Columbia Forest Products Timeline
Klamath Hardwoods hardwood plywood mill started with 43 employees.
Klamath Hardwoods sold to Columbia Plywood Corporation.
Columbia Plywood Corporation purchased Indian Head hardwood veneer operations in Presque Isle, Maine and Newport, Vermont.
Columbia Corporation sold to the current owners (ESOP), who changed the name to Columbia Forest Products.
Built the hardwood plywood manufacturing plant in Old Fort, North Carolina.
Acquired two hardwood plywood plants in Chatham, Virginia and Trumann, Arkansas.
- Acquired Laminated Products Division in Thomasville, North Carolina.
- Acquired hardwood veneer manufacturing mill, Rutherglen, Ontario, Canada.
- Acquired half-round slicing operation in New Freedom, Pennsylvania.
Built Craigsville, West Virginia poplar core veneer plant.
- Acquired two hardwood plywood plants in Danville, Virginia and DeQueen, Arkansas.
- Acquired two hardwood plywood plants in Canada – Hearst, Ontario and St. Casimir, Quebec.
- Converted Laminated Product Division to Columbia Flooring.
- Acquired hardwood plant in Cuthbert, Georgia.
- Purchased the veneer raised panel and door insert plant, Columbia Wood Components, Corpus Christi, Texas.
- Launched corporate website.
Closed DeQueen, AR, hardwood plywood plant.
- Columbia Flooring subsidiary converted Danville plywood plant to produce engineered hardwood flooring; acquired equity position in Arkansas-based Century Flooring.
- Closed New Freedom, PA, slicing plant.
- Expansions underway at Trumann, Arkansas; Craigsville, West Virginia; Klamath Falls, Oregon; and Hearst, Ontario, Canada hardwood plywood plants.
- Acquired hardwood veneer manufacturing mill, Mellen, Wisconsin.
- Sold Thomasville, NC, laminate flooring plant to Belgium-based Unilin.
- Sold Corpus Christi, TX, veneer raised panel and door insert plant.
- Partnered with West Virginia-based International Industries in constructing Holden, WV, solid-strip hardwood flooring plant.
- Closed Manchester, KY, plywood plant.
- Acquired Nipigon, Ontario, Canada, hardwood plywood underlayment plant.
Acquired Millwood Specialty Flooring (solid strip hardwood flooring), Ellijay, Georgia; completed equity buyout of Century Flooring, Melbourne, Arkansas.
Acquired McMinnville Manufacturing Company (solid strip hardwood flooring), McMinnville, Tennessee; completed equity buyout of Appalachian Precision Hardwood Flooring and Appalachian Custom Dry Kilns, Holden, West Virginia.
Sold Columbia Flooring division to Mohawk Industries.
Corporate office relocated to Greensboro, NC; Brad Thompson named CEO.
35 million panels made with PureBond technology milestone met.
Over 50 years of experience
Founded in 1957, Columbia Forest Products is North America's largest manufacturer
of hardwood plywood and hardwood veneer products. Columbia's decorative interior
veneers and panels are used in high-end cabinetry, fine furniture, architectural
millwork and commercial fixtures.
Columbia's products are sold through a network of wholesale distributors, mass merchandisers
and original equipment manufacturers from three distinct business units: plywood,
veneer and imports.
Hardwood Plywood
Columbia maintains a strong market presence in every plywood species, core and size
category, including veneer core, medium density fiberboard (MDF), combination core
and particleboard core. Wood species include ash, birch, cherry, hickory, maple,
red oak, alder, walnut and many others.
In 1999, Columbia's Klamath Falls, Oregon, plant began producing its plywood using
logs harvested from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified forestland. Today,
all of Columbia's plywood and veneer mills hold FSC chain of custody certified by
SmartWood, a not-for-profit subsidiary of the Rain Forest Alliance. By buying products
with an FSC label you are supporting the growth of responsible forest management
worldwide.
Hardwood Veneer
Columbia veneer is created using Northern Appalachian hardwoods such as birch, red
oak, maple, ash, poplar, cherry, hickory, pine, walnut and others. Columbia's rotary
cut veneer ranges in thickness from 1/30 to 1/42 inches and is supplied throughout
the decorative plywood, furniture, cabinetry, door and profile-wrap industries.
Imports
To complement Columbia's domestic production, the company's international division
began importing hardwood plywood in 1995. With a wide selection of imported panel
products from Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Africa and countries throughout South
America and Europe, inventories are maintained regionally at strategic North American
ports and Columbia plant sites.
