Chesterfield Lumber acquired by Canadian forestry giant

Thursday, 20 September 2007

By Kristen Poland DARLINGTON – Chesterfield Lumber Co. will sell the family-owned company to Canadian forestry forerunner Canfor Corp. for $18 million, according to an announcement released by Canfor. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2007. Prior to cutting the deal with Canfor, Chesterfield Lumber Co. was the largest privately owned sawmill in South Carolina. It is 127th largest softwood mill in the United States, with an annual capacity of 140 million board feet of southern yellow pine. The mill is located between two Canfor-owned mills in Conway and Camden. Canfor has interest in 33 forest-product plants in British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, Washington state and North and South Carolina. The company is the largest producer of softwood lumber in Canada while also producing oriented strand board, plywood, remanufactured lumber products and specialized wood products. Canfor also owns a 50.2% interest in Canfor Pulp Limited Partnership, which is one of the largest producers of northern softwood kraft pulp in Canada and a leading producer of high performance kraft paper. Chesterfield Lumber Co. was founded in South Carolina in 1939 by J.E. Triplett and later moved to Monroe, N.C. In 1951, the company relocated to its current location. Third- and fourth-generation members of the Triplett family now run the mill. The sawmill uses between 80 and 100 truckloads of logs per day. Most of this is used to produce framing lumber, but top quality logs are turned into flooring and other interior products.