News in mill capacity changes

A ribbon cutting ceremony held today (5-26-21) marked the opening of Delmarva Lumber Company. Delmarva is located on former site of the Cropper Bros. Lumber Company in Willards, MD, which was closed in 2018. Rickards says the mill has over one million board feet of timber ready to start being shipped.

Anthony Timberlands Inc. (ATI), Arkansas’s third-largest forest products manufacturer, announced on Wednesday (5-19-21) that they will be investing $10 million in improvement to their 75-year-old pine sawmill in Malvern, Arkansas over the next six to eight months.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and Weyerhaeuser Corporation have jointly announced that the company plans to make a two-phased $157 million capital investment in its Holden, Louisiana facility. Weyerhaeuser plans to upgrade and modernize the sawmill to produce longer-length lumber, add a new planer mill, and upgrade and add two new continuous dry kilns for increased drying capacity.

EACOM Timber Corporation has announced that they are making an investment of $7.7 million (CAD) to equip their Matagami, Quebec sawmill with a new state-of-the-art continuous kiln (CDK). The CDK will allow lumber to be dried 24-hours a day without interruption at the facility.

Hankins Lumber Company of Grenada County Mississippi is investing more than $12 million into a sawmill that will be called Hankins Timbers. The facility will produce about 40 million board feet per year.

In reporting on their Q1 2021 results, Interfor Corporation announced capacity-expanding spending projects. Interfor stated that the company has received Board approval to proceed with strategic capital investments at its sawmills in Castlegar, BC and Perry, Georgia of approximately $35 million and US$30 million, respectively.

West Fraser Timber Company released their Q1 2021 earnings report on Thursday (5-6-21) in preparation for their earnings call on Friday, May 7, 2021. In the report, West Fraser announced in their lumber segment they expected to invest approximately $150 million at five of their U.S. South lumber mills under the strategic capital program.

Increasing timber sales from the San Juan National Forest is boosting the supply of available timber to the eight operational sawmills in Montezuma County, Colorado. The local mills are taking that timber and creating everything from wood paneling, plywood, excelsior, flooring, construction lumber, mine cribbing, to furniture.

NewLife Forest Restoration, on Friday (4-23-21) held a ribbon cutting ceremony at its new 425,000 square foot sawmill facility in Bellemont Arizona. NewLife currently holds the largest contract with the United States Forest Service for logging operations associated with the Four Forest Restoration Initiative, also called 4FRI.

Biewer Lumber Company, with corporate headquarters in St. Clair Michigan, held a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday (4-21-21) at the site of their new state-of-the-art sawmill in Winona, Montgomery County, Mississippi. When operating at full capacity the mill will provide over a hundred new jobs in the area.