West Fraser Purchases Norbord For $3 Billion
West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. is acquiring all of the outstanding common shares of Norbord, the world’s largest oriented strandboard producer, for $3.1 billion. Following closing, the combined company will operate as West Fraser.
“Norbord’s OSB production is a perfect complement to the West Fraser portfolio, enabling us to deliver a wider range of wood products, and making us a more complete, efficient and valuable partner for our customers,” says Raymond Ferris, President and CEO of West Fraser.
Norbord operates 17 plant locations in the U.S., Europe and Canada, encompassing 15 OSB mills, one MDF plant, two particleboard facilities and a furniture plant.
West Fraser operates 34 sawmills in British Columbia, Alberta and the Southern U.S., as well as three plywood operations and two MDF facilities in Western Canada.
West Fraser will continue to be led by Ferris as CEO and Chris Virostek as CFO. Peter Wijnbergen, President and CEO of Norbord, will be appointed President, Engineered Wood, responsible for the company’s OSB, plywood, particleboard, MDF and veneer operations. Sean McLaren, currently West Fraser’s Vice-President, U.S. Lumber, will be appointed President, Solid Wood, responsible for all of the company’s lumber operations.
Latest News
Washington’s Allen Logging Lumber Mill Expects To Cease Operations Next Month
Allen Logging, the last production lumber mill on the North Olympic Peninsula’s West End, expects to cease operations by mid-July. The closure will idle 45 workers, including drivers, millwrights, mechanics and log yard laborers, said…
Maine Sawmill Workers Face Temporary Layoff
A Quebec-based company that completed the purchase of Fraser Timber’s lumber mill in Masardis in January will temporarily layoff its 135 employees next week due to market conditions. The layoff at Maibec will last four…
On The Verge Of Something Or Nothing?
Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-In-Chief The majority of this issue—nearly 30 pages in fact—is devoted to the results of our annual Sawmill Capital Expenditure Survey. Again we’ve broken it down into two sections—softwood lumber and…
Find Us On Social
Newsletter
The monthly Timber Processing Industry Newsletter reaches over 4,000 mill owners and supervisors.
Subscribe/Renew
Timber Processing is delivered 10 times per year to subscribers who represent sawmill ownership, management and supervisory personnel and corporate executives. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.
Advertise
Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative.