BY EMILY R. COLLINS/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
ecollins@tidewaternews.com

WAVERLY—A wood pellet manufacturer will invest $8.6 million to open a plant in Waverly that will create 28 jobs in operation and maintenance.

Gov. Bob McDonnell said Thursday Wood Fuels Developers, an affiliate of Chester-based Industrial TurnAround Corp., plans to begin operation in Sussex County.

Steve Gordon, president and chief executive of Wood Fuel Developers, said the jobs would offer pay “indicative for those positions in the area.”

“The Sussex County Project offered a unique opportunity that enabled us to expedite our business and marketing objectives by acquiring an existing facility including site infrastructure, buildings, machinery and the purchase and installation of new equipment,” Gordon said.

The plant is expected to open in August or September, he said.

The company specializes in the production of wood fuel and pellets to serve residential, industrial and power generation markets.

Wood pellets are a heating resource and can be made from compacted sawdust, wood chips, bark, agricultural crop waste, waste paper and other organic materials, according to the U.S. Department of Energy website.

“Virginia’s dependence on imported energy is reduced by corporate partners that manufacture renewable resources here at home,” McDonnell said. “Wood Fuel Developers provides a needed service and will continue to strengthen the commonwealth’s wood products industry.”

Sussex County and Virginia’s Gateway Region teamed up with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to obtain.