Article archive

Western Forest Products acquires Columbia Vista

Posted on by GWMI Admin

Western Forest Products announced that a wholly owned subsidiary of Western has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Columbia Vista Corporation and certain related entities located in Vancouver, Washington for consideration of US$30.5 million, including working capital of US$6.7 million. Working capital to be acquired is subject to a final determination at closing.

Columbia Vista is a lumber manufacturer that focuses production on Douglas Fir specialty products for the Japanese and U.S. markets. Columbia Vista operates a sawmill business in Washington State and has been in business for over 60 years. The operations employ approximately 90 employees and produced approximately 60 million board feet of lumber in 2017.

“We are excited to welcome Columbia Vista’s employees to Western. This acquisition is consistent with our strategy of pursuing margin-focused business opportunities that complement our position in selected markets. Bringing Western and Columbia Vista together provides Western the opportunity to expand its Douglas Fir specialty product offerings, particularly in Japan where our customers have been asking us to source Douglas Fir to complement our B.C. Hemlock,” said Don Demens, Western’s President and CEO.

The transaction will be financed with cash on hand and available credit facilities, and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019. Completion of the transaction is subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Recently, Canfor Corporation has entered into an agreement to purchase Elliott Sawmilling Co., Inc. located in Estill, South Carolina for a purchase price of US$110 million.

IKEA accelerates transformation as to meet unprecedented scale change of retail trade

Posted on by GWMI Admin

The Ingka Group (Ingka Holding BV and controlled entities) is speeding up its transformation plans. The company plans to invest in new and existing furniture stores and fulfillment and distribution centers, to test new inner-city furnishing house formats and to expand its e-commerce platform. To strengthen its future position, the company is currently reviewing its entire organizational structure.

The next few years will see the opening of 30 new outlets (traditional and in new formats), investments in the Fulfillment network and the development of online commerce, which will correspond to the creation of 11500 jobs. At the same time, 7,500 of the 160,000 jobs in the group will be eliminated, particularly at the level of global functions and national directorates in 30 markets.

Retail trade is changing on an unprecedented scale, says Jesper Brodin, the CEO of Ingka Holding. The holding invests to adapt to the changes taking place among consumers.

These include installing new formats in the city centers of 30 world cities, in addition to major sales sites, and developing the digital tools and implementation offer.

The aim is to interact with customers wherever and whenever they want, offering them products and services in a variety of channels and at attractive prices, explains Tolga Öncü, Retail Manager at Ingka.

The IKEA holding, which dominates the franchise network, manages 367 sites in 30 countries with 160,000 employees. Over the last 12 months, 838 million people have visited these sites. The IKEA website has been clicked 2.35 billion times. The 2018 financial year of the Ingka holding company was marked by an increase in turnover of 4.7%.

Södra to close parquet flooring plant in Sweden

Posted on by GWMI Admin

Södra is initiating a process to close down Berg & Berg in Kallinge, Sweden. Trade union negotiations will begin as soon as possible, and will affect all 60 employees. Berg & Berg has been on the market for some time but Södra has been unable to sell the company, and this is the reason for the closure.

The background to the closure is Södra’s decision last summer to withdraw from the interior wood segment, which includes parquet flooring, and the sale of its other operations in the segment. An announcement was made at that time concerning the sale of Berg & Berg.

“We had hoped to find a new owner and have long been discussing with various interested parties in an attempt to find a good solution, but this was unfortunately unsuccessful. Berg & Berg is currently not profitable and is facing major investments. However, the unit is still not expected to generate satisfactory profitability even after these investments, which was also the conclusion drawn by the interested parties. We must therefore now initiate a process to close down our parquet flooring operations in Kallinge. As a result, there will be no units left in the interior segment,” said Peter Karlsson, Head of the Södra Interiör segment.

Södra acquired Berg & Berg in 2012. It is a unit in the Södra Group that manufactures parquet flooring and has a strong brand, particularly in Germany and Austria.

