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
A Hardwood Heads Up
Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, Timber Processing 2014 This issue includes articles on two hardwood sawmill operations—one in Michigan, the other in Georgia, vastly different in size, but both finding their own ways to push…
Man Dies After Accident At Georgia’s Claude Howard Lumber
A Claude Howard Lumber Co. employee died after an apparent accident while working at the sawmill on Park Avenue, officials said. Salvador Hernandez, 32, of Statesboro, had crawled onto a piece of equipment to clear…
Oregon BEST Looks To Create A New Timber Industry
Oregon BEST and Oregon State University are teaming with a Southern Oregon timber business in a bid to turn the state into a center for Cross-Laminated Timber Manufacturing. Oregon BEST is investing $150,000 into research…
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.