June 2025 Message From Our CEO

It’s hard to believe, but the Summer of ’25 is here!  We hope you, your family and your teams are doing well and looking forward to whatever vacation plans you may have. 

While the world is taking to beach, mountains or canyons, the crew at Columbia Forest Products is staying quite busy with a range of projects and initiatives that will position us to serve you in more and better ways in the years to come: 

1. Throughout our mill network, several capital investments are being put in place, from new saws and lathes to presses and patching equipment; 
2. Our digital transformation process continues to take hold, from our back-end systems to a brand-new website you’ll be seeing soon; 
3. Columbia is also finalizing a new three-year Strategic Plan which will channel direction we’ve been receiving from our customers, like a more dynamic Product Innovation effort, meaningful Customer Engagement and delivered, consistent Quality; 
4. We’re also refreshing and strengthening our leadership and bench strength.  In the last few months, we’ve placed a new Chief Information Officer and HR Vice President, and Jeff Wakefield now has responsibility for US Plywood Operations; 
5. In the marketplace, our Field Sales Representatives are emphasizing product and industry education to assure our distributor teams and customers are being trained in the essentials and details of hardwood plywood…and we’re working on an update to the popular Columbia Forest Products University Online self-education course. 
6. We’re also encouraging our customers to visit us and bring their employees and customers to our mills.  We just hosted a large group at Old Fort, and it reminded all of us how essential it is to make the time to be face-to-face with the people in the market who make it happen for all of us.  We’re excited to see more of you at our facilities.   This is a magnificent way to use your Rewards dollars, btw.

In short, we’re looking at the next few years as a time of opportunity and prosperity for our industry, we’re wasting no time securing a better position for our customers and for CFP to take advantage of it. 

Many would say  “I need a vacation after all of this,” but the energy we’re putting into these initiatives, and the positive momentum they’re creating on our side, is truly putting wind in our sails.  It’s extremely invigorating to see the picture come together at the pace it’s happening. 

So, please enjoy what this Summer has in store for you.

We look forward to serving your all your plywood/veneer needs and helping make you successful in more and more ways as soon as we can..!

Greg Pray

President and CEO

Columbia Forest Products

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