West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (West Fraser), a diversified wood products company, engages in manufacturing, selling, marketing, and distributing lumber, engineered wood products, pulp, newsprint, wood chips, and other residuals and renewable energy.
As of December 31, 2024, the company’s business consisted of 32 lumber mills, 15 OSB facilities, 3 plywood facilities, 3 MDF facilities, 1 particleboard facility, 1 LVL facility, 1 veneer facility, and 2 pulp and paper mills.
Markets
West Fraser’s p...
West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (West Fraser), a diversified wood products company, engages in manufacturing, selling, marketing, and distributing lumber, engineered wood products, pulp, newsprint, wood chips, and other residuals and renewable energy.
As of December 31, 2024, the company’s business consisted of 32 lumber mills, 15 OSB facilities, 3 plywood facilities, 3 MDF facilities, 1 particleboard facility, 1 LVL facility, 1 veneer facility, and 2 pulp and paper mills.
Markets
West Fraser’s products are used in home construction, repair and remodelling, industrial applications, papers, and tissue. The company’s products are primarily sold to major retail chains, pro dealers, contractor supply yards and wholesalers, as well as industrial customers for further processing or as components for other products. Changes in new home construction activity levels in the U.S. are a significant driver of volatility in lumber and OSB demand.
In Canada, the company’s lumber operations are located in Western Canada and produce lumber made from spruce, pine, balsam fir (known as SPF) and other species, including Douglas fir and hemlock, as well as wood chips and other residuals. The vast majority of the company’s Canadian lumber production is SPF lumber. In the U.S., the company’s lumber mills are located in the southern U.S. and produce southern yellow pine (SYP) lumber, wood chips and other residuals. OSB operations are located in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, the U.S., the U.K. and Belgium.
The company’s products are sold in markets open to a number of companies with similar products.
Manufacturing Inputs
Fibre Supply
The company’s operations are dependent on the consistent supply of substantial quantities of wood fibre in various forms. The primary manufacturing facilities, which produce lumber, plywood, LVL and OSB, consume whole logs, while the pulp & paper, particleboard and MDF facilities mostly consume wood by-products in the form of wood chips (including from whole-log chipping operations), shavings and sawdust resulting from the production of lumber, plywood or LVL, as well as recycled materials. Many facilities also consume hog fuel and wood waste in energy systems.
In Canada, the company holds forest licences and agreements to source roundwood logs from Crown timberlands, which are supplemented by open market and private purchases, as discussed below under Canadian Forest Tenures. In the U.S., roundwood logs for both lumber and OSB are primarily sourced from private and industry-owned woodlands. In Europe, wood fibre is purchased from government and private landowners.
Canadian Forest Tenures
The company’s manufacturing operations located in Canada obtain fibre directly or indirectly from timberlands that are substantially all publicly owned. The right to harvest timber is acquired through provincially granted licences. Licences grant the holder the right to harvest up to a specified quantity of timber annually and either have a term of 10 to 25 years and are replaceable or have a shorter term but are not replaceable. Government objectives in granting licences include responsible management of timber, soils, wildlife, water and fish resources and the preservation of biodiversity and the protection of cultural values.
The company’s timber harvesting and reforestation operations are carried out by independent contractors under the supervision of its woodlands staff.
Residual Fibre Supply
In Canada, a majority of the company’s requirements for wood chips (residual and whole log), shavings, sawdust and hog fuel are supplied from its own operations, either directly or indirectly through trades. The company’s B.C. lumber mills and plywood plants produce a substantial portion of the fibre requirements of its energy operations, CPP, and MDF plant. In B.C. it utilizes pulp logs from its harvesting operations to produce whole log chips to supplement the supply of residual chips from its various lumber mills to support CPP. Changing government policies in B.C. are having an impact on the primary industry and the subsequent production of residual fibre for pulp and energy operations. Although still too early to estimate what the impacts on its operations will be, there is intense competition for residual fibre supply across the interior of B.C. and it may experience shortages.
The Alberta MDF plant obtains its fibre from the adjacent Blue Ridge lumber mill and other lumber mills in the area. The company supplies fibre to the Hinton pulp mill under a long-term agreement with Mondi, via residuals from its Alberta lumber mills and pulp logs from its Alberta harvesting. Additionally, the company has a long-term agreement to supply fibre to the Quesnel River Pulp facility operated by Millar Western Forest Products. The fibre requirements of the company’s 50%-owned newsprint mill are met through log for chip arrangements using logs harvested from the newsprint mill’s tenure and chips supply from its lumber mill in Blue Ridge, with incremental supply coming from its Slave Lake veneer and Sundre sawmill operations, as well as from chip purchase agreements.
The majority of the wood chips produced by the company’s the U.S. lumber mill operations are sold to pulp mills at market prices pursuant to long-term contracts. The company’s European particleboard facilities source recycled fibre from third party suppliers and its European MDF facilities source wood chips from third party lumber mills in the U.K.
