Alta Forest Products is headquartered at 810 NW Alta Way, Chehalis, and operates a mill that supports 130 jobs in Morton.
Alta Forest Products has been sold to the Itochu Corporation of Japan in a move that was finalized on Jan. 12. President and CEO Mike Pederson plans to stay on in both capacities and has insisted that little will change in daily operations.
“It’s a great fit. It’s great for the employees and great for the shareholders,” Pederson told The East County Journal. “I wouldn’t have done this if I didn’t think it would be great for Alta.”
Itochu Corp. owns numerous companies, including Master Halco, a leading fence manufacturer and one of Alta Forest Products primary customers. That integrated model of operation is expected to boost the reach of Itochu and solidify the market for Alta.
“We are running our mills at capacity right now and there is an excellent market for our product, but there isn’t really any way for us to increase,” Peter Strobler, CFO for Alta Forest Products, told The Chronicle. “The best way to think of it is that nothing is going to change at Alta, except for the group with primary financial holdings.”
Alta Forest Products operates four sawmills, three of which are in the Washington cities of Morton, Shelton and Amanda Park. The other mill is located in Naples, Idaho. The company is the world’s largest producer of wooden fence boards, specializing in western red cedar and other high grade species. The company produces about 360 million board feet of fence boards annually.
Alta Forest Products was formed in May 2014 when Welco Lumber Company and TMI Forest Products, formerly known as Tubafor, merged in an effort to corner the North American market on wood fence boards.
The company’s corporate office has been located in Chehalis for the last two years. Alta Forest Products employs roughly 450 people in all, including 130 employees in Morton.
In a financial analysis of the sale of Alta Forest Products, Nicki Cunningham of Freedonia Group noted, “Prior to this acquisition, Itocho (sic) was already the leading supplier of fencing to the US through its substantial sales of a variety of metal fencing products. By adding Alta Forest Products' wood fencing operations to its portfolio, Itocho (sic) will further increase its market-leading position."
