Rayonier Advanced Materials
A publicly traded producer of high-purity cellulose and other cellulose-based specialty materials.
Last updated October 17, 2026
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Overview
Rayonier Advanced Materials, commonly identified by the ticker RYAM and more recently by the RYAM brand, is a United States-based producer of high-purity cellulose and cellulose-derived specialty materials. Its products are made primarily from wood-based feedstocks and are supplied to manufacturers in markets including textiles, food, pharmaceuticals, filtration, packaging, paper, and other industrial applications. Rather than operating mainly as a consumer-facing brand, the company functions as a business-to-business materials manufacturer whose products are incorporated into customers’ downstream goods. The company’s direct corporate history begins in 2014, when Rayonier, Inc. separated its former Performance Fibers operations from its forest-resources and real-estate activities. The transaction created two independent public companies: Rayonier Advanced Materials assumed the performance-fibers business, while Rayonier continued as a real-estate investment trust focused on timberlands and related real-estate assets. In the distribution to shareholders, Rayonier shareholders received one share of Rayonier Advanced Materials for every three Rayonier shares held. The separation gave the new company a focused identity centered on specialty cellulose and related materials rather than timberland ownership and real-estate management. Although RYAM was formed in 2014, its industrial roots reach back to Rainier Pulp and Paper Company, established in San Francisco in 1926. The predecessor opened a pulp mill in Shelton, Washington, in 1927 and later developed additional Pacific Northwest and southeastern United States operations. In the early 1930s, it worked with DuPont on hemlock pulp for rayon production, helping establish the connection between wood pulp and manufactured fiber markets. The company adopted the name Rayonier in 1937 and expanded through pulp manufacturing, timber ownership, international sales, and forest-resource operations over subsequent decades. These historical capabilities provided the raw-material expertise and manufacturing base for the modern advanced-materials business. RYAM’s product portfolio includes high-purity cellulose specialties, cellulose acetate-related materials, cellulose ethers, and other natural-polymer or cellulose-based products. These materials serve as inputs for cigarette and industrial filters, textile fibers, pharmaceutical formulations, food ingredients, coatings, packaging, and paper products. The company’s manufacturing footprint includes operations in the United States, Canada, and France, and its commercial reach extends across major industrial markets in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company’s positioning centers on converting renewable wood cellulose into high-value functional materials. Its competitive advantage depends on feedstock sourcing, process technology, product consistency, customer qualification, and the ability to meet specific performance requirements. The business is therefore shaped by industrial demand, raw-material availability, energy and transportation costs, regulatory requirements, and changes in end-use markets. Rayonier Advanced Materials is publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker RYAM and remains a specialty-materials supplier rather than a diversified forestry or real-estate company.
History
Rayonier Advanced Materials was created in June 2014 through the separation of Rayonier, Inc.’s Performance Fibers business from its forest-resources and real-estate activities. The new company began trading independently on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RYAM. Rayonier, Inc. retained its timberland, forest-resource, and real-estate operations, later operating as a real-estate investment trust, while Rayonier Advanced Materials became the corporate home for the specialty cellulose and performance-fibers business. In the distribution associated with the separation, Rayonier shareholders received one share of the new company for every three Rayonier shares held. The business inherited a much longer industrial lineage. Its roots are commonly traced to the Rainier Pulp and Paper Company, founded in San Francisco in 1926. The predecessor opened its first mill in Shelton, Washington, in 1927 and subsequently expanded pulp production on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. In 1931, Rainier Pulp and Paper began working with DuPont to develop hemlock pulp for rayon manufacture. This relationship connected the company’s wood-pulp operations with the emerging market for manufactured fibers and helped establish the technical foundation for later cellulose-specialty products. In 1937, the company adopted the name Rayonier and became publicly traded. It expanded beyond the Pacific Northwest during the late 1930s, acquiring southeastern timberlands and building a pulp mill at Fernandina Beach, Florida, which began production in 1939. During the postwar decades, Rayonier expanded its pulp and timber operations, opened sales offices in Europe and Asia, and built additional southeastern capacity, including a major mill at Jesup, Georgia. The Jesup facility expanded substantially during the 1950s and became an important part of the company’s industrial base. ITT acquired Rayonier in 1968, after which the business operated as ITT Rayonier. The company continued to expand its pulp and forest-resource activities, while its corporate headquarters moved to Stamford, Connecticut, in 1978. International commercial development continued in the following decades. Rayonier opened an office in Beijing in 1985 after a lengthy approval process and established a log-trading office in New Zealand in 1988. In 1992, it acquired a large New Zealand timberland holding from the national government. Rayonier was spun off from ITT in 1994 and returned to independent public ownership. It purchased substantial timberland in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama in 1999 and moved its headquarters to Jacksonville, Florida. The company converted to a real-estate investment trust on January 1, 2004. During the 2000s it continued managing timberland and real-estate assets, including through TerraPointe LLC, while also expanding its land position in the United States and New Zealand. The separation of the Performance Fibers division in 2014 marked the decisive transition from a diversified forestry, pulp, and real-estate enterprise into a focused advanced-materials company. Rayonier Advanced Materials inherited manufacturing operations and customer relationships serving specialty cellulose markets. Its current business is centered on high-purity cellulose and related materials used in filtration, textiles, food, pharmaceuticals, paper, packaging, and industrial applications. Manufacturing operations are located in the United States, Canada, and France, with sales activity extending across North America, Europe, and Asia. The company’s historical development illustrates a progression from timber and conventional pulp toward more specialized, higher-value cellulose-based materials.
