Weaverville-based lumber firm signs deal to purchase idled Korbel sawmill

LOS ANGELES (Scrap Monster):  A Weaverville-based timber firm has reached an agreement with Green Diamond Resource Company towards purchase of Korbel sawmill that has been non-operational for almost a year now. The purchase agreement was signed between Green Diamond Resource Company and Trinity River Timber Company on May 16^th, 2016. According to the buyer, it expects to reopen the mill by early-2018.

Purchase deal

According to reports, the purchase deal includes all of the fixed sawmill assets and a long term lease on the mill site, including the associated log and lumber yards. The deal also includes a log supply agreement between the two parties by which Trinity River Timber Company will be provided with Douglas-fir logs from Green Diamond’s timberlands.

Trinity River President Frank Schmidbauer noted that the Korbel sawmill is a great addition, mainly due to its proximity with timber supplies. The mill also has excellent access to transportation facilities in both east and south directions. Moreover, the Korbel sawmill will be complimentary to the company’s Weaverville sawmill, Schmidbauer added. The purchase of the mill makes the company’s sawmill count in Northwestern California to two. Trinity River plans to mill small diameter Douglas-fir logs from the Korbel mill by early-2018. The modification works at the existing mill facility is likely to commence soon, Schmidbauer said.

Idled in 2015

After operating for roughly half a century, The California Redwood Co., a subsidiary of Green Diamond Resources Co. had announced in October 2014 that the Korbe mill was up for sale. However, the company announced that it could not find a buyer who could operate the mill facility. The company had begun exiting the redwood manufacturing and distribution business as early as May itself. It began selling off its redwood lumber inventory and restricted them to milling Douglas-fir lumber. Also, the mill operations were cut back from two shifts to a single-shift operation two years back.

In December 2014, the company had announced its decision to close down operations at the Korbe sawmill by February 2015. Around 90 affected employees were notified about the indefinite shutdown and were provided employment counseling and other assistance.

The company stated that the administrative costs to manage California timberlands were six-folds higher when compared to Washington. Green Diamond Resource Co. also announced that it will continue to log in California and produce logs for sale in local California market.

About Trinity River Lumber Company

Located in 1375 Main Street, Weaverville, California, Trinity River Lumber Company specializes in 2″ and 4″ wane free home center products in either green Douglas Fir or a true White Fir, in lengths 8′ to 20′. It also deals in 2×4 S4S green Douglas fir-4×4 through 4×12 timbers and various stud lengths. The company is currently owned by Schmidbauer family.

About Green Diamond Resource Co.

Green Diamond Resource Company is a fifth-generation, family-owned forest products company that owns and manages working forest land in California, Oregon, and Washington. Green Diamond is headquartered in Seattle, Washington and has four primary businesses- California Timberlands Division, Korbel, Calif.; Oregon Operations, Klamath Falls, Ore.; Northwest Timberlands Division, Shelton, Wash.; and Land Management and Business Development, Seattle, Wash.