Highly Anticipated LP Siding Plant Delayed In Minnesota

by | May 12, 2017 | News

Residents and officials eager for a new siding plant to open in northeast Minnesota are going to have to wait a bit longer. Louisiana-Pacific — which last year announced the purchase of a former mill in Cook, Minn., to expand its thriving engineered wood siding business — now says it will first convert a mill the company operates in British Columbia to make siding.

In a conference call with analysts, LP’s chief operating officer Brad Southern said it makes sense to develop the Canadian site first because of its proximity to the company’s West Coast customer base, and because the mill is already staffed and operating.

But that doesn’t mean a northern Minnesota plant is off the table. The Cook location and another site in Quebec “are likely options for future siding expansion,” said Southern. He added the company is “continuing our planning process for both locations with a focus on Cook.”

Still, the earliest the Cook mill would likely open is 2020, Southern told analysts. The company would first need to construct buildings and equip the entire mill. “The advantages of Cook, though, is it is a larger mill,” said Southern. “Cook gives us a lot of upside on volume. It’s a beautiful piece of land, a beautiful site to construct the mill and then expand it.”

State legislators and economic development officials on the Iron Range have had high hopes for the Louisiana-Pacific plant as something that could kickstart the region’s wood products industry.

From MPR News: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/05/08/hotly-anticipated-northern-minn-wood-siding-plant-delayed

Brian Luoma Picked To Lead Alabama’s Westervelt Company

by | Mar 22, 2017 | News

Brian Luoma Picked To Lead Alabama’s Westervelt Company

 

The Westervelt Company named Brian Luoma as President and CEO, succeeding Mike Case, who announced his retirement after more than 32 years with the company. Luoma will oversee Westervelt Lumber, Westervelt Renewable Energy, Westervelt Forest Resources, Westervelt Communities, Westervelt Ecological Services and Westervelt New Zealand.

Luoma most recently served as executive vice president and general manager, Siding, with Louisiana-Pacific Corp.

Jon Warner, Chairman of the Board at The Westervelt Co., based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, comments, “Brian’s proven leadership and vision will be essential in leading our company.”

“I am thrilled to join the Westervelt team,” Luoma says. “The company’s commitment to excellence and focus on sustainability are the driving forces behind 133 years of success.”

Since 1987, Luoma held roles of increasing responsibility with LP. Luoma graduated in Forestry from Humboldt State University in Arcata, California. He worked for LP while attending college, first as an assistant log scaler at the LP stud mill in Fort Bragg, California and then in the woods as a forestry technician. After graduating he worked for Simpson Timber in Korbel for a year before rejoining LP as timberlands manager in northern California. He then became wood procurement manager for LP’s Western Region. He later led LP’s Northern operations OSB group in Hayward, Wisconsin before moving to LP headquarters as head of forestry, wood procurement and logistics.

He advanced to LP’s vice president of Engineered Wood Products before becoming executive vice president and GM over LP Siding, based at headquarters in Nashville, Tennnessee.

Westervelt operates a high production, modernized southern yellow pine sawmill at Moundville, Alabama, a large industrial wood pellet plant in Aliceville, Alabama, and owns/manages 500,000 acres of timberland.

For more information on The Westervelt Company visit westervelt.com.

 

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Louisiana-Pacific Announces Mill Exchange To Increase Siding Capacity

by | Nov 2, 2016 | News

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LP) recently announced that it has reached an agreement with Norbord Inc. to exchange OSB mills in Quebec, Canada. LP will swap ownership of its Chambord, Quebec, mill for Norbord’s Val-d’Or, Quebec, mill. The asset exchange is expected to be complete in early November 2016.

This transaction, along with the recent acquisition of a former OSB site in Cook, Minnesota, is part of LP’s strategy to increase siding capacity, an area of the business that has delivered consistent sales growth over the past decade.

“The Canadian mill exchange, coupled with the recent Minnesota acquisition, provides us flexibility and increases our ability to optimize our capacity for sustained business growth,” LP Chief Executive Officer Curt Stevens said.

“We have seen tremendous growth in our siding business and anticipate this growth to continue as we look to meet increasing demand,” he said. “The aim of these transactions is to provide additional siding capacity by the end of 2018.”

LP’s immediate priority will be to conduct a detailed evaluation of the Cook site and Val-d’Or mill. The assessment will determine the operational feasibility, including access to timely and adequate wood supply, the work required to convert the sites into fully operational siding mills, as well as conversion costs and annual operating expenses.

From LP Corp.: https://investors.lpcorp.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=73030&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2217033

Louisiana-Pacific Building New Minnesota Plant

by | Jun 20, 2016 | News

The months-long mystery behind which home siding company would be receiving a $66 million subsidy package from the state has finally been made public. Louisiana-Pacific will construct a $440 million plant in Hoyt Lakes. This is the Nashville-based company’s second operation in the state (the other being in Two Harbors).

The Hoyt Lakes site will employ 250 people, amounting to roughly $264,000 in state funding per job created. The Duluth News Tribune notes that many of those employees will be loggers and felled tree transporters, a group of workers that has struggled to find employment following years of board plant closures and layoffs at paper mills in the area.

The new plant will also source its wood products from Minnesota. LP is currently estimating its take to be 800,000 cords per year (one cord equals 128 cubic feet of wood) or about 200 logging trucks each day.

Minnesota lawmakers began developing the public financing package for LP earlier in the year. Senator David Tomassoni, DFL-Chisholm, previously said at least Michigan and Canada were vying for the LP plant as well.

Funding for the project comes from a number of sources. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development will be kicking in $20 million from its 21st Century Minerals fund, while the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board will be contributing $16 million from its economic development trust fund. The final $30 million will come from state taxpayers in a 10-part, $3 million per year deal.

From Twin Cities Business: https://tcbmag.com/News/Recent-News/2016/June/Louisiana-Pacific-Is-Mystery-Company-Receiving-$66