The Effingham County Industrial Development Authority and DRT have announced the company will be building a plant in the Effingham Industrial Park.

DRT, a specialist in processing rosin and turpentine oil distilled from pine resin, announces plans to purchase land in the parkThis marks the first step of the France-based company’s move across the Atlantic.

The plan moved closer to reality last Tuesday evening when the IDA approved agreements for the land purchase.

DRT plans to start operations of the new unit during the first half of 2017 and will begin construction in 2016. The $43 million facility will initially employ an operational team of 40 and will operate as DRT America.

“This project represents another great project bringing high-wage skilled jobs and direct foreign investment to our community,” said IDA CEO John Henry. “There is a lot of synergy created by having a company that utilizes biomass generated from the forestry operations in this region. We have a long history of turpentine, forestry, pulpwood and paper in this area. We are excited to have this state of the art facility locate in Effingham County.”

To meet growing demand from international markets, and with the aim of working closer to supply sources, DRT has decided to build a new turpentine bio-refinery and terpene derivatives production unit in the U.S. DRT has decided to locate the project in Effingham after working with the Effingham IDA.

Corey Schneider, president of DRT America LLC, said that the company had searched in three states to locate a site for its new U.S. plant.

“Effingham County offered everything we need, having a location central to the supply of resources coming from the paper industry, a strong educational system supplying a skilled workforce and close proximity to the ports,” he said. “We were also excited to learn that turpentine refining is part of the history of Effingham County, making it a natural home for our business.”

The new production unit will enable DRT to distill locally-sourced turpentine for its existing markets and develop new products for the fragrance and terpene resin industries.

Schneider said it will take about a year to build the plant.

DRT America will occupy the Governor Treutlen site in the Effingham Industrial Park. The tract is 83 acres, of which 66 are cleared. The IDA and the company have negotiated a purchase price of $30,000 an acre.