was in Plain Dealing in northern Bossier Parish, to announce the construction of a new, $110 million sawmill by British Columbia-based Teal Jones. The groundbreaking … highlighted the rapid expansion of lumber production in Louisiana in the past 14 months. …six new projects were announced, adding up to nearly $700 million in new investment. Several of those projects, such as the one from Teal Jones, are new sawmills that reflect what companies believe is the potential of Louisiana’s lumber industry. …Teal Jones’ Plain Dealing mill joins a planned $240 million sawmill in Bienville Parish, a $160 million mill in DeRidder, $157-million in upgrades to a mill in Holden… Canada-based Interfor is planning to invest $8 million to restart a shuttered DeQuincy mill. …Teal Jones acknowledged the versatility of timber products, stating, “lumber will provide the materials needed to support more jobs at downstream operations [while] the sawdust and chips will go to local pulp, paper and pellet plants.”