Germany: Prices for wood pellets on ascending trend in November

Posted on by GWMI Admin

During November 2018, the prices for wood pellets in Germany have risen sharply. Thus, the price increased by 1.8% as compared to October 2018 and by 6.4%, as compared to the same month in 2017.
Now, wood pellets customers pay an average of EUR 254.36/tonne (6 tonnes purchases). One kilogram of pellets costs 25.44 cents and one kilowatt hour (kWh) of heat from pellets costs 5.09 cents.
Also, wood pellets in Germany have a price advantage of 37.7% over fuel oil and 14% over natural gas.
"The price of wood pellets follows the typical U-shape throughout the year - low in summer and slightly higher in winter," reports DEPV Managing Director Martin Bentele. "Therefore, this small price increase is normal."
Regional prices
The price for wood pellets varies from region to region in November 2018: the cheapest pellets continue to be in central Germany. There, a tonne of pellets costs 248.83 EUR / t. In northern and eastern Germany, the price per tonne is EUR 250.53/ t, while in southern Germany EUR 25256.87/ t.
Larger quantities (26 t) were traded in November 2018 on the following terms: South: 242.07 EUR / t, Center: 231.51 EUR / t, North / East: 230.96 EUR / t (all incl. VAT).
 
 

Georgia-Pacific completes $100-Million lumber facility in Alabama

Posted on by GWMI Admin

Georgia-Pacific celebrated the official start of production at its newest lumber facility in Talladega, Alabama. The $100-million, 300,000-square-foot, technologically advanced plant currently employs more than 130 full-time people.

To celebrate the start-up, Georgia-Pacific hosted a dedication on the facility’s grounds with state and community leaders. Among the guests were the Honorable Governor Kay Ivey, Georgia-Pacific President and CEO Christian Fischer and the city of Talladega Mayor Jerry Cooper.

Alabama represents a significant state for Georgia-Pacific’s operations. Currently, there are more than 2,300 employees across eight facilities that span all the company’s business segments. In the last five years, Georgia-Pacific has invested approximately $1.2 billion in its operations across the state.

The new facility receives approximately 150 log trucks a day and produces approximately 230 million board feet of lumber a year, with plans to expand production to 300 million board feet per year in the near future. The facility’s current plan is to ship out approximately 50 truckloads of lumber each day.

Canfor to remain committed to BC, despite recent European acquisition, CEO says

Posted on by GWMI Admin

Canfor has reach an agreement to buy 70 per cent of Vida Group for about $580 million. The privately-held company has nine sawmills in southern Sweden with an annual production capacity of 1.1 billion board feet.

The announcement comes about a week after Canfor said it will be buying Elliott Sawmilling Co., Inc., based in South Carolina, for US$110 million, subject to due diligence.

In late October, Canfor reported third-quarter earnings of $125.3 million, doubled from the year before despite lower lumber prices.

However, the figure was down from the second quarter when Canfor took in $169.8 million and said Nov. 1 it be reducing production at its B.C. sawmills by about 10 per cent this quarter.

Despite the moves, Kayne said the company still remains committed to B.C., where he said the majority of Canfor's production is still based.

"We still believe long term, B.C. is well positioned geographically to grow in the Asian markets for sure, let alone the U.S. market," he said. "However, with some of the AAC (annual allowable cut) reductions that you're all familiar with due to the mountain pine beetle, and some of the recent forest fires that we've all had to deal with the last couple of years, the expansion opportunities are certainly limited in B.C.

"But our customers are growing and we need to keep pace with them and frankly, that's the simple fact. And we're dealing with, and we're very proud of it, a very very strong customer base worldwide.

"Companies like Home Depot and companies like Lowe's and there are several examples really around the world like that, they're looking for suppliers who are going to be there for the long term, not for six months or 12 months or three years.

"They're looking five, 10, even farther out than that and so clearly we needed to secure additional SPF (spruce, fire, pine) and an operational platform outside of western Canada for that type of growth that's going to be required today but also more importantly in the future as we move forward."

The deal to purchase Vida Group is expected to close in the first quarter of next year.

Under the agreement, the current owners of Vida will retain a 30 per cent interest and continue to manage the day-to-day business. Vida also has nine value-added facilities that include premium packaging, modular housing, industrial products and energy.

Canfor says it expects to be able to finance the acquisition with cash and liquidity on hand, but will complete an extension and expansion of its existing operating and term loan facilities.

Between its operations in B.C., Alberta, the U.S. Deep South and its impending purchase, Kayne said Canfor has "truly become an international manufacturer."

US lumber production up by 5%; Canadian output falls

Posted on by GWMI Admin

U.S. sawmills produced 23.855 billion board ft. (bbf) of softwood lumber in the first eight months of 2018, a gain of 4.8% from the 22.760 bbf produced in the same period last year.

According to the Western Wood Products Assn., Western U.S. sawmills contributed 9.868 bbf to the eight-month total, up 5.8% from 9.327 bbf a year earlier, while sawmills in the southern U.S. accounted for 12.864 bbf, an increase of 4.1% from last year’s 12.355 bbf.

