McKenzie Forest Products has taken a creaky and outdated plywood mill in Springfield, Oregon, thoroughly studied its processes and marketing, and embarked on a dynamic modernisation programme which considers the peculiarities of today’s market.

The mill is on the site of the old Booth-Kelly Lumber Co, bought by GeorgiaPacific in the late 1950s. When the present ownership acquired it after bankruptcy it was one of those CDX sheathing mills that popped up in the mid 20th century, fuelled by a burgeoning housing market and without the competition of the yet-to-be-developed OSB.