Columbia Flooring Acquires Malaysian Flooring Comp

Danville, VA, August 12--Columbia Flooring has completed the acquisition of Malaysia Wood Industries Sdn. Bhd. (MWI), an engineered hardwood flooring manufacturing operation with two plants located in Sungai Petani, Malaysia and sales offices in the US, Europe and the Far East. The effective date of the purchase was July 21; terms were not disclosed. Although Columbia has been supplementing its domestic production by importing finished flooring products under its own brand name nearly since its inception, this is a significant move for the company and its parent, Columbia Forest Products, as it is the flooring manufacturer's first large-scale investment in offshore manufacturing facilities. Columbia President David Wootton said, "We've been very effective in sourcing globally for products we sell in the US, but actually owning an offshore operation with a pre-established distribution network throughout Europe and the Far East will enable us to further expand our sales horizons by driving Columbia's US-made product range into European and Asian markets where Malaysia Wood Industries is already known as a highly respected, efficient organization." The MWI plant was built 20 years ago and includes two separate production plants manufacturing prefinished engineered longstrip floating floors. Additionally, Wootton said, one of the features that attracted Columbia to MWI was the excellent management resources throughout the company. "One of the key synergies of this acquisition is the opportunity to capitalize on the strengths of each company, thereby enabling us to generate additional market share." Columbia Forest Products CEO Harry Demorest said, "For some time now we have predicted our next acquisition would be offshore, and we have made good on this prediction. In addition to establishing our presence in Europe and the Far East, this acquisition will enable us to couple the advantage of low-cost manufacturing with our strong US sales and marketing expertise, thereby growing our standing in the global marketplace." Columbia Flooring is headquartered in Danville, Virginia, and has manufacturing operations in Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. A wholly owned subsidiary of Columbia Forest Products, Columbia Flooring is a leading manufacturer and marketer of hardwood and laminate flooring.

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