Weyerhaeuser to buy Idabel sawmill

International forest products company. Weyerhaeuser, has signed a letter of intent to purchase the Idabel sawmill owned by Freeman Brothers also doing business as Bibler Brothers Lumber Company.

Idabel is currently a contract sawmill for Weyerhaeuser and a chip supplier for Weyerhaeuser’s Valliant, Okla., containerboard mill. It employs approximately 130 people and has the capacity to produce 130 million board feet/y of lumber.

“We are pleased to reach mutually agreeable terms with Bibler Brothers,” Weyerhaeuser Vice President of Lumber Technologies Rob Taylor said. “We intend to safely operate the mill and meet our customer needs.”

The potential sale is subject to reaching a final sales agreement, company management approval and any required regulatory approval. Customer orders for this facility will not be affected during the sales process. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Weyerhaeuser owns Timberlands and four other facilities in Oklahoma.

Freeman Bros is owned by Terry Freeman and is based in Russellville, Ark. Freeman owns and operates Bibler Brothers Lumber Company in Russellville and the mill in Idabel. Freeman recently received several awards and industry recognitions for operating the Russellville and Idabel mills without a recordable safety incident.