STRONG – Geneva Wood Fuels has selected International Forest Products Corp. to market wood pellets produced at a facility here.

With startup expected in the first quarter of 2009, Geneva will make wood pellets for the home-heating market under the brand name Maine’s Choice, said owner Jonathan Kahn from his Chicago office on Thursday.

“I’m eager to get it going, but there’s a lot of machinery to install. It’s been more than I realized,” he said. He declined to give a date for the mill to open, but preparations have begun at the former Forster Manufacturing facility.

As Geneva Wood Fuels’ marketing agent, IFP of Foxborough, Mass., has begun creating a list of customers, said Peter Keyes of IFP. He said the company is one of the largest traders of forest products commodities in the world. IFP will focus on sales in Maine and New England, and plans to broaden a base of distributors and retailers outside the Northeast, Keyes said.

“We think it’s a great product and a critical thing for the country and everywhere as we look for alternative fuels. No one is starting sawmills or other pulpwood-based companies. This is the exception, and we’re excited we can be part of it,” Keyes said.

While Kahn said he has made about 23 trips to Maine this year, Jeff Allen will be the mill’s general manager. The pellet mill expects to open with 25 to 30 employees, Kahn said.

So many job applications have already been received that a metal box near the mill’s front door was designated for dropping off resumes, said business manager Lucinda Allen.

“I’m pretty excited and can’t wait to add to the area’s labor pool,” Kahn said.

While crews, including some local contractors, install machinery, trucks have been pulling in to the mill with loads of wood.

“We’ve been accepting some wood for the last few months,” Kahn said. Timber Resource Group of Farmington is the company’s wood procurement agent, he said.

Geneva is creating a state-of-the-art facility that will help revitalize the timber community in and around Strong, according to a company news release. Its goal is to process 100,000 tons of wood pellets annually.

Old machinery left at the mill by Forster’s has been taken out of the building and is being replaced with pellet machinery, said Jim Cahill, the town’s code enforcement officer.

“They’re definitely putting a lot of money into the neighborhood,” Cahill said. “It’ll be wonderful if we can get jobs. … It’s a plus for the town,” he said.