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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Asphalt plant sued in federal court ... Mapping Muggers Alley ... Spotters needed for National Weather Service ... Asphalt plant sued in federal court ... Mapping Muggers Alley ... Spotters needed for National Weather Service ... Roseburg Forest Products to buy Medford's SierraPine plant Roseburg Forest Products will take over Medford plant in mid-September Comment By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 17, 2015 at 5:45 PM By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 17, 2015 at 5:45 PM » Social News Roseburg Forest Products is acquiring the SierraPine Medite medium-density fiberboard plant on North Pacific Highway in Medford. The privately held Oregon firm, which earlier this year announced it is moving its headquarters to Springfield from Douglas County, expects to close the deal in mid-September but released few details of the sale. Roseburg Forest Products is the largest particleboard producer in North America and a significant buyer of medium-density fiberboard, commonly used in furniture, kitchen cabinets and decorative moldings. "This is a complementary product to what we do, and we've long wanted to be in the MDF business," said Steve Killgore, vice president of sales and marketing. "There is a significant overlap with our existing customer base. They would be buying our particleboard products and MDF from SierraPine, now we'll be a one-stop shop." Roseburg Forest Products has particleboard plants in Dillard, just south of Winston, and Missoula, Mont. Relatively little will change for the 130 employees at the Medford plant, Killgore said. "It's a going concern with an excellent track record of success," he said. "We want this thing to be accretive to the company, so the last thing we want to do is go in and start changing things. We'll be telling folks, 'Steady as she goes.' There are some technical things we have to go through in terms of the process. But our thought is that everything in Medford is going to stay pretty much as it is." Materials used in MDF production are residual elements from primary timber processing plants. "There are ample quantities of that around, so we think that's going to be a good situation," Killgore said. Although a Roseburg Forest Products sign will go out front, he said, the MDF will retain the Medite brand. "It's got worldwide recognition," Killgore said. "Although the products will stay in North America, it's a well-known brand with a lot of equity." He said Roseburg Forest Products does hope to see a boost in production. "Roseburg buys and uses a moderate amount of MDF themselves," said Pete Malliris, who follows MDF activity for industry newsletter Random Lengths. "It's not clear how much production might remain in-house. SierraPine puts a vast majority of its product on the market through contract. Roseburg might be able to ramp production to supply some of their needs in-house." SierraPine, a unit of Sierra Pacific Industries based in Anderson, Calif., has operated here since 1997. The plant opened as a division of Medco in 1975 before it was sold in 1984 to Texas billionaire Harold Simmons' Valhi Inc., who renamed the firm Medite. Valhi sold the operation to SierraPine, a California limited partnership including Timber Products Co. and Sierra Pacific Industries, for $39 million. SierraPine also said it is signing over control of its Ampine Particleboard plant in Martel, Calif., to Springfield-based Timber Products. "Our ownership wanted to move into what is more our core business," said SierraPine president Jeff Johnson, whose office is in Roseville, Calif. This is the second time in less than two years SierraPine has announced sale of the Medford plant. In January 2014, the California firm said it was selling to Ontario, Canada-based Flakeboard America Ltd., as part of a three-plant deal. However, the deal was never consummated. Last October, the Justice Department said the transaction likely would have substantially lessened competition in the market for the production of MDF sold in Oregon, California and Washington. The Justice Department said such a sale would've given Flakeboard America a 58 percent market share. In November, Flakeboard America and SierraPine agreed to pay $5 million to settle antitrust claims that the companies profited from an illegal deal, while the Justice Department reviewed Flakeboard's $107 million proposal for three SierraPine mills. The settlement requires Flakeboard and SierraPine each to pay $1.9 million in civil penalties, and Flakeboard to pay an additional nearly $1.2 million in ill-gotten profit, according to court documents. Malliris said there weren't any elements of the Roseburg Forest Products deal that would raise regulatory red flags. "We're seeing that in the composite panel industry, where larger companies are becoming more integrated," he said. "In this case, there wasn't anything monstrous. Sometimes you worry about one company getting too much market share and worry about reviews." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness , on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31 , and read his blog at www.mailtribune.com/EconomicEdge . By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 17, 2015 at 5:45 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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