Boise Cascade Company (), which uses the trade name Boise Cascade, is a
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
n manufacturer of wood products and wholesale distributor of building materials, headquartered in
Boise, Idaho
Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...
.
with sales over
$7.9 billion in 2021, it is traded on the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
(NYSE) under the symbol BCC. Boise Cascade Wood Products manufactures
plywood
Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...
, engineered
wood product
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin tha ...
s and
lumber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
; it supplies a broad line of wood products and building materials through Boise Cascade Building Materials Distribution's 38 distribution locations.
The company has approximately 6,000 employees across North America. Its logo, designed in the 1960s, depicts a pine tree inside the containing circle.
The company is neither affiliated with the
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
paper company
Cascades nor is there any connection to Boise, Inc. or Boise Paper, a division of
Packaging Corporation of America
Packaging Corporation of America is an American manufacturing company based in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company has about 15,500 employees, with operations primarily in the United States. The CEO is Mark W. Kowlzan.
History and operations
T ...
.
History
Boise Cascade Corporation was formed in 1957 through the merger of Cascade Lumber Company of
Yakima, Washington
Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninco ...
, and Boise Payette Lumber Company Robert Hansberger of Boise Payette became the CEO, and the new corporation focused on ownership and management of timberlands, the growing and harvesting of timber, and the manufacturing and distribution of lumber products and building materials. By late 1958, the company had established more than 100 retail outlets for its wholesale distribution business. That same year, BC's first paper mill became operational in
Wallula
Wallula () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 179 at the 2010 census.
History
The Lewis and Clark Expedition reached this area April 27, 1806, on their return journey from the ...
, to produce corrugated shipping containers.
The 1960s saw the company's swift expansion into the forest products industry, as well as wide variety of other businesses. Boise Cascade owned concrete ready-mix plants, plastic manufacturing plants, textiles, and sand and gravel companies. In 1964, the company entered office products distribution. The mid-1960s brought an even more diverse portfolio including ownership of a motor home manufacturer, a cruise line, involvement in real estate and recreation projects, and an acquisition in the engineering and construction business for major utilities. Boise native
William Agee
William McReynolds Agee (January 5, 1938 – December 20, 2017) was an American business executive. In 1976 at age 38, he was appointed president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Bendix Corporation. From 1988 to 1995, Agee was the chair ...
joined the company in 1964 and was the chief financial officer from 1969 the stock price rapidly rose to $77 in 1969, but was down to $15 by the fall
Boise Cascade's current headquarters in Boise was built in 1970, designed by architecture firm
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings, Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer Jo ...
. With the share price at around eleven dollars, Hansberger resigned in John Fery was promoted to CEO and moved the company back to its core competencies of building materials and As the 1980s progressed, a decline in the housing market led to a downsizing in building products distribution business, and by 1987, all retail outlets had been sold or closed.
In the early 1990s, the company sold the wholesale portion of its office products distribution business while keeping the consumer business. In the 1990s, Boise Cascade invested in engineered wood products, building mills in
White City, Oregon
White City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. The population was 7,975 at the 2010 census, up from 5,466 at the 2000 census. White City is about north of the center of Med ...
, and in
Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the prin ...
, for producing
laminated veneer lumber (LVL). Boise Cascade introduced the
finger-jointing technique for manufacturing LVL that remains unique to the EWP industry today. After leading the company for 22 years, Fery retired and George Harad was named CEO. During his tenure, the company focused on expanding its activity in distribution and reducing its presence in manufacturing. In 1999, Furman Lumber of
Billerica, Massachusetts
Billerica (, ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 42,119 according to the 2020 census. It takes its name from the town of Billericay in Essex, England.
History
In the early 1630s, a Praying Indian ...
, was purchased, which led to a nationwide building material wholesale distribution system for Boise Cascade.
The next decade continued to bring big changes. In 2003, the company acquired
OfficeMax
OfficeMax is an American office supplies retailer founded in 1988. It is now a subsidiary of The ODP Corporation, which is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. As of December 2012, OfficeMax operated 941 stores in 47 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S ...
and Boise Cascade Corporation changed its name to OfficeMax.
Madison Dearborn Capital Partners purchased the paper, forest products and timberland assets which became Boise Cascade, LLC. When Tom Stephens began as CEO of Boise Cascade, LLC in 2004, the company had incurred $3.2 billion in debt to fund the acquisition. The company's 1.6 million acres of timberlands were sold in 2005 to help pay down that debt. Three years later, a publicly traded shell company bought the pulp and paper operations and became Boise, Inc., allowing Boise Cascade to pay off most of the remaining debt. The timing was fortuitous when, in 2008, the housing market collapsed and tough times ensued for the entire industry. Tom Carlile assumed the position of CEO in 2009, and began to lead the company through the slow housing recovery with investments in EWP and veneer facilities and the building materials distribution footprint. By late 2012, the company prepared to launch an
IPO
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
, which was completed on February 6, 2013, when it rang the bell at the
NYSE
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the List of stock exchanges, world's largest s ...
