LAVAL, QC - Pfleiderer Canada Inc., parent of engineered wood products firm Uniboard Canada Inc., will sell its particleboard, MDF, thermally fused melamine and laminate flooring facilities to a subsidiary of Kaycan Ltd., a North American building products firm.

Terms were not disclosed in the all cash deal, which is expectd to close in the third quarter.

The Uniboard facilities sold to Kaycan include three particleboard lines, one MDF line, five thermally fused melamine lines and two laminate flooring lines servicing primarily the Canadian, U.S. Northeast and Midwest markets.

Headquartered in Montreal, privately-held Kaycan is a vertically integrated manufacturer of vinyl, aluminum and engineered wood siding and trims, PVC and aluminum rainware, and aluminum coil with over 1,200 employees operating 11 manufacturing facilities across North America.

"This acquisition will allow Uniboard to reinforce our market position and to fully focus our attention on driving the business forward in both our panel and laminate flooring operations," said James Hogg, Uniboard CEO, in announcing the transaction.

 Just last month Uniboard announced a $3 million investment to increase its thermally fused melamine (TFM) capacity at its Sayabec, QC, plant.

"We are fully committed to the growth of Uniboard in its core markets," said Kaycan president Lionel Dubrofsky. He said Uniboard's senior management will remain intact to manage the business, and "the direction of Uniboard and existing customer relations will be reinforced".

Uniboard Canada Inc. employs 800 in the manufacture of engineered wood products. It has installed capacity of over 640 million square feet of raw particleboard, high-density and medium-density fiberboard, about half of which is converted into melamine and laminate flooring. Earlier this year its German parent Pfleiderer filed for insolvency - the European equivalent to bankruptcy protection - just a few months after selling the U.S. Uniboard operation in Moncure, NC to Chilean panel products manufacturer Arauco.