VANCOUVER – West Fraser Timber will acquire the operations of the Gilman Companies from the Howard Gilman Foundation and other shareholders for approximately US$430 million. The Gilman Companies are comprised of six sawmills and a finger‑joint mill in Florida and Georgia, as well as an administrative office in St. Marys, Georgia. The acquisition is a…
MISSISSAUGA, ONT. – Weston Forest has expanded its operations into the United States with the purchase of the assets of Great Northern Lumber of Michigan. Weston Forest will operate the facility as Northern Industrial Woods Inc. The two companies have had a long-standing relationship, and Great Northern Lumber extends the reach of Weston’s remanufacturing capabilities….
WESTFORD, Mass.—Kadant Inc. is extending its reach as a supplier to the forest products sector with the purchase of the forest products business of NII FPG Company, a designer and manufacturer of equipment used by sawmills, veneer mills, and other companies in the forest products industry, for approximately US$173 million. The business will be integrated…
Victoria, BC – PRT Growing Services Ltd. has reached an agreement with the ownership group of Skimikin Nursery Ltd to acquire the company, effective July 1. Skimikin Nursery is located in Tappen, BC, approximately one hour north of PRT’s three other nurseries in BC’s Okanagan region. Skimikin was first established as a BC Ministry of…
QUEBEC CITY, QC – The Government of Quebec is providing $2.7 million in financial assistance to DK-Spec Inc. to design a new generation of cutting tools for the forest products sector. These will include grinders, debarker rotors and canter heads. Quebec’s Minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks, Luc Blanchette, visited the DK-Spec plant in Lévis…
An economic analysis that quantifies the cumulative, historical economic contributions of community forests to rural communities in B.C. was recently released. Community Forests — Community Benefits: The Economic Contributions of Community Forest to Rural Communities, examines the significant value of the province’s community forests. The report was commissioned by the Southern Interior Beetle Action Coalition…
Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) has voiced its support for the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change announcement of $2 billion in federal funds over the next 5 years for the Low Carbon Economy Fund. “Canada’s forest products sector is a leader in the fight against climate change. We were the first major Canadian…
WASHINGTON – A delegation of Canadian members of the United Steelworkers (USW) from the wood products industry met with U.S. politicians on June 12 to deliver the message that workers on both sides of the border will benefit from a negotiated settlement on lumber and the termination of countervailing and anti-dumping duties imposed by the…
Kemptville, ON – The Eastern Ontario Model Forest (EOMF) has received funding from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport under the Ontario150 Partnership Program to develop a documentary project related to forest stewardship. The program will provide $86,000 to EOMF to support the development of a three-part documentary project that engages youth and illustrates…
Recent activity at West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has revealed that British Columbian billionaire Jim Pattison owns a significant minority stake in the company, prompting speculations of a merger with rival Canfor Corp., according to an analyst. Pattison owns 10 per cent of West Fraser, North America’s No. 1 lumber producer, said Paul Quinn, a…