Roseburg Names Orozco To Direct Strategic Business

Roseburg Names Orozco To Direct Strategic Business

roseburg names orozco to direct strategic business

Roseburg has annouced that Nadine Orozco has been promoted to Director of Strategic Business Development. She has served as manager of strategic business development since 2022, and has been deeply involved in key company projects, including the recent sale of Roseburg’s Simsboro, La., particleboard plant to Kronospan and the company’s historic $700 million investment in Oregon manufacturing.

“Nadine has shown tremendous growth as a leader in her time at Roseburg. She understands our business, our culture, and our goals,” Roseburg Vice President of Corporate Strategy and External Affairs Eric Geyer says. “She has the knowledge and strategic mindset necessary to succeed in her new role. I am excited to see her continued growth and increased responsibility.”

Orozco will lead execution of Roseburg’s strategic initiatives to drive company growth, diversification, and profitability. She will facilitate internal and external teams to develop, evaluate and oversee projects including acquisitions and partnerships, while providing strategic analysis for the company’s executive team and Board of Directors.

Orozco joined Roseburg in October 2012, after earning her master’s degree in Wood Science and Engineering from Oregon State University. She holds a bachelor of science degree in Business Administration and Management from Northland College. During her time with Roseburg, she has held positions of increasing responsibility within manufacturing operations, sales and marketing, sustainability, corporate compliance, and business development.

Latest News

Roseburg Names Orozco To Direct Strategic Business

Roseburg has annouced that Nadine Orozco has been promoted to Director of Strategic Business Development. She has served as manager of strategic business development since 2022, and has been deeply involved in key company projects, including the recent sale of Roseburg’s Simsboro, La., particleboard plant to Kronospan and the company’s historic $700 million investment in Oregon manufacturing.

Hoffman Companies Acquires Besse Forest Products Group

The Hoffmann Family of Companies (HFOC), a Florida-based family-owned private equity firm, has acquired Besse Forest Products Group, the longstanding Michigan-based family-run company with 10 manufacturing facilities, including four sawmills, a lumber drying concentration yard, four veneer mills and a cut-to-size plywood mill.

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Kalesnikoff Announces New Mass Timber Plant

kalesnikoff announces new mass timber plant

Kalesnikoff Mass Timber announced it will build a $34 million mass timber facility in West Kootenays, British Columbia. It will create up to 90 jobs.

New and expanded products and services will include modular construction, prefabricated mass timber and light frame components, and custom installation-ready products. It will also increase Kalensnikoff’s glue laminated timber capacity.

“We have experienced consistently strong interest and demand,” says Chris Kalesnikoff, Chief Operating Officer of Kalesnikoff Mass Timber. “This additional offering of leading mass timber products and services for the North American construction industry will support mass timber buildings including student and workforce housing, prefabricated housing and other mass timber projects.”

Kalesnikoff’s initial Mass Timber facility, located in South Slocan, launched in 2019 with 60 jobs and now employs 160. The existing Kalesnikoff sawmill in Thrums will provide a continuous and secure local fiber supply.

Kalesnikoff is a fourth-generation, family-owned, West Kootenay based company founded 85 years ago. 

Latest News

Roseburg Names Orozco To Direct Strategic Business

Roseburg has annouced that Nadine Orozco has been promoted to Director of Strategic Business Development. She has served as manager of strategic business development since 2022, and has been deeply involved in key company projects, including the recent sale of Roseburg’s Simsboro, La., particleboard plant to Kronospan and the company’s historic $700 million investment in Oregon manufacturing.

Hoffman Companies Acquires Besse Forest Products Group

The Hoffmann Family of Companies (HFOC), a Florida-based family-owned private equity firm, has acquired Besse Forest Products Group, the longstanding Michigan-based family-run company with 10 manufacturing facilities, including four sawmills, a lumber drying concentration yard, four veneer mills and a cut-to-size plywood mill.

Find Us On Social

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The monthly Panel World Industry Newsletter reaches over 3,000 who represent primary panel production operations.

Subscribe/Renew

Panel World is delivered six times per year to North American and international professionals, who represent primary panel production operations. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.

