Forest fire destroys Arauco plywood mill

5 January 2012

Forest fires in Chile have destroyed Arauco’s plywood mill in Nueva Aldea.

Hundreds of firefighters were involved in the operation to battle the blaze at Arauco’s site.

The log yard and radiata pine plantations were also damaged but the adjacent pulp mill was unaffected.

Chile’s Bio Bio region is the worst affected by the forest fires, with 225km² of forests damaged.

Meanwhile, Arauco has been on the acquisition trail, purchasing Uniboard’s MDF and chipboard manufacturing factory in Moncure, North Carolina.

The sale of Moncure is a major milestone in the planned sale of Pfleiderer’s North American operations. It forms part of Pfleiderer’s restructuring plan.