.
Tom Corrick was named CEO in 2015 and retired March 6, 2020. Nate Jorgensen is the current CEO.
Operations
The company operates through two vertically integrated divisions:
* The Wood Products division manufactures
engineered wood
Engineered wood, also called mass timber, composite wood, man-made wood, or manufactured board, includes a range of derivative wood products which are manufactured by binding or fixing the strands, particles, fibres, or veneers or boards of woo ...
products (EWP), plywood and lumber for wholesalers, retail dealers and builders to meet residential and commercial construction needs. The division has manufacturing facilities are located in the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
and
southeastern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
U.S., and one mill in Canada at
St. Jacques, New Brunswick. BC owns and operates the world's two largest laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and I-joist manufacturing plants, and is the #2 producer of engineered wood products and #2 producer of plywood in North America.
* The Building Materials Distribution division stocks an extensive inventory of structural building products used from the foundation to the roof, including engineered wood, siding, composite decking, metal, insulation and more from over 1,100 third-party suppliers. The division delivers orders by truck and rail to home improvement centers, retail lumber dealers, and industrial customers. There are 35 distribution branches nationwide, making it the largest wholesale building products distributor in the U.S.
Environmental stewardship
Boise Cascade does not own forest lands, so the company procures all of its timber to operate its mills from Federal, state, and private landowners. The company's environmental management system controls the procurement of all forest-based fiber for its mills, providing supply chain assurances regarding legality of fiber, exclusion of controversial sources, and compliance with mandatory resource and trade legislation. Boise Cascade has earned certifications through the
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is a sustainability organization operating in the U.S. and Canada that works across four pillars: standards, conservation, community, and education. SFI has two youth education initiatives: Project Learning ...
® (SFI®), the
Forest Stewardship Council
The Forest Stewardship Council A. C. (FSC) is an international non-profit, multistakeholder organization established in 1993 that promotes responsible management of the world's forests via timber certification. It is an example of a market-ba ...
® (FSC®), and the
Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification
The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization which promotes sustainable forest management through independent third party certification. It is considered the certi ...
™ (PEFC™). Nearly 100% of the wood brought into its mills is used and almost no waste is landfilled; for example, after making the primary products, the bark and wood residuals can be used to heat dryers, produce particleboard, or sold to make paper.
From a
greenhouse gas emission
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and la ...
perspective,
wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
is a superior building product as it sequesters carbon in the structure as well as minimizing the use of non-renewable carbon-based fuels. Finally, Boise Cascade's I-joists, which are used in approximately one of every seven houses built in the U.S., use about 50% as much wood fiber as the dimension lumber products they replace.
Corporate governance
Boise Cascade's executive leadership includes CEO Nate Jorgensen, Kelly Hibbs (CFO, SVP and Treasurer), Mike Brown (EVP, Wood Products) and Jeff Strom (EVP, Building Materials Distribution). The company's board of directors is currently led by Chairman Tom Carlile, former CEO and CFO of Boise Cascade.
After over-extending into non-traditional areas under CEO Hansberger and young the company nearly went into liquidation in 1972. A management team under new CEO Fery got the company back to basics through the rest of
After the purchase of
OfficeMax
OfficeMax is an American office supplies retailer founded in 1988. It is now a subsidiary of The ODP Corporation, which is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. As of December 2012, OfficeMax operated 941 stores in 47 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S ...
in 2003,
Boise Cascade separated its distribution and manufacturing businesses the following The
pulp and paper
The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard and other cellulose-based products.
Manufacturing process
The pulp is fed to a paper machine where it is formed as a paper web an ...
assets of Boise Cascade L.L.C. were sold to an investment firm in 2008, then acquired by
Packaging Corporation of America
Packaging Corporation of America is an American manufacturing company based in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company has about 15,500 employees, with operations primarily in the United States. The CEO is Mark W. Kowlzan.
History and operations
T ...
in 2013 and became its Boise Paper division.
Boise had entered the paper side of the forest products industry in 1958 with a new mill in treeless
References
External links
*
BC.com Company web site
{{Authority control
Companies based in Boise, Idaho
Manufacturing companies based in Idaho
Forest products companies of the United States
Manufacturing companies established in 1957
1957 establishments in Idaho
Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
American companies established in 1957