AHF Products announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire two West Virginia sawmills to augment the supply of lumber to AHF’s Beverly, West Virginia solid wood flooring manufacturing facility.
Under the agreement, AHF will acquire assets related to Allegheny Wood Products’ (AWP) sawmills in Smoot, Greenbrier County, and Norton, Randolph County.
According to AHF President & CEO Brian Carson, “the purchase of these two sawmills is a wonderful and smart investment. It helps ensure lumber supply for our Beverly, West Virginia plant and it is essential to our customers and employees who rely on our supply of hardwood flooring. It’s a great day for employees, customers and suppliers.”
AHF says it will be saving approximately 80 direct jobs at the two mills, which were originally slated to close at the end of March, and is expected to create approximately two times that, with new jobs being created for loggers, truckers, and suppliers in the region.
The supply of Eastern hardwood lumber in the U.S. is currently 65 percent of what it was pre-pandemic and 40 percent of what it was before 2007. AHF says the purchase of the two sawmills recovers 100 percent of the lumber supply AHF would have lost due to the closure of AWP and secures a consistent lumber supply to protect AHF customers. These two mills combined will supply 25 million board feet annually.
“These mills assure AHF direct access to a high-quality timber supply, which will provide more than 20 percent of the required supply at full capacity of flooring production. AWP was 12 percent of total supply at peak, so we have more than replaced the lost supply,” said Jake Loftis, Chief Operating Officer, AHF.
“We are excited to add this capability to AHF and operate the mills at a capacity that will positively impact people and these two communities,” said Loftis. “It’s another key step to ensure AHF’s success now and into the future. It is a winning situation all the way around.”
AHF Products manufactures solid hardwood flooring products at Beverly under brand names such as Bruce®, Hartco®, Robbins®, and Capella®.