Published on 24 Apr 2023 on Zacks via Yahoo Finance

Louisiana-Pacific (LPX) to Expand Siding Capacity With Wawa OSB

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation LPX, commonly known as LP Building Solutions  or LP, inked a deal with Forex Inc. to acquire the assets of the latter’s subsidiary — Wawa OSB Inc.The transaction includes a manufacturing facility in Wawa, Ontario, that will be converted into an LP SmartSide Trim & Siding mill. With the addition of approximately 400 million square feet of capacity, LP's total siding capacity will increase to 2.7 billion square feet annually. Post-conversion, the mill will become LP's largest single-line siding mill.The deal is expected to be completed in early May 2023, subject to court approval and customary closing conditions. Meanwhile, LP is evaluating project schedules to determine when construction at the facility will begin.Executive vice president and general manager of Siding, Jason Ringblom, said, "LP SmartSide Trim & Siding has experienced tremendous growth over the past few years, becoming one of the fastest-growing siding brands in the United States. In response to customer demand, we continue to expand our capacity across North America to position SmartSide for long-term growth.”

Price Performance

Shares of the company have gained 11.1% in the past month compared with the Zacks Building Products – Wood industry’s 5.9% growth. The trend is likely to continue, given its focus on the Siding business, cost-containment efforts and enhancing shareholders’ value.