Columbia to Purchase Weyerhaeuser Underlayment Pla
Portland, OR, Dec. 30--Columbia Forest Products plans to purchase the Nipigon Multiply hardwood plywood underlayment operation in Ontario, Canada from Weyerhaeuser Company Limited.
Weyerhaeuser's Building Materials organization will maintain a role as an agent for Columbia in selling and distributing Multiply to North American customers.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Multiply is a high quality, branded 3-ply aspen 1/4 inch plywood used as an underlayment for vinyl, ceramic and laminate flooring. It holds the second largest share of the market.
"Multiply is a great brand in the underlayment industry and the operation is a good fit for our Canadian organization," Columbia executive vice president of sales and marketing Ed Woods said. "We're anxious to add Multiply underlayment to our flooring product lines."
Columbia plans to retain current staffing levels and current production after the acquisition is complete.
Bill Blankenship, Weyerhaeuser's vice president of engineered panels, said, "We believe the sale of the Nipigon facility to Columbia is a win-win situation for all parties, including the employees and the community."
The Nipigon Multiply plant was built in 1956 and was purchased by MacMillan Bloedel Limited in 1973. Weyerhaeuser acquired the facility as part of its acquisition of MacMillan Bloedel in 1999. Nipigon is situated 70 miles east of Thunder Bay on the north side of Lake Superior.