Advertise

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Hoffman Companies Acquires Besse Forest Products Group

Hoffman Companies Acquires Besse Forest Products Group

Hoffman companies acquires besse forest products group

The Hoffmann Family of Companies (HFOC), a Florida-based family-owned private equity firm, has acquired Besse Forest Products Group, the longstanding Michigan-based family-run company with 10 manufacturing facilities, including four sawmills, a lumber drying concentration yard, four veneer mills and a cut-to-size plywood mill.

The transaction adds to HFOC’s vast portfolio, complementing its existing Ferche Millwork operations. With more than 2 million square feet of production facilities and a workforce of more than 1,400 people, the combined strength of Besse and Ferche positions HFOC as a significant player in the wood products manufacturing industry.

Besse Forest Products are located across northern Michigan and Wisconsin. The company was founded in 1966 and has remained 100% family-owned.

“We are excited to partner with Besse as they enter a new chapter under the Hoffmann Family of Companies umbrella,” says Geoff Hoffmann, Co-CEO of HFOC. “With the acquisition of Besse Forest Products Group, we’re not just expanding our footprint but building on a legacy that spans generations.”

Greg Besse, CEO and Owner of Besse Forest Products Group, expressed confidence in the acquisition, stating, “The decision to join forces with the Hoffmann Family of Companies was based on their exceptional brand and reputation as a well-run family business. We believe this partnership will not only modernize our operations but also ensure that our legacy continues to thrive.”

Greg Besse will remain as CEO and his son, Cain Besse, will serve as President.

The Hoffmann Family of Companies (HFOC) encompasses more than 100 national brands, employs 9,000 global employees with businesses in 30 countries and 250 locations. The HF Companies’ verticals include Aviation, Agriculture, Financial Services, Hospitality, Business & Professional Services, Industrial, Manufacturing, Marine, Media & Marketing, Real Estate and Transportation.

Since 1958, Ferche Millwork has provided high quality standard moldings and millwork, while headquartered in Rice, Minn.

 

Latest News

Roseburg Names Orozco To Direct Strategic Business

Roseburg has annouced that Nadine Orozco has been promoted to Director of Strategic Business Development. She has served as manager of strategic business development since 2022, and has been deeply involved in key company projects, including the recent sale of Roseburg’s Simsboro, La., particleboard plant to Kronospan and the company’s historic $700 million investment in Oregon manufacturing.

Hoffman Companies Acquires Besse Forest Products Group

The Hoffmann Family of Companies (HFOC), a Florida-based family-owned private equity firm, has acquired Besse Forest Products Group, the longstanding Michigan-based family-run company with 10 manufacturing facilities, including four sawmills, a lumber drying concentration yard, four veneer mills and a cut-to-size plywood mill.

Find Us On Social

Newsletter

The monthly Panel World Industry Newsletter reaches over 3,000 who represent primary panel production operations.

Subscribe/Renew

Panel World is delivered six times per year to North American and international professionals, who represent primary panel production operations. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.

Advertise

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Godfrey Forest Products Announces New OSB Mill For Maine

