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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Oregon and Massachusetts Tool Companies Form Wood Fiber Holdings

01/05/2018
The 186-year-old Fitchburg, Massachusetts-based Simonds International and 115-year-old Eugene, Oregon-based Burton Saw merged into Wood Fiber Holdings, in a transaction that the companies report will create the leading producer and marketer of cutting tools and related equipment for the primary wood fiber industry.

According to company officials the combined entity, Wood Fiber Holdings, Inc., will continue to operate in the United States and Canada with 12 facilities located in the major wood fiber regions of North America. All products and customers segments currently served by Burton, Simonds and B.G.R. Saws will continue uninterrupted during the integration process and thereafter.

Ray Martino, President & CEO of Simonds said, “This merger will combine the two leading companies in our industry with a deep history of product innovation, quality products and customer focused organizations providing value added services to our customers.”

“The cultures of the two companies are similar and will strengthen our service to the industry. The Burton, Simonds and B.G.R. brands are prominent in the industry and will remain a core part of the combined company in the future,” Martino added.

Craig Tompkins, President & CEO of Burton Saw said, “The merger brings together the strengths of two great companies with a common goal, efficient and innovative solutions to the industry we serve. The products and services offered by the merger will enable both companies to go beyond current offerings and bring a complete solution through products, services and equipment that reflect the needs of the marketplace.”

Simonds International, founded in 1832, is a leading supplier and marketer of cutting tools and related products to the wood, pulp, paper and tree care industries. B.G.R. Saws was established in 1968, through almost 50 years of history the company developed into a sawmill source for their saw needs as well as innovative line of filing room equipment. Simonds and B.G.R. merged in May of 2017.

Burton Saw and Supply, founded in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1903, originally sold only saw manufacturer supplies to the mills of Western Canada. In 1927, The Burton Saw Company moved to Eugene, Oregon and transformed itself into the leading provider of products, equipment and technical solutions to the saw filing and knife grinding rooms.

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