Fibre Consumption
The company accesses the majority of these requirements from quota-based tenures and the balance is typically acquired from third parties holding short or long-term timber harvesting rights, including independent logging contractors, Indigenous groups, communities and woodlot owners.
The company’s Canadian OSB operations, if operating at the capacities described herein, would consume approximately 4.7 million m3 of hardwood logs (deciduous) per year. The company’s volume requirements are largely filled within its quota-based tenures, consumption rights or wood guarantees with the balance purchased on a competitive market-based system.
The company’s U.S. operations, which produce both SYP lumber and OSB, if operating at the capacities described herein, would consume approximately 19.9 million tonnes of softwood logs per year. The majority of the company’s volume requirements are purchased on the open market, with the balance under long-term supply contracts and/or timber deeds. Open market purchases come principally from timber real estate investment trusts, timberland investment management organizations, and private landowners.
The company’s U.K. and European operations, which produce OSB, particleboard, MDF and related value-added products, if operating at the capacities described herein, would consume approximately 2.6 million m3 of fibre per year, consisting of softwood and hardwood logs, residual chips and recycled fibre.
Forestry Certification
West Fraser holds third party verified sustainable forest management and fibre sourcing certification from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) program, and chain-of-custody certificates from SFI, and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). In addition, West Fraser holds chain of custody and Controlled Wood certification from the Forest Stewardship Council.
Resin and Wax
The manufacturing inputs for OSB, plywood, MDF, LVL and particleboard include resin and/or wax which are sourced through outside suppliers with prices for the underlying feedstocks based on global indices. These feedstocks are widely-used industrial chemicals derived from oil and gas, such as benzene, phenol and methanol.
Seasonality
Log inventory is typically built up in the northern regions of North America and Europe during the winter to sustain the company’s lumber and EWP production during the second quarter (year ended December 31, 2024) when logging is curtailed due to wet and inaccessible land conditions. This inventory is generally consumed in the spring and summer months.
Environmental Attributes of Wood Products and Minimization of Waste
Wood products have three beneficial roles in the carbon cycle: as a store of carbon, as an alternative to fossil fuel-based materials, and for generating carbon-neutral energy. West Fraser is in the process of updating its calculation of Forest Carbon Inventory, which includes a new methodology as described in the evolving GHG protocol’s Land Sector and Removals guidance for calculating harvested wood product carbon storage.
West Fraser actively participates in numerous forestry sector and local associations. The company supports climate-smart and green building initiatives through its membership in the Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) to increase market demand for wood products. The SLB, through programs, such as WoodWorks and ThinkWood, supports initiatives that promote the benefits and encourage the use of softwood lumber products in outdoor, residential and non-residential construction.
The company’s lumber, OSB, particleboard, plywood, MDF and LVL products are backed by Life Cycle Assessments (LCA)’s, environmental product declarations (EPD) and EPD transparency briefs that support its increased use in lower carbon building construction. West Fraser’s certified wood products are eligible for points in one of the most widely used green building rating systems globally, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), sponsored by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).
The company’s high-efficiency primary manufacturing recovers raw materials for a range of valuable secondary products. The company maximizes its product utilization and minimize the waste and material sent to landfill through innovations to its production process to use more of wood residuals, recovering them for value-added products and renewable energy generation. Secondary products include: sawdust and shavings are used in its MDF plants or are transformed into fuel and energy to run mill operations; wood chips and the wood cores from its plywood and veneer operations are used in pulping operations; and heat, steam, gases and biomass liquids (such as black liquor) that develop during its manufacturing processes are captured to generate bioenergy in its mills; and bark and wood residuals are used as fuel in its energy systems.
SBTi
Within the jurisdictions that the company operates, some of these initiatives regulate and/or tax the production of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. In response, West Fraser developed plans to achieve near-term greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions across all its operations located in the United States, Canada, U.K. and Europe. In the first quarter of 2022, it joined the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) and established specific science-based targets to achieve near-term greenhouse gas reductions across all of its operations located in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., and Europe. In April 2023, the SBTi completed its validation of the science-based targets the company sets.
Umber
Sales
Lumber produced at the company’s Canadian lumber mills and sold to North American customers is marketed and sold from its sales office in Quesnel, B.C. while sales to offshore markets are made from its export sales office in Vancouver, B.C. Offshore sales activities are complemented by a customer service office in Japan. Lumber produced at its U.S. lumber mills is marketed and sold from its sales office in Memphis, Tennessee. From time to time, the company purchases lumber for resale in order to meet requirements of customers.
In 2024, sales of lumber were made to customers in the U.S. and Canada and to customers offshore, predominantly in Japan and China. Most lumber shipments to North American customers by the company’s Canadian operations were made by rail and the balance by truck. Lumber sales to North American customers by its U.S. operations were either customer pick up or delivered by truck and the balance by rail. Offshore shipments from both Canada and the U.S. were made through various public terminals in bulk or container vessels.
