The news the sawmilling fraternity was waiting on has arrived, with major North American sawmill supplier USNR swooping in to snatch up fellow supplier Coe Newnes McGehee (CNM) for an undisclosed sum.

The only stakeholders more pleased by the result than CNM’s customers would be the CNM employees and the community at the company’s Salmon Arm base, Canada. USNR is committed to supporting all previously-installed Newnes-McGehee systems with its “enhanced pool of technical resources”, the buyer said in a release. “We are currently in the process of integrating the Newnes-McGehee sales, marketing, engineering and service functions with those of USNR. The Newnes-McGehee brand of products remains the same, but is characterised by a new logo that reflects the change in ownership.” The acquisition covers both CNM’s solid wood business unit -Newnes-McGehee – and its dry kiln and engineered wood product business unit – Coe Manufacturing. Newnes-McGehee will continue to operate out of Salmon Arm as a division of USNR. The engineered wood products business units will continue to operate independently out of Painesville, Ohio, as Coe Manufacturing Company. USNR is working to integrate the new divisions into the business as smoothly and as quickly as possible. The aim is to consolidate not only a bigger more powerful company but also a streamlined entity not hampered by the excess administration that often affects larger companies. As previously reported by International Forest Industries (June, pp21-23), CNM is a company steeped in history. It was also a company upon which a community of employees and the small community of Salmon Arm relied. Regional Sales Manager Mike Parkes had stressed the need for CNM to be kept together, not only to protect the value that the company represented as a whole unit, but for the communities it supported. Following the acquisition he described the deal as a “positive outcome” for CNM. Meanwhile, USNR has seen the value of the CNM entity and has taken the opportunity to strengthen its position in the North American market. The company will also be looking to capitalise on recent technology investments made my CNM and its planned global marketing strategy that was to diversify the group away from the domestic market. CNM had recently attended shows in Germany and Australia and was planning to attend exhibitions in New Zealand and another in Australia. The company had also secured an increasing number of international contracts covering Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Uraguay, and Brazil. However, USNR said it had no immediate plans for further expansion and was concentrating purely on integrating the two businesses. The company considered itself secure despite the industry downturn and believes it is well equipped to continue delivering profits. “USNR’s ownership has been unchanged for more than 30 years and has successfully managed the company through several industry downturns. USNR remains a financially stable company with sound operating practices.” USNR President and CEO, George Van Hoomissen: “We see tremendous potential in both the Newnes-McGehee and Coe Manufacturing businesses. For many years, both companies have employed some of the industry’s most qualified personnel and offered some of the best products on the market. Now those people and products will be backed by the financial stability of USNR. We believe this will prove to be a winning combination – first and foremost for our customers, but also for our suppliers and our employees.” Collaboration between the two engineering teams will make for better products and allow the combined company to bring them to market faster, according to USNR. USNR hopes customers will see the acquisition as a chance to get the best from both companies. By combining USNR product lines, service and support operations, customers will be able to design the solution that best meets their needs. “This offers customers far more options when planning a project.” USNR Vice President Chris Blomquist said. Shirley Lawrence, Parts Sales Manager at USNR, commented on aftermarket support: “As we integrate the two businesses we are anticipating that our even larger network of warehousing and logistics resources will allow us to deliver replacement parts to all of our customers faster and more economically.”