West Frasier Updates Progress on Dudley Georgia Lumber Mill and Chambord Quebec OSB Mill

West Frasier announced on Monday, March 29, 2021 operational updates on their Dudley, Georgia lumber mill and Chambord, Quebec OSB mill. The Company’s OSB mill in Chambord has completed commissioning and panels are now being produced and shipped to customers. The Company expects to obtain APA — the Engineered Wood Association certification of Chambord’s commodity OSB grades — within the coming weeks. The Chambord mill has started the ramp up towards its stated annual production capacity of 550 million square feet (3/8-inch basis), which typically takes 18-24 months. After significant re-investment and with a strong available labor force and committed wood supply in the region, the Chambord mill is expected to be among the Company’s lowest cost OSB operations once fully ramped up. The new lumber manufacturing complex in Dudley remains on track with the company’s initial expectations. Substantial portions of the new mill are being commissioned and are ramping up, with the new site expected to be fully operational by the end of the second quarter of 2021. Operations at the legacy site will be wound down by the end of the second quarter. When completed and fully ramped up, annual production capacity at the site will increase by 170 million board feet to 270 million board feet, which is expected to be achieved over the next several years. The Dudley site represents the second full site modernization in the US South by the Company since 2017. In commenting on the updates Ray Ferris, West Fraser’s President and CEO said, “The teams at Dudley and Chambord have been working safely and diligently to modernize both operations, with Chambord now ready to help meet our OSB customers’ needs in time for the critical spring building season.”