We are RoyOMartin.
Our name embodies the entrepreneurial spirit of timber industry pioneer and family patriarch Roy O. Martin, Sr., who began the family’s first business with a small sawmill in Alexandria, Louisiana in 1923. Today, we are one of the several wholly owned, professionally managed subsidiaries of Martin Sustainable Resources L.L.C., a mid-sized equity investment company privately held by multiple generations of the Martin family with an ardent commitment to sustainability.
We are an established American company, using only domestic raw materials in the manufacture of our superior wood products. We bear the mantle of the Martin family’s 99-year reputation as a timber-industry leader. We are committed to the safety and well-being of our employees now and for generations to come.
Below is a video marking our 99th anniversary in 2022.
Humble Beginnings
1923
Roy Otis Martin of Edwardsburg, Michigan, purchases Creston Lumber Mill in Alexandria, Louisiana, for $32,000. He names it Roy O. Martin Lumber Company.
1929
Roy aggressively begins purchasing land, with the mantra, “Buy land and hold land because they don’t make any more land.” His first major land purchase is the Black Lake timber block, comprised of 6,500 acres. Due to this vision, Martin Timberlands L.L.C. practices sustainable forestry on its nearly 600,000 acres of timberland.
1933
The sawmill in Castor, Louisiana, opens. Operating on thriftiness, Roy buys all equipment secondhand. Roy’s eldest son, Ellis, takes a year off from high school to help build the mill, sleeping in a ramshackle back office with only an Aladdin lamp and lumber-supply catalogs for entertainment.
1939
Tragedy strikes as the Castor mill burns to the ground. Out of the ashes, opportunity for Ellis arises, as Roy makes one of his most significant decisions: placing Ellis in charge of rebuilding and operations. Ellis begins his new role on the eve of World War II, embarking upon a career that will span 60 years.
Dawn of a New Era
1962
Rather abruptly, Roy tells his second son, Roy Jr., to go home and put on a suit and return to the mill. Thus, Roy Jr. learns he is now president of the Martin family business.
1973
Family patriarch Roy Sr. dies on February 23 at the age of 82.
1978
Ellis becomes president of the family business. The Fenner Street sawmill, the original 1923 purchase, is sold.
Growth Rings
1983
Production begins in LeMoyen, Louisiana, at the family’s first oriented strand board (OSB)-manufacturing plant. Under the management of Ellis’s son, Jonathan, it is the first OSB plant in the South. Construction of an adjacent sawmill begins, which will open in 1984.
1994
Jonathan succeeds Ellis as president and CEO of the family business, while Roy Jr.’s son, Roy III, becomes secretary-treasurer. The Martin Foundation is established.
1996
In Chopin, Louisiana, the first major facility under Jonathan’s and Roy’s leadership—the plywood-manufacturing plant—begins production. Roy III is named executive vice president and CFO.
A 21st Century Organization
2001
A beautiful new home-office headquarters opens in Alexandria, Louisiana.
2002
Timberland-management operations attain certification by the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®). FSC® certification of products will come later.
2003
Jonathan becomes chairman and CEO, while Roy III is named company president. For the first time in company history, a non-family member ascends to the executive team as E. Scott Poole attains the role of senior vice president and COO.
2007
A state-of-the-art southern yellow pine OSB-manufacturing plant begins production in Oakdale, Louisiana.
2011
In partnership with another local employer, RoyOMartin enters the healthcare business with the state’s first employer-sponsored, patient-centered medical home in Alexandria. A pharmacy follows in 2018.
2012
At 232 years old, the state champion loblolly pine tree dies in LaSalle Parish. RoyOMartin presents to the State of Louisiana a ring, or cookie, from this 157-foot-tall pine that survived the Civil War, both World Wars, moon landing, and 9/11. The donation is made for the state’s bicentennial celebration.
2017
RoyOMartin’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Corrigan OSB, L.L.C., has ventured outside the home state of Louisiana and will open a pine OSB-manufacturing facility in Corrigan, Texas.
2018
Team members at Corrigan OSB, L.L.C. make the facility’s first press-load of OSB panels and celebrate with a plant grand opening on May 30. RoyOMartin announces plans to increase timbers production by installing a new dry kiln at its Chopin, LA, plywood and solid wood plant.
2019
Jonathan E. Martin, chairman, passes away at age 70. RoyOMartin announces $30 million in capital expenditures for modernization projects at the Oakdale and Chopin, Louisiana, manufacturing plants. The following individuals assume new or expanded roles: Chairman, CEO, and CFO Roy O. Martin III; President and COO E. Scott Poole; Executive Vice President of Manufacturing and Product Sales Terry Secrest; and Vice President of Plywood Jeremy Burford.
2020
RoyOMartin and its subsidiaries experience no reductions in force or production curtailments throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. President and COO E. Scott Poole serves on the Louisiana Legislative Advisory Task Force on Economic Recovery. Like similar manufacturers, RoyOMartin experiences favorable U.S. market conditions for wood products and continues making capital investments across its Louisiana and Texas facilities to ensure the organization’s long-term growth and competitiveness.
2021
Expansion of our Texas subsidiary Corrigan OSB, L.L.C., began with the construction of a second oriented strand board facility near the original site. 2021 was the safest year in company history, even as RoyOMartin and its subsidiaries continued full-time operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. RoyOMartin once again experienced favorable U.S. market conditions for wood products.
2022
$95M investment in modernizing plywood facility announced; Land and Timber department marked 15 years of safety and 20 years of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification; Natalie Martin Monroe named Vice President of Safety, Environmental, and Sustainability Operations