West Fraser to Acquire Stuart Lake Lumber


Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 15 September 2008 – West Fraser has entered into an agreement to acquire the shares of Stuart Lake Lumber Co. Ltd., which owns a sawmill in Fort St. James, British Columbia, and a forest license. The transaction is expected to close at the end of October.

The sawmill, which has been closed since spring 2007, does not currently have any operational employees and the forest license has not been active since the mill closure. West Fraser has no immediate plans to start up the sawmill.

“The company will evaluate options over the next several months,” says Wayne Clogg, West Fraser’s senior vice president, Woodlands. “We expect this acquisition to benefit West Fraser when the current market conditions improve and to enhance the company’s long-term fiber supply in the face of expected mountain pine beetle-related supply effects.”

West Fraser is an integrated wood products company producing lumber, LVL, MDF, plywood, pulp, linerboard, kraft paper, and newsprint. The company has approximately 9000 employees and operations in western Canada and the southern United States. West Fraser shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “WFT.”