In August alone, softwood lumber production by U.S. sawmills was 3.169 bbf, up 2.1% year-over-year from 3.104 bbf, and up 9.0% from output in July 2018 of 2.908 bbf.

Western sawmills accounted for 1.280 bbf of August’s production, a year-over-year decline of 2.0% from 1.306 bbf, but up 9.2% from the previous month’s volume of 1.172 bbf.

Sawmills in the South contributed 1.740 bbf to output in August – up 5.4% from 1.651 bbf a year earlier, and up 8.8% from 1.599 bbf in July this year.

Apparent U.S. softwood lumber consumption in the first eight months of 2018 was 32.957 bbf, up 3.5% from 31.830 bbf in the same period last year. In August alone, apparent consumption was 4.409 bbf, up 7.5% from 4.103 bbf last year, and up 6.1% from 4.154 bbf in July.

Canadian softwood lumber production/consumption

Softwood lumber production by Canadian sawmills in the first eight months of 2018 was 18.809 bbf, a 1.2% decline from 19.037 bbf in the previous year.

Sawmills in British Columbia recorded a 3.3% year-over-year decline in the eight-month period, producing 8.511 bbf compared to 8.797 bbf a year earlier. Sawmills east of the Rockies increased output slightly, by 0.6% to 10.298 bbf from 10.240 bbf.

In August alone, Canada’s softwood production was 2.301 bbf, down 0.5% from 2.313 bbf last year, but up 5.0% from July’s production volume of 2.313 bbf.

Sawmills in British Columbia contributed 1.050 bbf to Canada’s production in August, a drop of 1.9% from last year’s 1.070 bbf, but up 1.2% from 1.038 bbf in July 2018. Output by sawmills East of the Rockies in August was 1.251 bbf -- up 0.7% from 1.242 bbf in August 2017, and up 8.4% from July’s volume of 1.154 bbf.

Apparent Canadian softwood lumber consumption was 7.128 bbf in the first eight months, a year-over-year increase of 5.7% from 6.743 bbf. In August alone, apparent consumption at 966 million board ft. (mmbf) was down 0.1% from 967 mmbf in the previous year, but up 15.4% from 837 mmbf in July 2018.

China plans a US$ 1.5 billion timber processing complex in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk region

Posted on by GWMI Admin

China plans to invest up to 10 billion yuan (about $ 1.5 billion) in a timber processing complex in the Krasnoyarsk region in Russia.

The vice-governor of the Krasnoyarsk region, Anatoly Tsykalov, said this in an interview in the Russian, after presenting the results of negotiations with Chinese partners held in the framework of the China International Import Expo.

“In the initial stage, the Chinese side plans to invest about 1 billion yuan in deep processing of wood and waste products; then a pulp and paper mill will be build, in which up to 10 billion yuan will be invested,” Anatoly Tsykalov said.

Mr. Tsykalov said that in Krasnoyarsk Krai almost 15% of the forest fund of Russia is concentrated. “The permitted volume of logging is 82 million m3 per year, but now only 20 million are harvested annually. Therefore, we have great potential for cooperation with the Chinese side in the field of logging and timber processing,” the vice-governor said.

According to him, the Russian side has put forward several requirements for the development of timber processing. In particular, the company must be registered in the Krasnoyarsk region and Russian construction companies must be involved in the construction of facilities. The Chinese side agreed with these conditions.

Stora Enso prepares for oversupply in the sawn timber market; layoffs in plan

Posted on by GWMI Admin

Finnish-Swedish forest industry company Stora Enso is preparing for oversupply in the sawn timber market.

Stora Enso Wood Products has completed employer-employee negotiations at its pine sawmills in Lappeenranta and Joensuu and its spruce sawmill in Kitee in Finland.

As a result, the entire personnel of the three sawmills may be temporarily laid off for a period of up to 90 days by April 2019 if necessary. If implemented, the intention of the lay-offs is to bring production volumes to a level that matches market demand.

Back in September 2018, Stora Enso started employer-employee negotiations at its LVL mill and sawmill in Varkaus in Finland. According to the company, additional pressures on the competitiveness of the units was caused by the rapidly rising log prices this year. The plants have done a number of measures to improve cost and production efficiency, which are going to continue according to the company.

