The Bijie Dome made by the Calvert Company @calvertglulam.com
BRITISH COLUMBIA – Western Forest Products Inc. (TSX: WEF) announced that a wholly owned subsidiary of Western has entered into an agreement to acquire certain assets of Calvert Company, Inc. located in Washington State for consideration of US$12.0 million, including inventory of US$2.5 million, subject to a customary post-closing inventory adjustment.
Calvert is one of the oldest glulam manufactures in the U.S. and has more than 60 years of experience producing high quality glulam beams in multiple species, including Douglas fir, southern yellow pine and yellow cedar, for industrial, commercial and residential projects around the world. Calvert has manufacturing facilities in Washougal, Washington and Vancouver, Washington with a combined annual glulam capacity of approximately 35 million board feet on a two shift basis. Calvert’s operations employ approximately 60 employees and produced approximately 13 million board feet of glulam in 2021 on a single shift basis.
“We are excited to welcome Calvert’s employees to Western. This acquisition will help position Western to capitalize on the growing North American Mass Timber building market and is consistent with our strategy of moving up the product value chain and growing our portfolio of value added products,” said Don Demens, Western’s President and CEO. “We look forward to working with Calvert’s owner, Doug Calvert, who will be remaining with Western following the closing of the transaction in a consulting capacity. Doug’s strong relationships and expertise in glulam will be invaluable as we look to further grow the business.”
Mass Timber construction, which utilizes products such as glulam and cross laminated timber, represents a significant growth opportunity in North America. There are currently over 1,300 Mass Timber projects constructed, in progress or in the design phase in North America and third party research estimates 4.4 billion board feet of lumber demand from Mass Timber construction by 2035. In addition, Mass Timber is a natural, renewable, and sustainable building material, with a lighter carbon footprint than other construction materials.
The transaction will be financed with cash on hand, and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022. Completion of the transaction is subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. As part of the transaction, Western has created a new engineered wood subsidiary which will remain focused on further growth opportunities throughout the entire Mass Timber value chain.