Shipments and sales of the company’s lumber products can be impacted by seasonal influences. Shipments from the company’s Western Canadian mills can be affected by winter weather that affects rail and other transportation services. In the summer months, during fire season, logging, manufacturing and transportation can all be affected by wildfire activity or by evacuation alerts or orders in regions where it operates. Operations in the U.S. South can be affected by hurricanes and other extreme weather conditions. Home construction activity which significantly influences the demand for the company’s products has historically been higher in the first half of the year and experiences a seasonal slowdown in the third quarter. A significant portion of its SYP products are used in treated wood applications and demand for these products is often highest in anticipation of spring and summer construction activity.
Softwood Lumber Dispute
As of December 31, 2024, the company had 2 lumber mills and two wood treating facilities at its Sundre and Cochrane, Alberta lumber mills. The company’s Canadian lumber mills, of which five are in B.C. and another seven are in Alberta, produce primarily SPF lumber of various grades and dimensions, as well as small quantities of lumber from other wood species, which the company includes in reported SPF production and shipments. The company’s 20 U.S. lumber mills produce SYP lumber of various grades and dimensions.
North America Engineered Wood Products
Sales
The company’s NA EWP segment includes its North American OSB and Canadian plywood, LVL and MDF products. OSB and plywood are marketed from its sales office in Toronto, Ontario, while its LVL and MDF products are marketed from its sales office in Quesnel, B.C.
In 2024 most of the company’s North American OSB was sold to customers in the U.S., with the remaining production sold to Canadian customers and exported to Japan and China. Substantially all of the company’s plywood was sold to customers in Canada and its MDF and LVL was sold to customers in both the U.S. and Canada. Shipments from its Canadian mills are made primarily by rail and from its U.S. OSB mills primarily by truck.
The company’s OSB products are used primarily for sheathing, flooring and roofing in the construction of new homes, the renovation and repair of existing structures and for use in industrial applications. NA OSB products are marketed under the following brand names: Durastrand pointSIX, Pinnacle and Stabledge (premium flooring), TruFlor pointSIX and TruFlor (commodity flooring), Rimboard, SteadiTred (industrial), QuakeZone, Windstorm, TallWall and Trubord (wall sheathing) and SolarBord (radiant barrier sheathing), Trubord (roof sheathing), TruDeck (flat roof sheathing for large industrial/commercial buildings), StableDeck and StableWall (utility trailer floors and walls), DuraSmart (engineered wood core for hardwood flooring), Stable RV (floor, roof and slide-outs in recreational vehicles) and NorCore (core for industrial applications).
Canadian MDF products are marketed under the brand names Ranger, WestPine, and EcoGold both from the company’s sales office and through distributors.
Operations
The company’s NA EWP OSB operations include 11 multi-opening presses and 3 continuous presses. Continuous press technology allows for the production of OSB in non-standard sizes and with specialized performance characteristics.
The company’s NA EWP operations also include three plywood mills that primarily produce standard softwood sheathing plywood, two MDF mills, each with the flexibility to manufacture varying thicknesses and sizes, an LVL mill, and a veneer mill that produces veneer for use in its Edmonton plywood mill.
The company maintains variable operating schedules and do not adjust its production capacities described above to reflect curtailments unless such curtailment is considered to be permanent in nature.
Pulp & Paper
Sales
Pulp is marketed out of the company’s sales office in Vancouver, B.C. Most of the company’s sales for NBSK in 2024 were to customers in Asia (predominantly China) with some products shipped to the U.S. and other offshore customers. Shipments within North America were primarily by rail and those to offshore customers were by rail and truck to Vancouver, B.C. and then by bulk or container vessels.
Operations
NBSK is produced at CPP and is used by paper manufacturers to produce a variety of paper products, including tissues and printing and writing papers. Newsprint is sold to various publishers and printers in North America and delivered by rail and truck.
Europe Engineered Wood Products
Sales
The company’s EU EWP segment includes OSB, particleboard, MDF and related value-added products that are marketed from its sales office in Cowie, Scotland. The company’s OSB is sold primarily to customers in the U.K., Germany, BeNeLux, France and Scandinavia while its particleboard, MDF and related value-added products are sold primarily to customers in the U.K. The company’s products sold within the U.K. and within continental Europe are shipped by truck and rail, with deliveries to BeNeLux and France also made by vessels, while its products sold to Scandinavia are shipped exclusively by vessel.
The company’s OSB and particleboard are used primarily in sheathing, flooring and other construction applications. MDF applications include cabinet doors, mouldings and interior wall paneling. The company’s European panel products are sold under the trademarks SterlingOSB Zero (OSB), CaberFloor (particleboard), and CaberMDF (MDF).
Operations
All of the company’s EWP mills in Scotland and Belgium utilize continuous press technology.
History
West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. was founded in 1955.