Godfrey Forest Products Announces New OSB Mill For Maine

By Rich Donnell

    Godfrey Forest Products, with multi-investor backing, has announced plans to build an 800MMSF annual production capacity brownfield oriented strandboard (OSB) plant in Jay, Maine, at the site of a paper mill known as the Androscoggin Mill, which closed in 2023. The company, led by John Godfrey, renown for his development of OSB plants since the early 1980s, hopes to gain necessary permitting within a year and begin construction thereafter. Jay is approximately 65 miles due north of Portland, Maine.
    The project announcement was held March 8 at the Androscoggin Mill, with Governor Janet Mills leading off. “I still remember how I felt in April 2020 upon hearing of the digester explosion, Mills said. “I was concerned of course about the safety of the employees, but also for the future of the mill and this community.”
She said it’s been a priority to bring business back into the community since the mill’s closing, and referred to the Godfrey OSB announcement as “one significant project” for this property, and cited Godfrey’s long and successful history with OSB project development. She said the mill would provide 125 jobs in addition to construction jobs.
State Senator Lisa Keim (R-Oxford) recalled how generations of family and friends had worked at the mill. “Seeing the paper mill go silent hit us all very hard,” she said. “The announcement today brings back hope and opportunity. Jay is going to be a mill town once again. It’s a revitalization.”
Godfrey said at age 75 he might have been inclined to retire, “but it’s so much fun building OSB mills, why not one more round?”
Born in Bangor, Maine, Godfrey said when heard of the problems at the paper mill and ultimate closure, he saw an opportunity to redirect some of the unused pine pulpwood tonnage into a facility with ready-made infrastructure such as utilities, railroad tracks, excellent Northeast markets for wood products, and he emphasized that labor with manufacturing experience was plentiful in the area.
Godfrey, speaking from where he expected the finishing line will be located, estimated two and a half years until the beginning of production—following environmental permitting, equipment selection, removing existing buildings, construction of the plant, equipment installation and startup.
Godfrey said wood products will help to alleviate the sting of lost pulp and paper manufacturing in the state. “Maine is devoid of pulp mills now. The amount of wood is considerable.” Environmentally speaking, he added that “building materials is the ultimate storage of carbon from the atmosphere. It’s basically locked up for good.”
Godfrey wouldn’t reveal the investment figure, but said it was in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and he noted that the first million had come from the Maine Technology Institute.
International Paper built the Androscoggin Mill in 1965 and sold it to Verso Paper in 2006, which sold it to Pixelle Specialty Solutions in 2020. An explosion in the pulp digester area in spring 2020 did major damage and the mill never recovered.
An investment partnership purchased the property in early 2024, from which Godfrey Forest Products purchased just shy of 100 acres.
In recent years Godfrey was on the cusp of building an OSB plant at a procured site in Winslow, Ariz., as part of the U.S. Forest Service 4 Forests Restoration Initiative (4FRI), which was intended to treat and improve forest health conditions on more than 2.5 million acres across four Arizona national forests while establishing wood products manufacturing and biomass processing infrastructure.  
But the Forest Service couldn’t piece the plan together and in 2021 canceled the bid-award phase, which included Godfrey’s bid for an OSB plant. In addition to a site for the plant, Godfrey had completed an engineering design, preliminary air work, and had a number of contractual relationships lined up.
    Educated at Harvard College and Harvard Business School, Godfrey’s career started in Maine with Great Northern Nekoosa where he held several manufacturing and financial positions, and oversaw timberlands. In 1980, he left GNN and formed Godfrey Forest Products to develop an OSB mill in northern Maine. The mill, at Houlton (New Limerick), was developed and built in a partnership with Louisiana-Pacific Corp. Shortly after startup in 1982, Godfrey sold his interest in the facility to L-P. He proceeded to develop and execute a plan for the first OSB mill in Europe, founding Highland Forest Products at Inverness, Scotland in 1983. He served as Managing Director and CEO of HFP through startup and into successful operation. After several years of operation, HFP was acquired by Norbord.
Godfrey then assembled an investment partnership to acquire a defunct particleboard mill at Miramichi, New Brunswick in 1994. He led the formation of Eagle Forest Products and Chatham Forest Products, which reconstructed the Miramichi mill into an updated OSB facility. The mill operated three years and was sold to MacMillan Bloedel.

Latest News

Roseburg Names Orozco To Direct Strategic Business

Roseburg has annouced that Nadine Orozco has been promoted to Director of Strategic Business Development. She has served as manager of strategic business development since 2022, and has been deeply involved in key company projects, including the recent sale of Roseburg’s Simsboro, La., particleboard plant to Kronospan and the company’s historic $700 million investment in Oregon manufacturing.

Hoffman Companies Acquires Besse Forest Products Group

The Hoffmann Family of Companies (HFOC), a Florida-based family-owned private equity firm, has acquired Besse Forest Products Group, the longstanding Michigan-based family-run company with 10 manufacturing facilities, including four sawmills, a lumber drying concentration yard, four veneer mills and a cut-to-size plywood mill.

Find Us On Social

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The monthly Panel World Industry Newsletter reaches over 3,000 who represent primary panel production operations.

Subscribe/Renew

Panel World is delivered six times per year to North American and international professionals, who represent primary panel production operations. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.

Advertise

Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative. Contact us today!

