LP Building Solutions and Forex Inc. have entered into a definitive agreement under which LP will acquire the assets owned by Wawa OSB, a subsidiary of Forex. The transaction will add a manufacturing facility in Wawa, Ontario, Canada to LP’s portfolio of assets. According to the manufacturer, the Wawa facility will be converted into an LP SmartSide Trim & Siding mill.
“LP SmartSide Trim & Siding has experienced tremendous growth over the past few years, becoming one of the fastest-growing siding brands in the United States,” executive vice president and general manager of siding for LP Jason Ringblom said in a prepared statement. “In response to customer demand, we continue to expand our capacity across North America to position SmartSide for long-term growth. Our acquisition of Forex’s Wawa facility is a great addition to our fleet of siding mills and a perfect example of how we are investing in the future of SmartSide.”
Once converted, the mill will add approximately 400 million square feet of capacity, making it LP’s largest single-line siding mill, according to the company. The additional capacity will bring the manufacturer’s total siding capacity to 2.7 billion square feet annually.
“We are thrilled to see the continued revival of this wood-based plant coming true,” said Forex executive vice president Yolaine Rousseau. “We would like to thank all the employees, First Nations, suppliers and local authorities for their support of this project.”
LP has not announced when construction at the facility will begin. A second SmartSide manufacturing line is still planned for LP’s Houlton, Maine, facility, but the project will break ground after the conversion of the Wawa mill.
