Dense woodlands growing opportunities for wood products
Clarion County, Pennsylvania is known for its abundant and beautiful forests, with a seemingly endless supply of wild cherry, red oak, sassafras, walnut, maple, and other well-loved timbers. Besides providing a scenic landscape, those woodlands also create business opportunities for wood-using industries such as manufactured housing, flooring, furniture, cabinetry, and OEM components crafted from beautiful hardwood.
Our area’s labor shed of more than 429,000 hard-working individuals includes many who have grown up in and around the wood industry. Among them is our significant Amish workforce, widely recognized throughout the region for its construction know-how and flair for woodworking. Our steady supply of skilled workers is continually being sharpened by a wealth of education and training programs feeding directly into the workforce pipeline, with a focus on advancing skills in industrial arts, woodworking, engineering, building trades, millwright, masonry, plumbing, electrical, HVAC-R, and other areas of study.
Clarion County’slocation, midway between New York and Chicago ontranscontinental Interstate 80, with north-south I-79 just to the west, is within a day’s truck drive of more than 153 million consumers who represent nearly half of the population of the United States. Add in utility providers with plenty of capacity at remarkably affordable rates, and you have all the components for success in any wood-using industry.