Federal Way, WA, Mar. 5--Weyerhaeuser Co. will put three of its lumber and plywood mills in the Carolinas and Georgia on the sales block, because the facilities don't match its business strategies.
We believe they will have a better strategic value to a new owner," executive vice president for wood products William R. Corbin said in a prepared statement Thursday, adding that the company will continue to operate the mills until they are sold.
A similar announcement was made last month by Weyerhaeuser concerning two of its mills in Saskatchewan and 300,000 acres of timberland in Georgia.
The two Carolinas mills now for sale were acquired by Weyerhaeuser when it purchased Willamette Industries in 2001. They consist of a plywood and lumber complex that employs 300 people in Chester, S.C., and a Moncure, N.C., plywood mill, which employs about 200 people.
In Georgia, Weyerhaeuser will sell its lumber mill in Barnesville, which was acquired from Procter & Gamble Co. in 1992 and employs 80 people.
Weyerhaeuser employs 5,000 people in the Carolinas, where it manages 552,000 acres of forestland and more than 15 operations. In Georgia, the company employs 1,700 in nine facilities and owns 320,000 acres of timberlands.
