Weyerhaeuser Company

Last edited by apocalypticbeef on July 16, 2008 - 8:25pm
Company Snapshot: 

Weyerhaeuser imports timber products from Malaysia, Chile, and Brazil, and has timber operations or offices in 44 American states, Canada, and 18 other countries. Weyerhaeuser is one of North America's largest distributors of wood products; it owns more than seven million acres (28,000 km²) of land in the U.S., and holds logging rights to more than 35 million acres (142,000 km²) of land in Canada. Weyerhaeuser has expanded beyond its roots in lumber and wood products; it controls more than 100 subsidiaries in fields such as construction, real estate sales, and development.

Ownership status: 
Publicly traded
Number of employees worldwide: 
46,700 (2006)
2008 Global Fortune 500 rank: 
496
Tel: 
+1-800-525-5440; +1-253-924-2345

Weyerhaeuser is one of the largest pulp and paper companies in the world; the world's largest private owner of softwood timberland; and the second largest owner in the United States, behind International Paper. Weyerhaeuser has approximately 41,000 employees in 18 countries, including United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Mexico, Ireland, France, and Uruguay. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weyerhaeuser

Weyerhaeuser Company is principally engaged in the growing and harvesting of timber, the manufacture, distribution and sale of forest products, and real estate development and construction. Its business segments are Timberlands, which includes logs, chips and timber; Wood Products, which includes softwood lumber, plywood, veneer, composite panels, hardwood lumber, engineered lumber, raw materials and building materials distribution; Cellulose Fiber and White Papers, which includes pulp, paper and liquid packaging board; Containerboard, Packaging and Recycling; Real Estate and Related Assets, and Corporate and Other. In October 2006, Weyerhaeuser purchased PSA Composites LLC. In February 2006, Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Company acquired Maracay Homes Arizona I, LLC. In August 2006, it announced an agreement to combine its Fine Paper business and related assets with Domtar Inc. On August 30, 2006, it acquired OrganicID, a developer of printed radio frequency identification devices. http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/wy.html

Location(s)

Corporate Headquarters
33663 Weyerhaeuser Way S.
Federal Way, WA, 98003
United States
See map: Google Maps
History

In January 1900, Friedrich Weyerhäuser founded the company as Weyerhaeuser Timber Company with 15 partners and 900,000 acres (3,600 km²) of Washington timberland [2] purchased from James J. Hill of the Great Northern Railway. [3] 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.

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. On August 23, 2006, Weyerhaeuser announced a merge with Domtar's fine paper business in a $3.3 billion cash and stock deal.

Financial information
Stock ticker symbol: 
NYSE: WY; TSX: WYL
Total revenue: 
$21,896.0 (mil)
Net Income: 
$453.0 (mil)
Major lines of business/segments: 

The company's operations are divided into five major business segments:

  • Timberlands — Growing and harvesting trees in renewable cycles.
  • Wood Products — Manufacturing and distribution of building materials for homes and other structures.
  • Pulp and Paper — Produces a variety of papers and the pulp used to produce papers, absorbent products, photographic film, and several others.
  • Containerboard Packaging and Recycling — Produces paper, boxes, and bags to move products from factories to the household. The segment collects and recycles wastepaper, boxes, and newsprint to make new products.
  • Real Estate — Builds homes and develops land. Weyerhaeuser has six subsidiaries collectively called WRECO, the largest of which is Pardee Homes.

The company also operates an IT internship program to develop professionals for employment in its IT department.

Additional descriptive data