International Forest Products Limited, also known as Interfor, has acquired four sawmills in Georgia as part of what President and CEO Duncan Davies called, “our strategy of adding capacity in attractive regional markets.”
On May 15, 2013, Interfor announced that it had reached an agreement with Keadle Lumber Enterprises in Thomaston, Georgia. The Keadle mill current produces 80 million board feet operating one shift. Plans for the mill include increasing kiln capacity and adding a second shift, thereby doubling output at the mill to 160 million board feet. The purchase is expected to close in the second quarter once the Board has approved the decision.
Interfor’s first foray into the southern yellow pine market occurred in March 2013, with the purchase of three mills in Georgia from Rayonier for $80 million. One of these, Eatonton, is 75 miles northeast of the Keadle mill and has a capacity of 75 million board feet annually.
Swainsboro, 130 miles southeast of Eatonton, currently has a production capacity of 125 million board feet. Recently, in a meeting with Emanuel County officials, Davies said that they would install a kiln at the mill by August and that the company’s goal was to add a second shift at the mill. The Baxley mill, which is 60 miles to the south of Swainsboro, has a production capacity of 160 million board feet.
Together, these purchases will give Interfor a solid footprint in the US South. With the planned expansions at all four of these locations, Interfor will increase its annual production capacity to more than 2 billion board feet.
Suz-Anne Kinney
Forest2Market: July 14, 2023
