Weyerhaeuser
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| Financial Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | |
| Net Sales (US$M) | 19,873 | 18,521 | 14,545 |
| Net Earnings (Loss) (US$M) | 277 | 241 | 354 |
Weyerhaeuser Company Template:Nyse is an American forest products company based in Federal Way, Washington. Weyerhaeuser is an international forest products company that operates five major business segments: Timberlands Grows and harvests trees in renewable cycles. Wood Products Manufactures and distributes building materials for homes and other structures. Pulp and Paper Produces a variety of papers, and the pulp to produce papers, absorbent products and for specialty uses such as photographic film. Containerboard Packaging and Recycling Produces paper, boxes and bags to move products from factory to store to consumer. Collects and recycles wastepaper, boxes and newsprint to make new products. Real Estate Builds single- and multi-family homes and develops land.
It is the third largest pulp and paper company in the world, with manufacturing operations in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Mexico, Ireland, France and Uruguay, among others. The world's largest private owner of softwood timberland- Managing 38 million acres (154,000 km²) in five countries. It is the third largest owner in the United States, behind Plum Creek Timber and International Paper. It has approximately 55,200 employees in 18 countries (primarily in the U.S. and Canada).
A global giant
Weyerhaeuser is truly a global giant with timber operations or offices in 44 states, Canada and 18 other nations. It imports timber products from endangered rainforest hotspots in Malaysia, Chile, and Brazil. It is one of the worlds largest forest producers and distributors of forest products and is one of the largest private owners of merchantable softwood timberlands In North America, Weyerhaeuser is one of the top distributors of wood products. Weyerhaeuser owns over seven million acres (28,000 km²) of land in the U.S., and owns or holds logging rights to more than 35 million acres (142,000 km²) of land in Canada. Weyerhaeuser has diversified widely beyond its roots in lumber and wood products, and today controls a vast network of over 100 subsidiaries in fields including construction, real estate sales and development (often on its cutover lands).
In the late 1990s, the company consolidated it core businesses and exited its long interests in mortgage banking, personal care products, financial services, and information systems consulting. Weyerhaeuser also made expansions into South American, Australia, and the rest of Asia.
The company has a top-notch IT internship program that develops professionals for the industry's leading IT department.
Weyerhaeuser was founded in January 1900 by Frederick (original: Friedrich) Weyerhaeuser () and 15 partners with 900,000 acres (3,600 km²) of Washington state timberland. In 1929 the company built what was then the world's largest sawmill in Longview, Washington. In 1931, the company started producing pulp at its pulp mill in Longview, which sustained it financially through the Great Depression. In 1959 the company changed its name to Weyerhaeuser Company, eliminating the word "Timber" to better reflect its operations. In 1965 Weyerhaeuser built its first bleached kraft pulp mill in Canada. In 1967 Weyerhaeuser implemented its High Yield Forestry Plan. High Yield Forestry drew upon 30 years of forestry research and field experience. It called for planting of seedlings within one year of harvest, soil fertilization, thinning, rehabilitation of brushlands and eventually genetic improvement of trees. It continues to be one of the largest intensive forest management programs in the world, doubling the growth per unit area on Weyerhaeuser managed forestlands.
Activists have heavily criticized many of Weyerhaeuser's practices as socially and ecologically destructive. These practices include clear-cut logging, logging in endangered forests and in endangered species habitat, conversion of native forests to tree plantations devoid of biodiversity, ignoring the rights of Indigneous communities, health and safety violations, usustainable cut rates, and mill closures among others. Recently the Rainforest Action Network has targetted Weyerhaeuser with a hard hitting market campaign to force the company to reform its practices.
External links
- Company web site (http://www.weyerhaeuser.com/)
- Yahoo profile (http://biz.yahoo.com/p/w/wy.html)