Cox Industries exits residential lumber business
Cox Industries, the Orangeburg, S.C.-based producer of pressure-treated wood products is selling its residential lumber division assets to Culpeper Wood Preservers, a Virginia-based wood treater with a similar focus on residential lumber.
Included in the sale are Cox manufacturing plants located in Orangeburg and Branchville, S.C. along with facilities in Coleridge and Cove City, N.C. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but Cox Industries said the sale is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.
All Cox employees currently working in the residential business will be given the opportunity to transition to Culpeper while Cox will retain its corporate headquarters in Orangeburg, according to Cox.
"We are excited at the opportunities this next phase in Cox's history presents for our employees," said Mikee Johnson, CEO of Cox Industries. "The residential division of Cox represents a significant part of our company's legacy so it was extremely important that any transaction we entered into was done with a company that shares the same foundational values as us.”
Cox also said that the transaction will allow the company to place additional resources into its “rapidly growing” industrial division which predominately manufactures and sells utility poles and marine piling.
"Within only a few years, our industrial division has grown to become one of the largest providers of utility poles in the United States, with a customer base that now extends from coast to coast," said Johnson. "We look forward to using proceeds from the sale of our residential division to growing and diversifying this business while expanding our role as a key player in supporting America's electrical and marine infrastructure.”