Rayonier Advanced Materials

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Rayonier Advanced Materials roots are traced back to 1926 with the founding of Rainier Pulp and Paper Company in San Francisco, California. Its first mill opened the next year in Shelton, Washington, and Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula. The mill used Tsuga heterophylla (western hemlock) trees to create a premium bleached paper pulp. In 1931, Rainier Pulp and Paper began working with the Du Pont chemical company to produce hemlock pulp for the manufacture of rayon. Two additional pulp mills were constructed and began operation in the state of Washington. Rainier Pulp and Paper changed its name to Rayonier, a portmanteau of the words, "rayon" and "Rainier", in 1937, when it became a publicly traded company. The following year, the company acquired timber stands in the southeastern United States and began construction of a Fernandina Beach, Florida, pulp mill, which began production in 1939.

In 1944, the company moved its offices to New York City. As World War II ended, Rayonier began making large land purchases in the Pacific Northwest. The Rayonier Foundation was created in 1952 to provide assistance to charitable, civic and education organizations in the communities where Rayonier did business. Rayonier opened international sales offices in Europe and Asia during 1954. That same year, another pulp mill in the southeast was constructed at Jesup, Georgia. High demand prompted the facility to double its capacity by 1957.

ITT purchased the company in 1968 and the name changed to ITT Rayonier. The Jesup mill grew larger in 1974, becoming the largest pulp mill on earth.{{Cite web|url=https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/lehman/chrono.html?company=itt_rayonier_incorporated|title=ITT Rayonier Incorporated - Lehman Brothers Collection|website=www.library.hbs.edu|language=en|access-date=2017-03-02}} Company headquarters were moved again in 1978; this time to Stamford, Connecticut. Diplomatic relations with China were restored in 1979. The following year, Rayonier received orders for pulp and logs. It took almost five years to receive permission to open an office in Beijing, China in 1985. A log-trading office was opened in New Zealand during 1988. The New Zealand government sold Rayonier {{convert|250000|acre|km2}} of timberland in 1992.

The company was spun off from ITT in 1994 with the company name reverting to Rayonier and shares again traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Rayonier purchased {{convert|969000|acre|km2}} of timberland in Florida, Georgia and Alabama in 1999, then relocated the corporate offices to Jacksonville, Florida to be closer to company employees and properties.[http://www.floridatrend.com/print_article.asp?aID=49568 Florida Trend: September 1, 2008-Florida Companies With Promise by Amy Keller]

Rayonier converted to a real estate investment trust (REIT) on January 1, 2004.[http://www.rayonier.com/History.aspx Rayonier, Inc. History] Accessed 2008-09-25

TerraPointe LLC was established in 2005 to manage properties with development potential. The 2006 purchase of {{convert|228000|acre|km2}} in six states brought the company's total of land owned, leased or managed to {{convert|2600000|acre|km2}} in the U.S. and New Zealand. In March 2008, the company purchased {{convert|56300|acre|km2}} for $215 million in southwest Washington state from Sierra Pacific [https://www.reuters.com/article/mergersNews/idUSWNAS458720080312 Rayonier to buy timberlands for $215 mln] Accessed 2008-09-25

In March 2013, the company sold its wood products division, including its mills in Baxley, Swainsboro, and Eatonton, Georgia, to British Columbia-based International Forest Products (Interfor) for $80 million.{{cite web|title=Interfor buys three Georgia sawmills from Rayonier for $80 million|url=http://www.canadianbusiness.com/business-news/interfor-buys-three-georgia-sawmills-from-rayonier-for-80-million/|publisher=Canadian Business|access-date=6 March 2013}}

In April 2013, the company increased its shareholding in the joint venture Matariki Forestry Group in New Zealand from 26% to 65% for $140 million.

In June 2014, the company split its operations into two independent companies: Performance Fibers on one hand is named Rayonier Advanced Materials (NYSE: RYAM) and Forest Resources together with Real Estate as a REIT on the other hand continues as Rayonier, Inc., headed by David L. Nunes as its new CEO.{{cite web|url=http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=91500&p=irol-presentations|title=Separation of Performance Fibers|publisher=Rayonier|date=January 27, 2014|format=PDF|access-date=23 April 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=91500&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1929740&highlight=|title=Rayonier Names David Nunes Post-Separation CEO for Rayonier|publisher=Rayonier|date=May 12, 2014|format=PDF|access-date=21 May 2014}} Shareholders of Rayonier have received one share of the new Rayonier Advanced Materials company for every three shares of Rayonier on June 27, 2014.

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Category:Chemical companies of the United States

Category:Plastics companies of the United States

Category:Manufacturing companies based in Jacksonville, Florida

Category:Multinational companies headquartered in the United States

Category:American companies established in 2014

Category:Chemical companies established in 2014

Category:2014 establishments in Florida

Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1926

Category:1926 establishments in California

Category:Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange

Category:ITT Inc.

Category:Publicly traded companies based in Jacksonville, Florida

Category:Multinational companies based in Jacksonville