Free Press

Oct 05 2005

Prince George-based Brink Forest Products Ltd. announced it has purchased Palliser Lumber Sales Ltd. in Crossfield, Alta. Monday.

The two companies collectively have nearly 500 employees and produce 500 million board feet a year of remanufactured wood products.

"Hands down we are the largest secondary [wood] manufacturer in Canada and one of the largest in North America," Brink Forest Products founder and president John Brink said. "We are a company that always looks at opportunities to grow. Palliser was one of those opportunities that came to my attention. It is absolutely a perfect fit with our current operations."

Brink Forest Products and Palliser Lumber Sales are well-suited to each other and have a similar background he said. Both were small start-ups that have expanded dramatically over the last 25 to 30 years since they were founded.

Palliser Lumber Sales will continue to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brink Forest Products, Brink said, but the two companies will work together to achieve economies of scale.

"We simply have more size and that is an advantage in terms of marketing and product development," Brink said. "Things we used to have to fund separately, now we can do together."

The addition of Palliser Lumber Sales to the Brink Group of Companies will work to serve customers of both businesses better, he said.

Brink said the companies will continue to aggressively pursue markets in both the primary and secondary forestry sectors.

This announcement comes only months after Brink announced a major expansion of the company's facilities in Prince George and Houston - including a new sawmill to open in Prince George in the near future.

The acquisition of Palliser Lumber Sales will link Brink's strong base in northwest B.C. to the industry in Alberta.

"This is something that has been working out for a long time," Brink said. "It's absolutely critical for the growth of the company."