BARTOW, FL - Sunbelt Forest Products of Bartow, Florida, a subsidiary of wood products firm PalletOne, Inc., has announced the purchase of two pressure treated wood facilities from Southeast Wood Treating of Montgomery, Alabama.
These acquisitions are a good fit for our Company," said Howe Wallace, PalletOne president and chief executive officer. "They reflect our commitment to grow our enterprise." Founded in 1982, Sunbelt Forest Products was the first facility in Florida to introduce treating with arsenic-free preservatives as well as the first in the state to start treating with water repellents and mold inhibitors.
Sunbelt is already one of the largest pressure treaters in the Southeast, and its pressure treated wood plant in Bartow, Florida is currently operating close to capacity. The two additional plants, located in Rockledge, Florida, and Louisville, Alabama, will nearly double the company's manufacturing capabilities to over 300 million board feet of pressure treated wood a year.
"The Rockledge plant will provide Sunbelt with new opportunities in north Florida," said Ken DelleDonne, Sunbelt president. "The plant in Louisville will allow us to serve additional markets in Alabama and Georgia. This gives us a reach from Atlanta all the way to New Orleans. With the added capacity we can now serve the entire southeast, providing pressure treated wood to more lumber yards in the region."
Sunbelt currently exports pressure treated lumber to the Caribbean and will be looking in the future at other export opportunities available because of the proximity of the new plants to other shipping lines and to the port in Jacksonville. Sunbelt's Bartow plant also produces specialty items like balusters, pattern stock, decking and firring strips and the two new plants may one day expand to offer these products as well.
Sunbelt Forest Products plans to retain all of the 40 employees at its new plants. Sales and accounting will be headquartered in Bartow. Sunbelt Forest Products is a wholly owned subsidiary of PalletOne, Inc. In addition to Sunbelt facilities, PalletOne owns and operates 14 locations involved in the manufacture, recycle and distribution of wood pallets.
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