Weaber Inc. gives $250,000 to Forest Resources Building

University Park, Pa. -- Weaber Inc., of Lebanon, Pa., one of the nation’s leading hardwood manufacturers, has given Penn State $250,000 toward the College of Agricultural Sciences’ new Forest Resources Building. The University plans to name the Wood Physics Laboratory in the new facility in recognition of the company’s gift.

Construction of the four-story, 96,000-square-foot building will begin in September, with completion estimated by spring 2005.

“We have worked with Penn State on several projects in the past and we hire foresters from Penn State to work for us,” said Matt Weaber, executive vice president for Weaber Inc. “The University is well-known for the strength of its forestry and wood product programs. It makes perfect sense that there should be a first-class facility to go along with those programs.”

Matt Weaber’s grandfather, Walter H. Weaber, founded the hardwood manufacturing plant in 1941 in the northern Appalachian region of Pennsylvania, an area long-identified with quality hardwood forests producing red and white oaks, yellow poplar and ash. When Matt’s father, Galen Weaber, became president and chief executive officer in 1971, there were only three or four employees working the small mill. Matt credits his father for the dramatic growth that the company has experienced since then; it now employs more than 540 people in state-of-the-art facilities dedicated to sustainable timber management, customer satisfaction and future expansion.

The School of Forest Resources enrolls approximately 475 students at all levels and is nationally recognized for its forestry, wood products, water resources and wildlife and fisheries programs.

In addition to the Weaber Wood Physics Lab, the new Forest Resources Building will include advanced teaching and research laboratories for all of its programs, several key outreach facilities, a student activity center, an auditorium, an alumni common area and meeting spaces.