Weyerhaeuser
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The Weyerhaeuser Company (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) is an American timberland company which owns nearly Template:Convert of timberlands in the U.S., and manages an additional Template:Convert of timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada.<ref name="Weyerhaeuser-Timber-Company-Feb-2018-10-K">Template:Cite web</ref> The company has manufactured wood products for over a century.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT).<ref name="Weyerhaeuser-Timber-Company-Feb-2018-10-K"/>
History
Template:Multiple issues In 1900, after years of successful Mississippi River-based lumber and mill operations with Frederick Denkmann and others, Frederick Weyerhäuser moved west to fresh timber areas and founded the Weyerhäuser Timber Company. Fifteen partners and Template:Convert of Washington timberland were involved in the founding,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the land was purchased from James J. Hill of the Great Northern Railway.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1929, the company built what was then the world's largest sawmill in Longview, Washington. Weyerhaeuser's pulp mill in Longview, which began production in 1931, sustained the company financially during the Great Depression. In 1959, the company eliminated the word "Timber" from its name to better reflect its operations. In 1965, Weyerhaeuser built its first bleached kraft pulp mill in Canada. Weyerhaeuser implemented its High Yield Forestry Plan in 1967 which drew upon 30 years of forestry research and field experience. It called for the planting of seedlings within one year of a harvest, soil fertilization, thinning, rehabilitation of brushlands, and, eventually, genetic improvement of trees. In 1975 the company bought the 3,200 acres of land of the Northwest Landing and developed the town of DuPont, Washington using a New Urbanism model.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Weyerhaeuser consolidated its core businesses in the late 1990s and ended its services in mortgage banking, personal care products, financial services, and information systems consulting. Weyerhaeuser also expanded into South America, Australia, and Asia. In 1999, Weyerhaeuser purchased MacMillan Bloedel Limited, a large Canadian forestry company. Then in 2002 after a protracted hostile buyout, the company acquired Willamette Industries, Inc. of Portland, Oregon.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> On August 23, 2006, Weyerhaeuser announced a deal which spun off its fine paper business to be combined with Domtar, a $3.3 billion cash and stock deal leaving Weyerhaeuser stockholders with 55 percent ownership of the new Domtar company.
In March 2008, Weyerhaeuser Company announced the sale of its containerboard packaging and recycling business to International Paper for $6 billion in cash, subject to post closing adjustments. The transaction included nine containerboard mills, 72 packaging locations, 10 specialty packaging plants, four craft bag and sack locations and 19 recycling facilities. The transaction affected approximately 14,300 employees.<ref name="Weyerhaeuser-Timber-Company-Mar-2008-8-K">Template:Cite web</ref> The deal closed on August 4, 2008.<ref name="Weyerhaeuser-Timber-Company-Aug-2008-10-Q">Template:Cite web</ref>
Weyerhaeuser converted into a REIT when it filed its 2010 tax return.<ref>Weyerhaeuser Declares Special Dividend, Marks Milestone in Planned REIT Conversion, http://investor.weyerhaeuser.com/2010-07-12-Weyerhaeuser-Declares-Special-Dividend-Marks-Milestone-in-Planned-REIT-Conversion Template:Webarchive</ref>
In 2013, Weyerhaeuser purchased Longview Timber for $2.65 billion including debt from Brookfield Asset Management. The acquisition added Template:Convert of timberland to Weyerhaeuser's holdings in Oregon and Washington.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2014, Weyerhaeuser spun off its home building unit to TRI Pointe Homes in a $2.8 billion transaction.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The company also announced its intention to sell its corporate headquarters in Federal Way and relocate to Seattle's Pioneer Square in 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The sale and move were completed in 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On November 8, 2015, it was announced that Weyerhaeuser would buy Plum Creek Timber for $8.4 billion, forming the largest private owner of timberland in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The transaction closed on February 19, 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the time of the merger the combined companies own about Template:Convert of timberlands.Template:Cn
In 2018, it won the Weyerhaeuser Company v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service case in the U.S. Supreme Court regarding whether private land can be classified as critical habitat if the land is not currently suitable as habitat for the protected species.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Operations
The company's operations are divided into three major business segments:
- Timberlands—growing and harvesting trees in renewable cycles.
- Wood products—manufacturing and distribution of building materials for homes and other structures.
- Real estate, energy and natural resources<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>—all surface and subsurface resources in timberlands that are worth more than the timber itself.Template:Cn
Corporate governance
Devin Stockfish is the CEO and president of Weyerhaeuser Company. The Weyerhaeuser board of directors consists of: Mark Emmert, Sara Grootwassink Lewis, Rick Holley, Deidra "Dee" Merriwether, Al Monaco, Nicole Piasecki, Marc Racicot, Lawrence Selzer, D. Michael Steuert, Devin Stockfish, Kim Williams and Charles Williamson.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
President
- Friedrich Weyerhäuser, 1900–1914
- John Philip Weyerhaeuser Sr., 1914–1928
- Frederick S. Bell, 1928–1934
- Frederick Edward Weyerhaeuser, 1934–1945
- Horace H. Irvine, 1946–1947
- John Philip Weyerhaeuser Jr., 1947–1956
- Frederick King Weyerhaeuser, 1956–1960
- M. Norton Clapp, 1960–1966
- George Hunt Weyerhaeuser, 1966–1991
- John W. Creighton Jr., 1991–1997
- Steven R. Rogel, 1997–2008
- Daniel S. Fulton, 2008–2013
- Doyle R. Simons, 2013–2018
- Devin W. Stockfish, 2019–
Chairman of the Board
- Frederick S. Bell, 1934–1938
- Laird Bell, 1947–1955
- Frederick King Weyerhaeuser, 1955–1957
- M. Norton Clapp, 1957–1960
- Frederick King Weyerhaeuser, 1960–1966
- M. Norton Clapp, 1966–1976
- Robert B. Wilson, 1976–1988
- George Hunt Weyerhaeuser, 1988–1999
- Steven R. Rogel, 1999–2009
- Charles R. Williamson, 2009–2016
- Rick R. Holley, 2016–
References
Further reading
External links
- Weyerhaeuser (official website)
- Weyerhaeuser Company EDGAR Filing History
- Inventory of the Weyerhaeuser Company Records, 1864-2010 (Forest History Society)
- Historical Annual Reports for Weyerhaeuser
- Weyerhaeuser
- 1900 establishments in Washington (state)
- Companies based in Seattle
- Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
- Forest products companies of the United States
- Manufacturing companies established in 1900
- Multinational companies headquartered in the United States
- Pulp and paper companies of the United States
- Real estate companies established in 1900
- Real estate investment trusts of the United States
- Renewable resource companies established in 1900