RICHMOND - Governor Mark R. Warner today announced that Trex Company, Inc., the nation’s largest manufacturer of alternative decking products, has expanded its headquarters operations in Frederick County. Through a $10.9 million investment, the company has added a plastics recycling production line and created 36 new jobs. To support the expansion, Virginia’s Department of Rail and Public Transportation has approved a $300,000 grant from its Railroad Industrial Assess Program to bring more than 2,000 feet of rail track to the company’s manufacturing plant.
“This expansion will provide more quality jobs for Virginians,” said Governor Warner. “For close to ten years, Trex has benefited from the Commonwealth’s dedicated workforce and pro-business climate. Virginia is proud that Trex’s unique decking products are made right here in Frederick County and shipped throughout the nation.”
The new rail line will extend approximately 2,000 feet to the Trex Company plant, bringing in plastic raw material and facilitating direct shipments of Trex product to its distributors. Trex Company manufactures Trex® decking and railing, the leading brand of alternative decking lumber, which is made with recycled and reclaimed plastic and waste wood. It is marketed as a splinter-free, low-maintenance solution to wooden decks. Trex sells its products through approximately 90 wholesale distribution locations, which in turn sell Trex decking to about 3,300 independent contractor-oriented lumberyards throughout the United States and Canada.
“This rail extension will help us maximize the use of our new plant expansion for both incoming and outgoing shipments,” said Harry Monahan, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Trex Company. “It will improve service to our wholesale distributors by eliminating a middle party on both ends, as far as reloading. This will enable us to get product to our distributors more directly, and in many cases, save them on shipping costs.”
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Virginia’s Department of Rail and Public Transportation, Frederick County and the Winchester-Frederick County Economic Development Commission assisted Trex with its decision to expand.