About Stella-Jones

Stella-Jones Inc. produces and markets pressure treated wood products. The company supplies North America’s railroad operators with railway ties and timbers, and the continent’s electrical utilities and telecommunication companies with utility poles. It also manufactures and distributes residential lumber and accessories to retailers for outdoor applications, as well as industrial products which include marine and foundation pilings, construction timbers, wood for bridges and coal tar-based products. Segments The company operates through two segments, production and sale of pressure-treated wood and the procurement and sales of logs and lumber. The pressure-treated wood segment includes utility poles, railway ties, residential lumber and industrial products. The logs and lumber segment includes the sales of logs harvested in the course of the company’s procurement process that are determined to be unsuitable for use as utility poles. Also included in this segment is the sale of excess lumber to local home-building markets. Utility Poles The company provides approximately one million pressure-treated poles per year to replace, upgrade and develop new electrical utility and telecommunications lines across Canada and the United States. Customers include electrical utility companies and telecommunication companies. Services include incising, radial drilling, through boring, framing, and laminated wood pole design. Railway Ties The company plays an important role in the development, upgrade and maintenance of North America’s railroad infrastructure, supplying the continent’s demand for railway ties and timbers with approximately 10 million pressure-treated wooden crossties per year. The company has the treating capacity, sources of supply and purchasing power to meet the needs of Class 1, short line railroads and commercial operators from coast to coast. Its supplier network of approximately 1,200 hardwood sawmills allows it to offer crossties and switch ties in various sizes. Customers include class 1 railroads and short and regional rail lines and contractors. Services include pre-plating, pre-boring, crossing panels, and end-plating. Residential Lumber The company’s services to key North American retailers include supplying annually, hundreds of millions of board feet of treated residential lumber across Canada and the United States. A supplier of treated wood products for the dimensional lumber market, the company treats wood boards, plywood and dimensional lumber for use in patios, decks, fences and other outdoor applications in addition to providing customized services for the residential and construction markets. Customers include Big box retailers and dealer network. Services include distribution of complementary accessories. Industrial Products The company supplies pressure treated wood products to the industrial, marine and civic sectors for outdoor applications, producing wharf timbers, bridge timbers, crane mats, railway crossings and laminated poles, offered in various select wood species and preservatives. Logs and Lumber The logs and lumber product category is used to optimize procurement, does not generate margin, and sales fluctuations are tied to the market price of lumber. As of December 31, 2019, the company operated forty wood treating plants, twelve pole peeling facilities and a coal tar distillery. These facilities are located in six Canadian provinces and nineteen American states and are complemented by a distribution network across North America. Strategy The company focuses on seeking strategic acquisitions and optimizing long-term preservative supply for its utility pole treatment business. Seasonality The company’s sales follow a seasonal pattern, with utility pole, railway tie, and industrial product shipments strongest in the second and third quarters (year ended December 31, 2019) to provide industrial end users with product for their summer maintenance projects. Residential lumber sales also follow a similar seasonal pattern. In the fall and winter seasons, there tends to be less activity; as a result, the first and fourth quarters are characterized by relatively lower sales. History Stella-Jones Inc. was founded in 1992. The company was incorporated in 1992.