Weyerhaeuser

This article is about an American company. For the village by this name, see Weyerhaeuser, Wisconsin.

Weyerhaeuser Company

File:Weyco.jpg
Company type	Public (NYSE: WY, TSX: WYL)
Industry	pulp and paper
Founded	1900
Headquarters	Federal Way, Washington
Key people	Steven R. Rogel (CEO, Chairman) Richard E. Hanson (COO)
Revenue	$22.629 billion USD (2005)
Operating income	$1.359 billion USD (2005)
Net income	$0.733 billion USD (2005)
Number of employees	49,900 (2006)
Website	www.weyerhaeuser.com

Weyerhaeuser is one of the largest pulp and paper companies in the world; the world's largest private owner of softwood timberland; and the second largest owner in the United States, behind International Paper. Weyerhaeuser has approximately 41,000 employees in 18 countries, including United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Mexico, Ireland, France, and Uruguay.

History

In January 1900, Friedrich Weyerhäuser founded the company as Weyerhaeuser Timber Company with 15 partners and 900,000 acres (3,600 km²) of Washington timberland. In 1929, the company built what was then the world's largest sawmill in Longview, Washington. Weyerhaeuser's pulp mill in Longview, which began production in 1931, sustained the company financially during the Great Depression. In 1959, the company eliminated the word "Timber" from its name to better reflect its operations. In 1965, Weyerhaeuser built its first bleached kraft pulp mill in Canada. Weyerhaeuser implemented its High Yield Forestry Plan in 1967 which drew upon 30 years of forestry research and field experience. It called for the planting of seedlings within one year of a harvest, soil fertilization, thinning, rehabilitation of brushlands, and, eventually, genetic improvement of trees.

Weyerhaeuser consolidated its core businesses in the late 1990s and ended its services in mortgage banking, personal care products, financial services, and information systems consulting. Weyerhaeuser also expanded into South America, Australia, and Asia. In 1999, Weyerhaeuser purchased MacMillan Bloedel Limited, a large Canadian forestry company. Then in 2002 after a protracted hostile buyout, the company acquired Willamette Industries, Inc. of Portland, Oregon. On August 23, 2006, Weyerhaeuser announced a merge with Domtar's fine paper business in a $3.3 billion cash and stock deal.

Operations

Financial Information
	2005	2004	2003	2002	2001
Net Sales (US$M)	22,629	21,931	19,873	18,521	14,545
Net Earnings (Loss) (US$M)	733	1283	277	241	354

Weyerhaeuser imports timber products from Malaysia, Chile, and Brazil, and has timber operations or offices in 44 American states, Canada, and 18 other countries. Weyerhaeuser is one of North America's largest distributors of wood products; it owns more than seven million acres (28,000 km²) of land in the U.S., and holds logging rights to more than 35 million acres (142,000 km²) of land in Canada. Weyerhaeuser has expanded beyond its roots in lumber and wood products; it controls more than 100 subsidiaries in fields such as construction, real estate sales, and development.

The company's operations are divided into five major business segments:

• Timberlands — Growing and harvesting trees in renewable cycles.
• Wood Products — Manufacturing and distribution of building materials for homes and other structures.
• Pulp and Paper — Produces a variety of papers and the pulp used to produce papers, absorbent products, photographic film, and several others.
• Containerboard Packaging and Recycling — Produces paper, boxes, and bags to move products from factories to the household. The segment collects and recycles wastepaper, boxes, and newsprint to make new products.
• Real Estate — Builds homes and develops land. Weyerhaeuser has six subsidiaries collectively called WRECO, the largest of which is Pardee Homes.

The company also operates an IT internship program to develop professionals for employment in its IT department.

Corporate governance

The Weyerhaeuser board of directors consists of: Richard Haskayne, Robert Herbold, Martha Rivers Ingram, John W. Kieckhefer, Arnold Langbo, Don Mazankowski, Nicole Piasecki, Steven Rogel, Richard Sinkfield, D. Michael Steuert, James Sullivan, and Charles Williamson.

Criticism

Activists have protested company policies ranging from clear-cut logging to conversion of native forests to tree plantations devoid of biodiversity and mill closures among others.

Employee Firearms Policy

On October 1, 2002, the company sent detection dogs into the parking lot of their Valliant, Oklahoma plant looking for drugs in cars in response to an employee drug overdose. They found no drugs, but the dogs alerted on 12 cars with guns in them. The company then ordered the employees to open their cars for a hand search, and rifles, shotguns, and handguns were found. The 12 employees were immediately suspended.

Two days later, the company fired all 12 employees, including a shift supervisor of 23 years with an exemplary record. Jimmy 'Red' Wyatt and all the others said that they were never told of the policy change, extending the company gun ban to the parking lot, which had occurred in 2002.

The plant manager, Mr. Nebel said that firing the men was difficult but he felt safer with all the guns out of the parking lot. Mr. Nebel stated that all the employees had been warned of the policy change.

Several of the fired men have filed a civil suit against Weyerhaeuser for wrongful termination, with Tulsa attorney Larry Johnson representing them. Mr.Johnson, a longtime Second Amendment lawyer, said that this was an injustice that must be addressed. [1]

External links

• Weyerhaeuser Company Web Site
• iLevel by Weyerhaeuser : Structural Frame Business Web Site
• Dryden Pulp & Paper Workers suffer from damage