The Millar Western lumber mills in Whitecourt and Fox Creek are under new ownership.
On Mar. 1, 2022, Millar Western Forest Products announced they have completed the sale of their wood products assets to Canfor Corporation.
The deal includes the lumber and specialty lumber mills in Whitecourt, Fox Creek, and Acheson, and their associated woodlands operations and timber holdings.
In a statement, David Anders, President and Chief Executive Officer of Millar Western, says this sale is a good opportunity for all.
“We thank our friends and former employees for their outstanding service in the past and wish them continued success in the future,” says Anderson. “We look forward to working with them, and the rest of the Canfor organization, as industry partners in the years ahead.”
When the sale was first announced in Dec. 2021, Whitecourt Mayor Tom Pickard thanked Millar Western for being a strong community partner.
“The people at Millar do fantastic work, and we are hoping we can continue that same great work with Canfor,” said Pickard.
Millar Western is still involved in Whitecourt. They continue to own and operate their bleached chemi-thermochemanical pulp (BCTMP) mill. The sale, worth $420 million, was part of a corporate restructuring to focus on the pulp sector.
The Whitecourt, Fox Creek, and Acheson mills have a production capacity of 630 million board feet of lumber products, and employ around 550 people.
Meanwhile, Canfor President and Chief Executive Officer Don Kayne, is welcoming the Whitecourt and Fox Creek mills to the Canfor team.
“The additional manufacturing capacity in Alberta positions Canfor well to meet the growing demand of our customers for high-quality, sustainable wood products,” says Kayne in a statement.
Canfor owns a number of lumber mill operations across British Columbia and the United States. Before the acquisition of Millar Western’s assets, Canfor’s only Alberta-based lumber mill was in Grande Prairie.
Canfor is a division of the Jim Pattison Group, which also owns XM 105 FM.
