Livingston’s R-Y Timber Acquired by Sun Mountain Lumber

R-Y Timber HELENA, Mont. – R-Y Timber of Livingston has announced a recent acquisition by Sun Mountain Lumber, Inc. of Deer Lodge. The purchase was partially funded through a loan from the Montana Department of Commerce’s Wood Products Revolving Loan Program.

Operating for decades, RY Timber closed its mill in Townsend and suffered two fires at its Livingston location, partially closing it and affecting almost 70 jobs. Sun Mountain Lumber stepped in last summer and worked with R-Y Timber to purchase the mill recently. Sun Mountain Lumber, Inc. is a privately held, family-owned forest products company formed in 2004 when Deer Lodge residents Sherm and Bonnie Anderson acquired the stud mill and finger joint facilities formerly owned by Louisiana Pacific Corporation. Sun Mountain Lumber, Inc. is the largest sawmill in Montana as well as the largest private employer in the Deer Lodge Valley. As such, it helps keep the local economy thriving and now aims to do the same for Livingston.

“Sun Mountain Lumber is proud to own the largest finger joint plant in North America. We are also a high-quality stud sawmill that has continued to make major improvements to our facility in Deer Lodge,” Chris Anderson, Vice President of Sun Mountain Lumber, said. “Advances, investments and improvements in the Livingston sawmill will surely guarantee good paying jobs with outstanding benefits in the area for generations to come.”

The acquisition was partially funded through a loan from the Montana Department of Commerce’s Wood Products Revolving Loan Program. “This acquisition is gratifying not just for Livingston and the employees of R-Y Timber, but also for our business development team here at Commerce,” Mandy Rambo, Acting Director of the Montana Department of Commerce, said. “We’re proud to help good companies find ways to stay open, save jobs and leverage Montana’s abundant natural resources into products used across the country.” Rambo anticipates R-Y Timber will soon be back to being the third-largest employer in Livingston.

The Montana Wood Products Revolving Loan Program provides loans to businesses in the wood products industry to create or retain jobs, targeting areas where timber jobs are most threatened, particularly in counties with lumber mills and other related facilities.

For more information about the Montana Wood Products Revolving Loan Program, click here.

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