Vermont Business Magazine Britton Lumber Company announced today that it has agreed in principle to acquire the assets of HG Wood Industries located in Bath, NH, to which it will move its sawmill operation. Its sawmill on the Connecticut River in Fairlee burned down last year. Britton said in an emailed statement to Vermont Business Magazine that it could not reasonably rebuild on the same location and determined that the acquisition of the existing operation made more business sense. HG Wood is a premier manufacturer of Eastern White Pine lumber and has been operating a sawmill, planer mill, and kilns on approximately 38 acres in Bath since 1972.
A little over a year ago, March 28, 2015, Britton Lumber lost its sawmill in a multi-alarm fire. The company said it has been working diligently and virtually nonstop with its architect, mill designer, State of Vermont and Town of Fairlee officials, and of course its insurance company to determine and evaluate if rebuilding the sawmill was feasible.
“Although we tried our best to rebuild in Fairlee, the business economics, the nuances of insurance, and the reality of rebuilding in a flood zone along the Connecticut River were challenges that we could not overcome,” said Robert Moses, President of Britton Lumber. “With the acquisition of HG Wood, we immediately have a facility with an excellent reputation for producing high quality Eastern White Pine lumber. As Britton Lumber celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2016, we are pleased to have a long-term plan to continue to manufacture and distribute pine boards to our customers,” said Moses.
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Britton Lumber Company, Inc is a forest products and building materials business that was founded in 1946. The Company currently operates two divisions. Its manufacturing division produces Eastern White Pine lumber which is sold internally as well as to wholesalers and distributors throughout the United States and Canada. The Wholesale Distribution division buys a wide variety of building materials from manufacturers in North America and distributes them to over 200 retail lumber yards and home centers in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts and New York from its wholesale yards located in Fairlee, Vermont and Gray, Maine. With the acquisition of H.G. Wood, the Company will have a total of approximately 75 employees.
H.G. Wood was established in 1972 by then chairman of IT&T, Harold S. Geneen who insisted on a standard of excellence and attention to quality to ensure that H.G. Wood would become one of the finest manufacturers of Eastern White Pine boards. Following Mr. Geneen’s passing, F. Colin Cabot assumed the reins of leadership and reaffirmed the tradition of excellence while introducing a new standard of community citizenship that is respectful of the forest resource and our community. Robert Burns has been Chief Operating Officer of H.G. Wood for 32 years and will remain in that capacity.
HG Wood in Bath is north of Fairlee on US 202, not far from Wells River, VT.
Britton Lumber and HG Wood anticipate closing the transaction in June 2016.
Britton reported to Vermont Business Magazine that it had $38.1 million in sales and 60 employees in 2015.
Britton Lumber Company, Inc. is a forest products and building materials business. It was founded in 1946 in Hartland, VT, by Allen H Britton and his sons Allen H. Britton Jr., and Leonard W. Britton. Sole ownership transitioned to Allen H Britton Jr. in 1997 and to his son, Douglas G. Britton in 1984. Effective January 1, 2014, Robert E Moses acquired ownership of the company. Moses was formerly founder and owner of an accounting practice in Lebanon, NH, and was Britton Lumber’s CPA for 25 years.