Declining furniture trade in China

Posted on by GWMI Admin

According to data from China Customs, in the first half of 2018 the value of China’ s furniture exports was US$10.3 billion, down 5% from the same period last year. China mainly exported wooden seats and wooden furniture for bedrooms which accounted for 42% and 15% respectively of exports. The value of wooden furniture for bedrooms fell dramatically by 30% in the first half of 2018. Continue reading "Declining furniture trade in China"

Norra Timber invests in new continuous kilns in Sweden

Posted on by GWMI Admin

Norra Timber is currently modernising its kiln capacity with two new energy-efficient cross-circulation continuous kilns, also known as TC kilns.

According to the announcement, the first TC kiln, which is produced by Valutec, has just come on stream in Sävar, and in Kåge test runs will begin in January 2019.

The investment is expected to speed up the drying process significantly and enable the old batch kilns to be decommissioned.

The company's total drying capacity will increase by around 200,000 cubic meters (85,000 MBF). In Kåge, the capacity has almost doubled in eight years, from around 130,000 cubic meters (55,000 MBF) to 240,000 cubic meters (102,000 MBF). This includes previous investments in batch kilns from Valutec. Drying capacity has peaked, which has lead to the investment in a new TC continuous kiln.

“This gives us high capacity per SEK, and as we saw both pine and spruce, we also need to ensure significant flexibility. Purely from a design perspective, we’re also very happy with Valutec's kilns. The batch kilns from 2011 are dependable and look almost new after six years’ operation. Which clearly bodes well,” says Johan Oja, Technical Manager at Norra Skogsägarna.

Norra Skogsägarna is an economic association owned by 17,000 individual forest owners with a collective forest holding of more than one million hectares of forest land. Family-owned Martinsons is one of Sweden’s leading producers of glue-laminated and cross-laminated wood.

US softwood lumber prices on the rise in mid-November

Posted on by GWMI Admin

US softwood lumber traders absorbed a heavy news week that sent mixed signals to an uncertain marketplace. However, chief among the newsmakers were producers announcing both temporary and permanent cuts in output that shifted a neutral to bearish read on the market to a more bullish one.
Concern about the state of the U.S. housing market, and wet and cold weather engulfing key markets as winter approaches, was widely noted among traders more doubtful about the market’s ability to run upward.

This Week
Nov 16		 Last Week
Nov 9		 Year Ago
2017
Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Price* $340 $337 $438
KD Western S-P-F #2&Btr 2x4 R/L Mill Price 347 330 494
KD Eastern S-P-F #1&2 2x4 R/L, delivered Great Lakes 403 391 561
Green Douglas Fir Std&Btr 2x4 R/L (Portland) 280 285 455
Southern Pine (Westside) #2 2x4 R/L 391 401 428
KD Coast Hem-Fir #2&Btr 2x4 R/L 330 315 490
Ponderosa Pine (Inland) #2&Btr 1x12 R/L 780 780 730
* Weighted average of 15 key items

Random Lengths Panel Market Report

Structural panel trading lacked energy. Supply and demand maintained a balance in most OSB producing regions, and reported prices held to last week’s levels. One exception was the Southwest, where sheathing prices cracked as sales slowed to a crawl. Southern Pine plywood trading was steady, but lacked urgency. Buyers were hesitant to purchase beyond immediate needs, despite tightening supplies compared to previous weeks. Trading slowed in western Fir plywood markets, and mills opened to modest counters on prompt loadings.

(f.o.b. mill prices) This Week
Nov 16		 Last Week
Nov 9		 Year Ago
2017
Random Lengths Structural Panel Composite Price* $385 $386 $466
Southern (west-east) 15/32-inch 3-ply rated sheathing plywood 360-390 360-390 435-495
Southern (west-east) 15/32-inch 4-ply rated sheathing plywood 365-395 365-395 440-500
Western 1/2-inch 4-ply rated sheathing plywood 358 362 452
North Central 7/16-inch Oriented Strand Board 245 245 380
*Weighted average of 11 key items

 

Estonia: Growth in roundwood prices consolidates in September

Posted on by GWMI Admin

The sharp rise in roundwood prices in Estonia at the beginning of the year consolidated in August and September. Both the price of softwood logs and pulpwood are on a slight downward trend, but well above the level of the same month last year. Continue reading "Estonia: Growth in roundwood prices consolidates in September"

Georgia-Pacific to close plywood mill

Posted on by GWMI Admin

Georgia-Pacific announced plans to close its Warm Springs plywood production facility, resulting in the loss of about 300 jobs.

