CHIBOUGAMAU, QC, Oct. 16, 2024 /CNW/ - Chantiers Chibougamau, a family-owned business that has been manufacturing and marketing forest products since 1961 with 1,500 men and women across Quebec, has entered into an agreement with Interfor Corporation to acquire all the company's Quebec operations, including the Matagami and Val-d'Or sawmills and related forestry operations, and the Sullivan plant in Val-d'Or specializing in bed frames.
Following the historic fires of summer 2023 and the addition of forest caribou protection measures, while a moratorium on logging three times the area of the Island of Montreal has already been in effect for 10 years around the enclosure protecting the Val-d'Or herd, wood available for harvest has become scarce in this area. The transaction will enable Chantiers Chibougamau to secure and integrate a greater proportion of material into all processing activities, from construction materials to kraft pulp and energy.
Interfor's operations in Québec are diverse. They are currently run by approximately 300 employees who will join Chantiers Chibougamau upon completion of the transaction. Matagami handles forestry operations, as well as wood sawing and drying. Val–d'Or carries out forestry, sawing, value-added products like bed frames, drying, planing, logistics and several administrative tasks.
Wood chips resulting from sawing in these plants are already largely integrated into the Nordic Kraft industrial complex in Lebel-sur-Quévillon, also owned by Chantiers Chibougamau. This was also their historical reality until 2005, when they were all owned by Domtar, which also operated the pulp mill.
"As we sign this agreement, our goal is to preserve as much of the historical activities we are integrating while safeguarding our current operations and teams in Béarn, La Sarre, Landrienne, Chibougamau, and Lebel-sur-Quévillon. However, we remain mindful of the wood supply shortage affecting all the sawmills we operate. We will conduct a full review of all activities covered by the transaction after closing, and final plans can only be established at that time."
"We aim for this acquisition to align with our growth path since 1961, striving to become stronger for future generations while maintaining a human-centered approach. We acknowledge that it may come to a surprise to many for us to purchase plants at a time when several are closing. We have the ability to make decisions today that will impact the decades to come. We know that it is a privilege to be able to process at least 600,000 more cubic metres of wood annually and to open a new chapter with 300 men and women who already have strong skills in wood recovery. In the midst of disruptions, this acquisition renews our confidence in our business of cutting and transforming trees to meet the needs of populations."
- Frédéric Verreault, Executive Director, Corporate Development
The transaction, estimated at a total of $30 million, is subject to approval by the Competition Bureau Canada and is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
Post-Closing Highlights
- 1,800 men and women in the workforce;
- Processing capacity of more than 3.5 M cubic metres of timber for the annual production of more than 850 M pmp of timber, wood that would allow the construction of more than 55,000 single-family homes per year;
- North American presence in engineered timber with I-beams, glued-laminated timber and crosslaminated timber in North America through the Nordic structures business unit, plus bed frames;
- 300,000 tonnes of Northern bleached softwood Kraft (NBSK);
- Nearly 40 MW of renewable energy.
Chantiers Chibougamau, a family-owned company, has been producing and selling highly competitive forest products since 1961. More than 1,500 people work at its forest products plants in Chibougamau, Béarn, Landrienne and La Sarre, at its Nordic Kraft mill in Lebel-sur-Quévillon and as part of its engineering and project management team at Nordic Structures in Montreal. Alongside kraft pulp, lumber, and renewable energy, Nordic Structures' engineered timber holds a significant position in the North American market, with over 3,500 solid wood construction projects.
SOURCE Chantiers Chibougamau Ltée
Information: Louis-Martin Leclerc, [email protected], Cell phone: (418) 693-2425
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