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
Hampton Lumber Names Schillinger New CEO
Hampton Lumber has announced that Randy Schillinger will join Hampton Lumber & Family Forests as its new CEO, effective June 26, 2023, taking over for Steve Zika who has served as CEO of Hampton since 2003 and announced his retirement earlier this year. Schillinger has over 25 years of experience in the Pacific Northwest wood products industry. He began his career with…
Combilift Launches New Product At Ligna
As leading forklift manufacturer Combilift continues its 25 years in business celebrations with the launch of another new model truck, this time at Ligna, the international timber and woodworking show, held in Hanover. The new Combi-CB70E is a further addition to Combilift’s ever growing range of electric models which offers powerful performance, extensive…
Housing Starts Increase In April
Housing starts across the U.S. increased in April 2.2% to 1.4 million according the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, New Residential Construction report released May 17. Notably, this is 22.3% lower than April 2022’s 1.8 million. Single-family home construction increased 1.6% to its highest level so far in 2023. Starts of apartment…
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.