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West Fraser’s Chambord OSB mill completes commissioning

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. announced today operational updates on its Dudley, Ga., lumber mill and Chambord, Que., oriented strand board (OSB) mill, as well as the filing of a preliminary short form base shelf prospectus. West Fraser further announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Norbord Inc. has made an application to cease to be a reporting issuer in Canada.

Operational updates

Progress on the company’s new lumber manufacturing complex in Dudley remains on track with management’s initial expectations. Substantial portions of the new mill are being commissioned and are ramping up, with the new site expected to be fully operational by the end of the second quarter of 2021. Operations at the legacy site will be wound down by the end of the second quarter. When completed and fully ramped up, annual production capacity at the site will increase by 170 million board feet to 270 million board feet, expected to be achieved over the next several years. The Dudley site represents the second full site modernization in the U.S. south by the company since 2017.

The company’s OSB mill in Chambord has completed commissioning and panels are now being produced and shipped to customers. The company expects to obtain APA–The Engineered Wood Association certification of Chambord’s commodity OSB grades within the coming weeks. The Chambord mill has started the ramp up towards its stated annual production capacity of 550 million square feet (3/8-inch basis), which typically takes 18-24 months. After significant re-investment and with a strong available labour force and committed wood supply in the region, the Chambord mill is expected to be among the company’s lowest-cost OSB operations once fully ramped up.

“The teams at Dudley and Chambord have been working safely and diligently to modernize both operations, with Chambord now ready to help meet our OSB customers’ needs in time for the critical spring building season,” said Ray Ferris, West Fraser’s president and CEO.

To read the full press release, click here.