ATHOL, Idaho - Idaho lumber giant Idaho Forest Group (IFG) has acquired a 115-acre mill owned by Merritt Brothers Lumber Co in Athol, Idaho. The plant manufactures finger-jointed lumber, a structural product that can be used in place of dimension lumber.

 

Operating six sawmills in Idaho and Montana, IFG expects the niche finger-joining plant will be a complementary fit for their operations.

 

“This acquisition gives us the opportunity to learn the value-added finger-joint manufacturing process,” said IFG vice president of sales & marketing Erol Deren. “It will enable further utilization of the fiber resource and complements our other facilities making the most of the logs that we procure for our mills. We will carefully evaluate the capital needs of this site and invest accordingly.”

 

“We wish IFG a prosperous future,” said Merritt Brothers vice president Herb Jahnsen in a press release. “We are happy to see the mill continue to move forward and offer employment opportunities to our valued team members. We are thankful for the hard work our employees have put in over the years.”

 

Idaho Forest Group, formed in 2008 with the merger of Riley Creek Lumber and Bennett Forest Industries, is one of the largest Idaho lumber firms, with a capacity to process 1 billion board feet of timber per year. The company manufactures dimension lumber and studs, as well as by-product wood chips and sawdust.