Tembec

Tembec was a Canadian forest-products company founded in 1973 in Témiscaming, Quebec. Its creation followed the closure of a local mill and an organized effort by former employees, residents, entrepreneurs, unions, and public authorities to preserve employment and prevent the town's economic collapse. Frank Dottori was the leading founder. Rather than beginning as a conventional corporate expansion, Tembec emerged from a community-backed industrial rescue: the newly formed company purchased the shuttered facility and restarted production. Over time, Tembec developed into a diversified producer serving international markets. Its business was organized around Forest Products; Pulp, Paper & Paperboard; and Chemicals. The forest-products operations produced softwood lumber, engineered wood products, and specialty wood products. Its pulp, paper, and paperboard activities included multiple pulp mills, paper mills, and a paperboard plant. The chemicals operations made products such as resins and ethanol lignin derived from pulping by-products. This portfolio connected the company to construction, packaging, printing, tissue, specialty-paper, and industrial chemical supply chains. Tembec's principal geographic base remained Canada, but the company also operated in the United States and France and sold into broader international markets. By 2011, it had approximately 3,000 employees. Its identity was closely linked to integrated mill operations: timber and residual wood were converted into lumber, pulp, paper, paperboard, and chemical products, allowing the company to spread exposure across several parts of the forest-products cycle. The company also became associated with the history of Témiscaming itself. The community's effort to save the mill was documented in a National Film Board of Canada documentary released in 1975, and the story later received wider attention through a documentary described as A Town that Wouldn't Die. These accounts emphasized the unusual partnership among workers, residents, management, unions, and governments that enabled the enterprise to begin. Tembec's independent corporate existence ended through its acquisition by Rayonier Advanced Materials. In May 2017, Tembec agreed to a takeover valued at CAD 320 million; the offer was subsequently increased to CAD 475 million in July. The transaction closed in November 2017. Some assets continued operating under Rayonier Advanced Materials or related operating names, but Tembec ceased to function as an independent corporate brand. A later workplace fatality at the Chapleau mill, occurring after the acquisition process but relating to operations previously associated with Tembec, resulted in a 2020 fine against the company after a guilty plea.

Tembec began in 1973 in Témiscaming, Quebec, a community whose economy depended heavily on its local mill. When the facility closed, former employees and local residents organized an effort to preserve both their jobs and the town's economic base. Frank Dottori was involved in establishing the new company. The enterprise was notable for the breadth of the coalition behind it: entrepreneurs, unionized workers, community members, and several levels of government worked together to acquire and reopen the mill. The newly created company purchased the shuttered operation, giving rise to Tembec. The company's origin shaped its later public identity. Tembec was not simply a forest-products business founded to exploit a new market; it was also presented as an example of community-oriented industrial recovery. A National Film Board of Canada documentary about the effort, Témiskaming, Quebec, was released in 1975. The town's struggle was also later associated with the documentary account A Town that Wouldn't Die, which brought national attention to the attempt to save the community. Following its formation, Tembec expanded beyond the original mill into a group of integrated forest-products operations. Its reported divisions included Forest Products, Pulp, Paper & Paperboard, and Chemicals. The Forest Products Group operated 31 manufacturing facilities producing softwood lumber, engineered wood products, and specialty wood products. The pulp, paper, and paperboard businesses comprised nine pulp-manufacturing plants, five paper plants, and one paperboard plant. The Chemicals group produced resins and ethanol lignin, including lignin recovered from pulping discharges at five pulp facilities. This combination gave Tembec a presence across several stages of the forest-products value chain. Wood resources could be converted into building materials, while pulp and paper assets served industrial and consumer applications. Chemical operations created additional products from materials associated with the pulping process. The company operated in Canada, the United States, and France and supplied international markets. In 2011, it had approximately 3,000 employees. Tembec eventually became the subject of a takeover by Rayonier Advanced Materials. In May 2017, the companies announced an agreement involving a CAD 320 million offer. Rayonier Advanced Materials increased the offer to CAD 475 million in July, and the transaction closed in November 2017. The acquisition ended Tembec's position as an independent company. Assets and facilities continued under the acquiring organization or its operating businesses, but the Tembec corporate identity was no longer the principal name for the combined operations. A later legal matter concerned the death of a worker at Chapleau on 25 May 2018. Court proceedings recorded that the mill had been acquired by Rayonier on 31 May 2018 and had operated under the name Ryam Lumber at that point. On 8 January 2020, the company was fined CAD 250,000 after pleading guilty in relation to the worker's death. The matter is part of Tembec's post-acquisition historical record, although the incident occurred during the transition surrounding the transfer of the mill.