- 2014
Rayonier Advanced Materials is established
[1]Rayonier separates its Performance Fibers operations into Rayonier Advanced Materials, an independent public company focused on cellulose-based specialty materials.
- 2004
Rayonier converts to a REIT
[1]Rayonier converts to a real-estate investment trust, separating the strategic context of its forest and real-estate assets from the later advanced-materials business.
- 1994
Rayonier is spun off from ITT
[1]The company becomes independent again, restores the Rayonier name, and resumes trading as a separate New York Stock Exchange company.
- 1968
ITT acquires Rayonier
[1]Rayonier becomes part of ITT and operates under the ITT Rayonier name.
- 1939
Fernandina Beach mill begins production
[1]After acquiring southeastern timberlands, Rayonier brings a pulp mill in Fernandina Beach, Florida, into production.
- 1937
The Rayonier name is adopted
[1]The company changes its name to Rayonier and becomes publicly traded.
- 1931
Collaboration with DuPont begins
[1]Rainier Pulp and Paper works with DuPont on hemlock pulp intended for rayon production, linking its pulp operations to manufactured-fiber applications.
- 1927
First mill opens in Washington
[1]The company opens a pulp mill in Shelton, Washington, using western hemlock to produce bleached paper pulp.
- 1926
Rainier Pulp and Paper Company is founded
[1]The predecessor business associated with Rayonier Advanced Materials is established in San Francisco, creating the historical foundation for the later cellulose and performance-fibers operations.
Products and positioning
A business-to-business specialty-materials producer focused on converting renewable wood-based cellulose into high-purity, technically differentiated products.
Specialty cellulose
High-purity cellulose
High-purity cellulose is the company’s core materials platform. It is processed from wood-derived feedstocks to meet demanding purity, consistency, and performance requirements. These materials serve as inputs for specialty manufacturing rather than being marketed primarily as finished consumer goods. Applications identified for the company’s cellulose technologies include textiles, pharmaceuticals, food, filtration, paper, packaging, and other industrial processes.
Cellulose derivatives
Cellulose acetate materials
Cellulose acetate is a cellulose-derived material used in products requiring controlled physical properties, processability, or fiber and film performance. Rayonier Advanced Materials identifies cellulose acetate among its specialty-material offerings. Its potential end uses include filtration and manufactured-fiber applications, where material consistency and functional performance are important to downstream producers.
Cellulose derivatives
Cellulose ethers
Cellulose ethers are chemically modified cellulose materials used in formulation and industrial applications. The company’s stated product scope includes cellulose ethers for markets such as food, pharmaceuticals, and industrial manufacturing. Their value comes from cellulose-based functionality that can support formulation, thickening, binding, or other performance requirements, although specific grades and applications are not detailed in the supplied reference material.
Performance materials
Filter and industrial cellulose products
RYAM supplies cellulose-based materials used by manufacturers of filters and other industrial products. These offerings reflect the company’s role as an upstream specialty-materials producer: customers use the materials as components or process inputs in finished products. The portfolio is connected to the company’s historical performance-fibers and high-purity-cellulose capabilities.
Brand decisions
2014
Separate the Performance Fibers business into a standalone companyStrategyBackground
Rayonier had combined forest resources, real estate, and performance-fibers activities. The separation was intended to place the specialty-materials operations in a focused company while leaving timberland and real-estate activities in Rayonier, Inc.
Action taken
In June 2014, Rayonier established Rayonier Advanced Materials as an independent public company and transferred the Performance Fibers business to it. Shareholders received one share of the new company for every three Rayonier shares held.
Aftermath
Rayonier Advanced Materials began operating as a dedicated producer of cellulose-based specialty materials, while Rayonier continued as a real-estate investment trust.
Recent events
Rayonier Advanced Materials appoints Scott M. Sutton as President and CEO[3]
Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. announced that its Board of Directors appointed Scott M. Sutton as Chief Executive Officer and President, effective January 5, 2026. Sutton, former President and CEO of Olin Corporation, also joins the Company's Board of Directors, succeeding DeLyle Bloomquist, whose planned retirement was announced late last year.
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