Conifex Timber increases capacity by 50% with acquisition of US South sawmills

Conifex Timber, publicly listed softwood forest products company operating in the Northern Interior region of British Columbia, Canada, has completed the previously announced acquisition of the Suwannee sawmill in Cross City, Florida and the Caddo River sawmill in Glenwood Arkansas, USA.

The company says the two mills have a combined dimension lumber capacity of 370 million board feet and will triple its U.S. southeast capacity.

Conifex says the mills have seen recent upgrades and modernization, and are complimentary to its sawmill in El Dorado, Ark.

The purchase comes as lumber producers benefit from elevated prices buoyed by rising U.S. housing starts, tight supply and softwood lumber duties applied by the United States government.

Canfor Corp. announced in February that it was also expanding capacity in the U.S. southeast with the construction of a $155-million sawmill in Washington, Ga.