Gov. Janet Mills greets John Godfrey in March before a press conference at the former Androscoggin Mill in Jay. Godfrey Forest Products has initiated the process of building an oriented strand board facility after half the mill, background, is demolished. Godfrey holds a sample of the product he intends to sell to Home Depot and other retailers. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

The mill that has been proposed for the former Androscoggin Mill site on Riley Road in Jay is moving closer to reality, with the hopes of going online in late 2026 or possibly early 2027 if the equipment arrives in a timely fashion.

The owner of Godfrey Forest Products, John Godfrey of Marblehead, Massachusetts, received his air emissions permit Dec. 3 from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. He received a shoreland zoning permit in October from the Jay Planning Board.

He still needs a DEP site location of development permit, Godfrey said Dec. 13.

Godfrey announced in March that Godfrey Forest Products has a purchase and sale agreement for 67 acres owned by JGT2 Redevelopment, which bought the mill property from Pixelle Specialty Solutions in Pennsylvania in December 2023.

Pixelle stopped making paper products at the mill as of March 9, 2023.

The new mill is planned to produce the wood panel product known as oriented strand board and will cover 14.2 acres, or about 617,000 square feet.

Once Godfrey receives the permits needed, he will move forward on demolishing the portion of the former mill he plans to build the project on.

“I would hope to get started in the spring (2025),” Godfrey said.

Then, the project will depend on ordering equipment and getting it delivered.

Godfrey said the company is working on the schedule for getting the equipment in place. “In the next month or two, we will know the delivery time,” he said.

Godfrey plans to hire 135 employees to work at the facility. That does not count any trucking, logging, security or supply personnel who will be contracted out or delivering wood to the mill. He estimates that number to be 200 to 300 people.

Godfrey said the company’s products will be sold in the Northeast to customers such as Home Depot and Lowe’s.

Godfrey founded Godfrey Forest Products in 1979. He and his affiliated companies have conceived, financed, constructed and operated manufacturing facilities for engineered wood products. The companies have completed mill developments in three countries on two continents, according to the Godfrey Forest Products website. The company is based in Marblehead, Massachusetts.