The public announcement came on the company's Twitter account:

"Sharing difficult news: we will be closing our plywood facility in Warm Springs, Ga by the end of the year. This closure will affect approximately 300 of our employees."

In a statement emailed to News 3, Rick Kimble, Georgia Pacific’s Senior Manager for Public Relations said:

“Georgia-Pacific will permanently cease manufacturing operations at its Warm Springs, Ga., plywood facility, due to overall market conditions. Although the new home construction market has returned somewhat since the recession in 2007/08, the construction market has continued to tighten this year due to higher interest rates and labor shortages. Plywood continues to be challenged by different – less costly options – like OSB and imported plywood continues to be a big driver. Georgia-Pacific remains a strong player in the plywood manufacturing business with eight plywood mills across the U.S.A.”

The facility is located on Chipley Hwy., northeast of the town of Warm Springs.

Trends in China’s furniture industry

Posted on by GWMI Admin

The furniture industry in China is a traditional industry and it has developed rapidly over the past 30 years. Large scale furniture enterprises are mainly concentrated in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Sichuan and Shandong Provinces and 5 major furniture manufacturing zones have been established in the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta, Circum-Bohai-Sea region, Western region and Northern region, accounting for 50%, 15%, 10%, 10% and 5% respectively of the total output value of national furniture industry.

However, the number of unprofitable furniture enterprises has been increasing in recent years due to a slowdown in the domestic economy and to increased competition in the sector.

The number of furniture manufacturing enterprises in China had increased to 6,217 by the first half of 2018, but 15% of these are assessed as unprofitable. Across the sector it has been estimated that profit fell 6% in 2017.

The output value of wooden furniture enterprises (including solid wood furniture and wood-based panel furniture), metal furniture and other furniture account for 64%, 19% and 17% of the national total respectively.

According to the China Furniture Association output from China’s furniture manufacturing sector rose about 1% to 435 million pieces between January and July 2018. Of the total, the output of wooden furniture grew 2.2% to 144 million pieces, metal furniture fell 0.5% to 219 million pieces and soft furniture increased 2.4% to 32 million pieces. Wooden furniture manufacturers were the most profitable according to the Association.

Wooden furniture is manufactured in 28 provinces. The top 10 provinces are Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, Sichuan, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Henan and Beijing in terms of output in the first half of 2018.

The output of top 3 provinces, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Fujian are 27 million pieces, 15.7 million pieces and 14.5 million pieces respectively in the first half of 2018.

The Jiangxi Nankang furniture industry cluster continues to maintain a high growth trend and the total output value from the industrial cluster reached RMB73.14 billion in the first half of 2018, up 16% over the same period last year.

China’s furniture industry is passing through some difficult times at present especially in respect of domestic regulations on environmental protection and safety. Many small and medium-sized furniture enterprises are ceasing operation or are totally re-tooling to meet the new regulations.

China’s Industrial Green Development Plan (2016-2020) points out that the concept of green development will become the guiding principle of the whole industry.

‘Green’ manufacturing industry has become a new engine of economic growth and is providing an advantage in international markets.

In summary, the furniture manufacturing industry is changing from overcapacity, high resource consumption, simple production to high productivity and high valueadded production. The next step will be low carbon, environment friendly and intellectualization of production.

Armstrong to sell its Wood Flooring segment for US$ 100 million

Posted on by GWMI Admin

Armstrong Flooring, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Wood Flooring segment to an affiliate of American Industrial Partners for a purchase price of $100 million.

The transaction is valued at approximately 7.2 times the Wood Flooring segment’s trailing twelve month Adjusted EBITDA. As of October 31, 2018 Armstrong Flooring’s Wood Flooring segment comprised six U.S. manufacturing facilities primarily serving the North American region and approximately 1,700 employees.

The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to be completed at the end of the 4Q 2018. The net proceeds to the Company from the transaction after purchase price adjustments are non-taxable and expected to be $85 to $90 million, which should increase the Company’s flexibility to further invest in its growth strategies and other value-enhancing opportunities.

Armstrong Flooring, Inc. is a global leader in the design and manufacture of innovative flooring solutions.

Canadian lumber companies in trouble: high log prices and low supply cause production curtailments

Posted on by GWMI Admin

Hundreds of sawmill workers are being laid off in B.C., some of them permanently, despite recent record profits made by B.C. forestry companies, which continue to expand south of the border. The problem is not lumber prices or softwood lumber tariffs – although lumber prices have fallen in recent months – but rather high log prices and low supplies in British Columbia, a result of the Mountain pine beetle, which ate through roughly half of B.C.’s harvestable timber supply.

