Largest OSB Mill in North America on Track for Startup Fall 2005

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). The largest oriented strand board (OSB) mill in North America, and possibly in the world, is on track to produce its first board in September 2005. Owned by Canfor Corporation (TSE:CFP)(Vancouver, British Columbia) and Louisiana Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX) (Nashville, Tennessee), in a limited partnership, Canfor-LP OSB (Fort Saint John, British Columbia), the new plant is being constructed on a 228-acre site in Fort Saint. John and represents an investment of over $200 million. At full production, the plants annual output is expected to be approximately 820 million square feet of panel.

As early as August 2000, Industrialinfo.com released a project report detailing plans by Slocan Forest Products Limited and Louisiana Pacific (LP) Corporation, the original project developers, to build a 700 million square foot per year OSB mill on the same site. The project progressed slowly, as LP embarked on an 18-month restructuring plan, and Canfor completed the acquisition of Slocan.

By the spring of 2004, site preparation was underway, and by the following fall, the building was enclosed, allowing construction to continue indoors during the harsh winter months. The heart of the mill is a Siempelkamp (Germany) 12-opening multi-daylight press with nominal hot-platen dimensions of 12 feet x 34 feet with a weight of 3,600 tons. Most of the key production equipment, including the press, which usually requires sixteen months lead time, are on site and being installed.

CPM Consultants Incorporated (Vancouver, British Columbia) is serving as the lead engineer for the project and construction services are being provided by local and regional contractors.

Canfor is a leading integrated forest products company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company is the largest producer of softwood lumber and one of the largest producers of northern softwood kraft pulp in Canada. Canfor also produces kraft paper, plywood, remanufactured lumber products, OSB, hardboard paneling, and a range of specialized wood products, including baled fiber and fiber mat at facilities located in British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec.

Founded in 1973, Louisiana Pacific Corporation is a leading manufacturer of building materials in North America, with facilities throughout the United States, Canada, and in Chile. Louisiana Pacific has more than 40 manufacturing facilities in North America and is the largest producer of OSB products in the world, with around six billion feet produced annually.

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