Ground will be broken Tuesday at the future site of a new state-of-the art  saw mill that will employ at least 110 people and invest $110 million into the local economy initially.

The Pike County Commission has recruited Rex Lumber over the past year and voted unanimously in February to offer incentives of $750,000 including the purchase of the 214-acre site on County Road 7714.

Chairman Robin Sullivan said the groundbreaking is a big step toward the mill beginning operation within a year.

“That kind of just makes it real,” Sullivan said. “It’s a big deal for Pike County to get a company of this magnitude providing quality jobs, good pay and pumping that much money back into our economy … It’s a really big moment for Pike County.”

Officials with the company considered sites in several Southeastern states before selecting Pike County for its newest location.

Annual production at the facility is expected to be a minimum of 240 million board feet, which is greater than the output produced at the company’s three other sawmill operations (two in the panhandle of Florida and one in Mississippi).

The groundbreaking ceremony will get underway at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the site with speakers including Marsha Gaylard, president of the Pike County Economic Development Center; Caroline Dauzat, one of the owners of the family-operated company; Kenneth Boswell, director of ADECA; and Rick Oaks, State Forester.