All major forestry companies in B.C. have announced curtailments at their B.C. sawmill for the fourth quarter. In the case of West Fraser Timber Co., the curtailments are permanent.

On November 13, West Fraser announced it is permanently shutting down a third shift at two of its mills – one in Quesnel and the other in Fraser Lake. The company said the decision affects 60 workers in Fraser Lake and 75 in Quesnel.

Effective January, West Fraser will take about 300 million board feet out of production permanently by shutting down third shifts at two sawmills. That’s about 13% of West Fraser’s production in B.C.

“We think the majority of those folks are going to be able to land in other opportunities within our company in our other operations,” James Gorman, vice president of government and corporate relations for West Fraser Timber, told Business in Vancouver. “But at the end of the day, that’s still 135 positions that won’t exist in British Columbia in the forest industry going forward.”

Meanwhile, Conifex Timber Inc. (TSX:CFF), Tolko Industries, Canfor Corp. (TSX:CFP) and Interfor Corp. (TSX:IFP) have also announced temporary curtailments or reduced production at their sawmills in recent weeks.

Tolko announced last month that it was laying off 100 workers at its Quesnel sawmill, and on November 9 Conifex announced that it is temporarily curtailing its production at its Fort St. James sawmill for two weeks, which is affecting 180 to 200 workers.

Last month, Interfor announced it would reduce production at all three of its B.C. interior mills, and on November 1, Canfor announced it was curtailing production at all of its B.C. sawmills.

All companies say the curtailments are due to a lack of quality log supply and high log prices.

Meanwhile, Tolko recently announced it is taking a 50% stake in a lumbermill in Mississippi, and Canfor announced November 9 that it is buying a sawmill in Soiuth Carolina for $110 million.

It’s part of a long-term exodus that has seen B.C. based forestry companies investing in American sawmills, which have access to more timber than in B.C., and a long-term decline in timber in B.C.

Source: (Bussiness in Vancouver)

Russia boosts lumber exports in January-September 2018

Posted on by GWMI Admin

In January-September 2018, Russia increased its softwood lumber exports, both in value and in volume terms, indicate the statistics published by the Russian Federal Customs Office.

Thus, during the first nine months of the current year Russia exported 14.409 million tonnes of softwood lumber. That is 5.2% more than during the respective period of the last year. The total value of the exported Russian softwood lumber increased as well. In January-September 2018 it came up to $3.389 billion having gone up by 15.7%.

In their turn, Russian log exports went down in volume terms, but increased in value terms.

In January-September 2018, the Russian log exports came up to 13.356 million m3, having gone down by 6.4% year-on-year. The total value of the Russian logs exported in January-September 2018 came up to $1.087 billion, that is 1% more than during the respective period of 2017.

Singapores’s Sudima to build a $200 million wood processing complex in Russia’s Far East

Posted on by GWMI Admin

Singapore's KGK Sudima International Pte Ltd plans to open a high-tech wood processing complex in the Russian Far East region of Primorye in which it will invest more than $200 million.

The company signed a letter of intent on this investment project with the Far East Investment and Export Agency, the Far East Development Ministry's press service reported.

"The new enterprise will produce parquet, furniture boards, lumber and pellets," agency CEO Leonid Petukhov was quoted as saying.

India's KGK might become a co-investor in the project.

"A special project company has already been created in Primorye, KGK Sudima Evergreen, which plans to submit an application to JSC Far East Development Corporation by the end of 2018 to receive the status of a resident of the Free Port of Vladivostok," the ministry said.

The Far East Investment and Export Agency will support the project from the beginning to when production is launched. The agency is now "helping the investor in the selection of a site," Petukhov said. "An agreement has now been signed with state forestry industry research center GNC LPK on the development of a priority project in the area of forest development," he added.

Resolute cuts production capacity by 10%

Posted on by GWMI Admin

Montreal-based Resolute Forest Products Inc. has decided to curtail production at many of its sawmills during the fourth quarter.

According to a spokesman, the cuts equate to approximately 10% of the company's total lumber production capacity.

Resolute said the decision was the result of current lumber market conditions that have become increasingly challenging over the past several months, along with log transportation and cost issues caused by extremely wet weather in recent weeks.

Newsletter

Subscribe to our digital newsletter for your daily digest of essential news, views and analysis from the international wood industry delivered directly to your inbox.



0