SUMMERTOWN, Just across the county line in Lawrence County, a Tennessee-grown lumber company is making a significant bet on Southern Middle Tennessee's economic future. Old South Wood Preserving, based in Summertown, announced this week that it will invest $1.3 million to expand its operations and create 20 new jobs, the company's first major expansion since it opened in 2021 with just five employees. The announcement was made jointly by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Deputy Gov. and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter, and company officials.
Old South Wood Preserving operates a full-service production campus in Summertown that includes office space, a treatment plant, a planer mill, a post mill, a kiln, and lumber storage barns. The expansion builds on that existing infrastructure, positioning the company for increased production capacity in a region where the timber and wood products industry has deep historical roots. With more than 60 employees following the announcement, the company has grown more than twelvefold since its founding, a trajectory that reflects both strong management and a favorable business environment in rural Tennessee.
General Manager Mark Jent credited the support of the State of Tennessee, Gov. Lee, and local and state representatives with making the investment possible. He described the expansion as a commitment not just to the company's growth, but to the people and communities of the region. Gov. Lee called Old South Wood Preserving an example of the strength of Tennessee's homegrown businesses, while Commissioner McWhorter noted that state leaders were proud to support the company when it launched and are equally proud to back its continued growth.
Lawrence County borders Maury County to the south and west, and economic activity there has direct ripple effects on the broader regional workforce and supply chain. For families in communities like Summertown, Lawrenceburg, and the rural stretches in between, 20 quality manufacturing jobs represent real opportunity. Companies like Old South Wood Preserving, Tennessee-founded, community-rooted, and growing on their own terms, are exactly the kind of economic anchors that strengthen the rural Middle Tennessee counties that surround Maury County.