Rayonier Inc. has announced that Ashlee Townsend Cribb has resigned as Executive Vice President, Wood Products to accept a CEO opportunity with a privately-owned, specialty wood products manufacturer that Rayonier does not consider to be a competitor. Cribb will remain at the Rayonier until March 20, to assist with an orderly transition of her responsibilities.

“On behalf of our Board of Directors and the entire team at Rayonier, I want to thank Ashlee for her significant contributions to our Wood Products business since 2021, including her leadership through the recent merger of equals between Rayonier and PotlatchDeltic,” says Mark McHugh, President and CEO. “During Ashlee’s tenure, she has overseen significant operational improvements and developed a strong team of leaders in the Wood Products business, leaving it well positioned for the future. We wish Ashlee continued success in her future endeavors.”

Ryan Daniels, currently Senior Vice President, Operations of the Wood Products business, will assume leadership of the Wood Products business on an interim basis. Rayonier will conduct a search for a permanent successor, which may include internal and external candidates. Daniels has over 20 years of wood products manufacturing experience. Prior to joining PotlatchDeltic in 2023, he served in roles of increasing responsibility at several large-scale wood products manufacturing companies, including Weyerhaeuser, Georgia-Pacific, and Coastal Forest Resources Co. He holds a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering and an M.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Arkansas.

Following Eric Jaschke’s appointment to Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in December 2025, Vecoplan AG has also strengthened its Executive Board leadership with Dr. Ralf Guckert taking over as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Guckert is confident that the company is still on course for growth, and is focusing its strategy particularly on digitalisation and customer proximity.

 He has many years of experience in digitalisation topics in the industrial environment and in the strategic transformation of companies: “To future-proof Vecoplan AG, I intend to further develop our digitalisation concepts. Our customer markets are always at the forefront of our minds,” says Guckert.

He succeeds Werner Berens as CEO of Vecoplan AG, who led the company since 2012, and resigned from the Executive Board on January 30, 2026 for personal reasons.

Roseburg Forest Products has announced it is restarting construction activities at Dillard MDF, a modern new medium density fiberboard (MDF) plant at the heart of the company’s long-term growth strategy and its goal to become the leading producer of MDF products in the West.

As a cornerstone of Roseburg’s multi-year modernization and historic investment in southern Oregon, Dillard MDF will feature the latest generation Siempelkamp continuous press. This state-of-the-art technology converts wood residuals into high-density fiberboard (HDF) as well as traditional MDF panels and value-added products for construction, cabinetry and flooring markets. The new mill will be fully integrated into Roseburg’s Dillard complex to leverage its high-quality wood fiber and biomass energy production.

“We are very pleased to announce the restart of our Dillard MDF project,” says Stuart Gray, president and CEO of Roseburg Forest Products. “Dillard MDF plays a key role in our future. The plant will be one of the lowest cost producers in the world, which significantly enhances Roseburg’s long-term competitive position in composite panels in the West specifically and North America in general.”

Roseburg paused the project in early 2025 in response to uncertainty in the economy, volatile market conditions, and potential Oregon state policy shifts that would undermine the project’s viability.

Roseburg expects to employ more than 140 people at the new MDF plant when operations begin in late 2028. The fiberboard press at Dillard MDF will be installed on the same footprint as the first press supplied by Siempelkamp to Roseburg more than 50 years ago. In addition to its mill in Medford, Ore., Roseburg currently produces MDF products in El Dorado, Ark., and Pembroke, Ont., Canada.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service has announced up to $95 million in competitive grant funding through its Wood Innovations program for projects that advance innovative wood uses, expand wood-based construction, and grow U.S. wood energy markets and forest product processing capacity.

“A strong timber industry is essential for active forest management and the vitality of rural economies,” says Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz. “By supporting mills and markets that transform forest byproducts into valuable goods, we strengthen domestic manufacturing, reduce wildfire risks, and generate well-paying jobs across rural America.”

Funding is available through three Forest Service grant programs: the Wood Innovations Grant, Community Wood Grant, and Wood Products Infrastructure Assistance Grant programs. Together, these programs support projects that develop innovative wood products; increase the use of wood in commercial and residential construction; expand wood energy systems, and modernize, retrofit, or increase the capacity of wood products manufacturing facilities.

Eligible applicants include private businesses, for-profit and non-profit organizations, tribes, state and local governments, institutions of higher education, and public utility, fire, conservation, and school districts.

Businesses engaged in or supporting the forest products economy—which is vital to many rural and tribal communities—may apply for funding to expand manufacturing capacity. Final grant funding levels will be subject to the availability of funds. 

Visit www.fs.usda.gov.

Weyerhaeuser Co. hosted an Investor Day in December and outlined the company’s strategic growth plan and financial targets through 2030.

“Weyerhaeuser stands alone in the timberlands, wood products and land solutions space as the only large cap, integrated investment opportunity poised for accelerated growth,” says Devin Stockfish, President and CEO. “Over the next five years, we intend to catalyze growth initiatives across the entirety of our integrated portfolio to significantly grow the value and cash generation capabilities of our company and further strengthen our competitive position.”

The growth plan is expected to deliver $1.5 billion of incremental Adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) by 2030, measured against a 2024 baseline, and includes $1 billion of Adjusted EBITDA uplift from identified growth initiatives. The remaining $500 million of uplift reflects a modest improvement in product pricing during the period, which the company views as a conservative estimate. Identified growth initiatives span the entirety of Weyerhaeuser’s portfolio and include the following expected contributions above the 2024 baseline: • $440 million from Wood Products • $230 million from Strategic Land Solutions, including $170 million of uplift from Climate Solutions business • $180 million from enterprise initiatives • $150 million from Timberlands