Strong Local Roots

Canfor’s rich history dates back to the 1930s, and we are always watching for ways to honour our deep community roots.

In 2016, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the opening of Northwood Pulp in Prince George, BC, and the 10th anniversary of our Houston, BC, pellet operation. Northwood, the second pulp mill to be built in Prince George, opened in 1966 and became part Canfor in 1999 when we acquired Northwood Inc. 

The pellet plant, a joint venture with Pinnacle Pellet and the Moricetown Indian Band, turns sawdust and planer shavings from our Houston sawmill into pellets that are sold to customers in North America, Europe and Asia.   

We also marked the 10th anniversary of the start of the expansion into the southern United States that has allowed us to diversify both products and markets. In March 2006, we finalized the acquisition of New South Companies Inc. operations in North and South Carolina. Since then we have acquired 10 operations across the US south, and 27% of our total lumber capacity, just over 1.6 billion board feet, is from the region. 

In December 2016, we opened our official Canfor Southern Pine headquarters in the historic Van Antwerp Building in Mobile, AL. Fred Stimpson, President of Scotch Gulf Lumber when we acquired it through a phased purchase in 2015, became President, Canfor Southern Pine, later that year. The Stimpson family has been part of the sawmilling business in Alabama for more than 100 years.

In addition to our company headquarters in Vancouver and the new US office in Mobile, we maintain regional offices in Prince George, BC, and in Myrtle Beach, SC. In April, Canfor and Canfor Pulp held annual general meetings in Prince George to acknowledge the importance of local communities to our company.

Canfor relies on local talent to lead our companies, manage our forest operations and operate our mills. Currently, all of our company officers are long-term residents of our operating regions – most were born and educated in British Columbia and Fred Stimpson comes from Mobile. Canfor Corp. and Canfor Pulp CEO Don Kayne is a 39-year veteran of the company, and Canfor Pulp President Brett Robinson has worked in Canfor’s pulp operations for the last 28 years. 

There are 11 individuals on the Canfor and Canfor Pulp boards of directors; 10 are located in British Columbia and one in South Carolina.