BOSTON — The Watermill Group, a private investment firm, has invested in Musser Lumber and its principal operating subsidiary, Musser Biomass and Wood Products, a mid-Atlantic producer of premium dried hardwood fiber and associated converted products.

Ed Musser, president and CEO of Musser Biomass and Wood Products. "We're confident that the Watermill Group's industry expertise and strategic approach will support and accelerate our vision to redefine and expand the uses for dry wood fiber."

Musser said the company is strategically located in Rural Retreat, Virginia, in the heart of the mid-Atlantic hardwood forest. Growing from a small sawmill business to an innovative recycled biomass company, Musser offers some of the most eco-friendly and highest quality dry wood fiber on the market. 

Using a state-of-the-art low temperature drying technology, Musser produces a sustainable, differentiated and uncontaminated fiber for use in composite manufactured wood products, grilling pellets, residential heating pellets and briquettes, animal bedding and other existing growth markets. The company is actively exploring new applications that are emerging for clean, dry biomass fiber.

"Musser represents a compelling opportunity to invest in a sustainable business that serves growing markets and has exciting avenues for growth," said Robert Ackerman, Senior Partner, Watermill Group. "For more than half a century, Musser Lumber Company has been a respected supplier in the lumber industry. In recent years, it has become a pioneer in biomass wood fiber, trailblazing new paths to success both in products and processes. The Watermill Group couldn't be more excited about the opportunities ahead for this partnership."