• 2020

  Fine related to Chapleau worker death

  [1]Tembecen.wikipedia.org

  Tembec is fined CAD 250,000 after pleading guilty in connection with a workplace fatality at Chapleau.

• 2017

  Rayonier Advanced Materials announces acquisition agreement

  [1]Tembecen.wikipedia.org

  Tembec agrees to a proposed takeover initially valued at CAD 320 million.

• 2017

  Acquisition offer is increased

  [1]Tembecen.wikipedia.org

  Rayonier Advanced Materials raises its offer for Tembec to CAD 475 million.

• 2017

  Tembec acquisition closes

  [1]Tembecen.wikipedia.org

  The Rayonier Advanced Materials transaction closes in November, ending Tembec's independent corporate status.

• 2011

  Tembec has approximately 3,000 employees

  [1]Tembecen.wikipedia.org

  The company is reported to employ about 3,000 people across operations in Canada, the United States, and France.

• 1975

  National Film Board documentary records the mill rescue

  [1]Tembecen.wikipedia.org

  A documentary about the effort to save Témiscaming and restart its mill is released by the National Film Board of Canada.

• 1973

  Tembec is founded in Témiscaming

  [1]Tembecen.wikipedia.org

  Former employees, residents, entrepreneurs, unions, and public authorities establish Tembec and acquire the town's shuttered mill in an effort to preserve local employment and economic activity.

Integrated, diversified forest-products supplier with a strong community-rooted origin and international pulp, paper, wood, and chemical operations.

• Forest products

  Softwood lumber

  Tembec's Forest Products Group manufactured softwood lumber for construction and related wood-product markets. Lumber was part of the company's broader integrated model, which combined primary wood processing with pulp, paper, engineered wood, and specialty-product operations.

• Forest products

  Engineered wood products

  Engineered wood products formed part of Tembec's diversified forest-products portfolio. These products used processed wood inputs to serve applications beyond conventional sawn lumber, complementing the company's softwood and specialty wood activities.

• Forest products

  Specialty wood products

  Tembec operated manufacturing activities for specialty wood products in addition to standard lumber and engineered wood. The category reflected the company's effort to serve differentiated industrial and construction applications within the forest-products sector.

• Pulp and paper

  Pulp

  Pulp was one of Tembec's core businesses and a major part of its international forest-products presence. The company operated nine pulp-manufacturing plants and supplied pulp for downstream paper, tissue, packaging, and specialty applications. Bleached kraft pulp was among the principal product types associated with its portfolio.

• Pulp and paper

  Paper and paperboard

  Tembec's paper and paperboard operations complemented its pulp mills and served industrial and converted-paper markets. Its reported operating structure included five paper plants and one paperboard plant, making paper and board an important downstream component of the company.

• Specialty chemicals

  Resins

  The Chemicals group produced resins as part of Tembec's effort to diversify beyond conventional wood, pulp, and paper products. The chemical business added specialty industrial materials to a portfolio otherwise centered on forest-resource processing.

• Specialty chemicals

  Ethanol lignin

  Tembec produced ethanol lignin recovered from pulping discharges at five of its pulp plants. This activity used a by-product of the pulping process as a specialty chemical input and illustrated the company's integrated approach to mill outputs.

• 2020

  Fine following Chapleau workplace fatality

  Tembec was fined CAD 250,000 after pleading guilty in relation to the death of a worker at Chapleau on 25 May 2018. The mill changed ownership shortly afterward, and court proceedings described the facility as operating under the Ryam Lumber name when Rayonier acquired it.

  Source

Read more

• 2017

  Accepting Rayonier Advanced Materials' takeover offerM&A

  Background

  Tembec agreed to a takeover as a standalone forest-products company. The initial proposed consideration was CAD 320 million, and the offer was later increased to CAD 475 million.

  Action taken

  Tembec accepted the acquisition proposal, which closed in November 2017.

  Aftermath

  Tembec ceased to exist as an independent corporate brand, while its facilities and businesses continued within Rayonier Advanced Materials' operating structure.

  Proposed acquisition value. CAD 320 million → CAD 475 million (May to July 2017)

  Source

1. 1Tembecen.wikipedia.org