Boise Announces New Investments

boise announces new investments

Boise Cascade has announced new investments in Alabama and Louisiana in support of its engineered wood products (EWP) growth strategy.

In Alabama, Boise is adding I-joist production capabilities to its Thorsby EWP mill and converting a plywood layup line to a parallel laminated veneer line at the Chapman plywood facility. The Chapman investment adds important integration into the Boise’s EWP growth plans. In addition, the Chapman plywood facility extended employment opportunities to 50 of the 80 associates affected by the recently announced Chapman lumber operations curtailment.

At the Oakdale, La. facility, major projects planned include the upgrade and redesign of the log utilization center, a new veneer dryer and press, and modification of an existing veneer dryer. These investments are expected to take place over a two-year period.

                “We are looking forward to these major expansions and upgrades to further solidify our market position in EWP,” says Chris Seymour, SVP, Wood Products Manufacturing Operations. “We have great teams in the Southeastern U.S. and are pleased to further invest in our meaningful asset bases in Alabama and Louisiana.”

On a total company basis, Boise’s current estimate of capital expenditures for 2024 is $250 million to $270 million. This range includes the investments in EWP and spending on the previously announced greenfield distribution centers.

Latest News

Roseburg Names Orozco To Direct Strategic Business

Roseburg has annouced that Nadine Orozco has been promoted to Director of Strategic Business Development. She has served as manager of strategic business development since 2022, and has been deeply involved in key company projects, including the recent sale of Roseburg’s Simsboro, La., particleboard plant to Kronospan and the company’s historic $700 million investment in Oregon manufacturing.

Hoffman Companies Acquires Besse Forest Products Group

The Hoffmann Family of Companies (HFOC), a Florida-based family-owned private equity firm, has acquired Besse Forest Products Group, the longstanding Michigan-based family-run company with 10 manufacturing facilities, including four sawmills, a lumber drying concentration yard, four veneer mills and a cut-to-size plywood mill.

Find Us On Social

Newsletter

The monthly Panel World Industry Newsletter reaches over 3,000 who represent primary panel production operations.

Subscribe/Renew

Panel World is delivered six times per year to North American and international professionals, who represent primary panel production operations. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.

Advertise

Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative. Contact us today!

Hunt Modernizes Lathe Operations

hunt modernizes lathe operations

In a significant step toward modernizing their production line, Hunt Forest Products in Pollock, La. is receiving new lathe controls and BlockLogix optimization from USNR, as well as a Bosch valve upgrade to the lathe spindles and replacing the lower portion of the core drive. 

As one of USNR’s premier optimization systems, BlockLogix is designed to integrate seamlessly with other USNR upgrades and provide a 5-7% reduction in cycle time and a 2-5% recovery boost over other systems. BlockLogix offers faster, more efficient processing and fewer electronic components, making it easier to maintain.

The new Bosch valves can replace any existing valve, regardless of brand name. They’re high-response control valves with optimized spool positioning, allowing higher nominal flow ratings in all sizes. The improved dynamic response is well-suited for demanding closed-loop applications involving pressure, force, position, and velocity control.

“USNR is proud to supply these upgrades and work with Hunt Forest Products to improve their output and veneer quality,” the company states.

Latest News

Roseburg Names Orozco To Direct Strategic Business

Roseburg has annouced that Nadine Orozco has been promoted to Director of Strategic Business Development. She has served as manager of strategic business development since 2022, and has been deeply involved in key company projects, including the recent sale of Roseburg’s Simsboro, La., particleboard plant to Kronospan and the company’s historic $700 million investment in Oregon manufacturing.

Hoffman Companies Acquires Besse Forest Products Group

The Hoffmann Family of Companies (HFOC), a Florida-based family-owned private equity firm, has acquired Besse Forest Products Group, the longstanding Michigan-based family-run company with 10 manufacturing facilities, including four sawmills, a lumber drying concentration yard, four veneer mills and a cut-to-size plywood mill.

Find Us On Social

Newsletter

The monthly Panel World Industry Newsletter reaches over 3,000 who represent primary panel production operations.

Subscribe/Renew

Panel World is delivered six times per year to North American and international professionals, who represent primary panel production operations. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.

Advertise

Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative. Contact us today!