Chantiers Chibougamau to acquire Béarn and La Sarre sawmills from GreenFirst Forest Products
by CM staff
The 320 people who work for GreenFirst Forest Products in Quebec today would become part of the Chantiers Chibougamau team after the transaction closes.
CHIBOUGAMAU — Chantiers Chibougamau entered into an agreement with GreenFirst Forest Products to acquire all of the company’s Quebec operations, namely the La Sarre and Béarn sawmills and related forestry operations.
Formerly owned by Tembec and then by RYAM-Rayonier as of 2017, these two mills, which are part of Quebec’s forestry heritage, have been owned by GreenFirst Forest Products since August 2021. The 320 people who work for GreenFirst Forest Products in Quebec today would become part of the Chantiers Chibougamau team after the transaction closes.
The acquisition of GreenFirst’s operations is in line with Chantiers Chibougamau’s desire to consolidate its existing operations and to continue to increase the group’s autonomy and resilience to better deal with fluctuations in the wood industry.
The core of the organization, based in Chibougamau, will be able to count on more high-performance lumber for engineered wood, kraft pulp production at the Nordic Kraft plant in Lebel-sur-Quévillon will benefit from greater stability of its long-term chip supplies, while the team at Scierie Landrienne and those at the two Abitibi-Témiscamingue plants will benefit from the addition of everyone’s talents and skills.
“This transaction is consistent with our nearly 60 years of existence, guided by increasing our autonomy in all our activities,” said Frédéric Verreault, Executive Director, Corporate Development. “We are not looking to expand for the sake of growth, but to make each of the links in the chain that we make up stronger. We are also proceeding with this transaction because we firmly believe in the relevance and future of cutting and processing trees in Quebec in the long term, to meet the needs of the fight against climate change through our products.”
