Origins in Britain
In 1848, Henry Potter Burt founded Burt, Boulton Holdings Ltd. in England, a company that specialized in treating timber against rot from moisture. The company used substances, such as creosote derived from coal tar, to prolong lumber's useful life, supplying railway ties and pilings for wharves and foundations throughout Europe and the British Empire. Within eleven years Burt, Boulton was exporting to North America and acquired a sawmill in Quebec's Eastern Townships.
In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries there was an ever-increasing source of coal tar and a demand for treated wood. Growth continued for Burt, Boulton Holdings Ltd. and led to the founding of a new company on February 4, 1903. It was called the Dominion Tar and Chemical Company, Limited. Dominion Tar's first plant was located in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and began operations just eight months later.
In 1910, the company obtained two major contracts. The first, from the Canadian Pacific Railway, was to treat railway ties, and the second, with the Lake Superior Iron & Steel Company (a predecessor of Algoma Steel), was to process tar produced from the coke ovens at its Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario mill. This required the financing of two new plants at opposite ends of Eastern Canada. Burt, Boulton retained the majority of shares in the company but took on Senator John S. McLennan from Nova Scotia and Drummond, McCall & Co. of Montreal as the corporation's first Canadian shareholders.
When the First World War broke out in 1914, Dominion Tar established its head office in Montreal, Canada.
Incorporation in Canada
Throughout the first quarter of the twentieth century, Dominion Tar opened offices in Toronto, Halifax, Vancouver, and Calgary. On November 26, 1928, Canadian business magnates Sir Herbert Holt of Montreal and Harold Gundy of Toronto acquired the British-owned corporation.
In 1929, Dominion Tar and Chemical Company Ltd was formed as a Canadian corporation in order to acquire the assets of the former company, and shortly thereafter offered its shares for public sale. It was then listed on the Montreal and Toronto stock exchanges. By the following year, it had unlisted trading privileges on the American Stock Exchange.
During the Great Depression of 1931–36, operating costs were slashed and capital expenditures delayed. Employee wages were reduced 10% and management was consolidated. Several plants were closed — some temporarily, others permanently. Dominion Tar withheld its annual dividend on common stock from 1932 to 1937.
In 1937, Dominion Tar invested in Industrial Minerals, an Alberta company that was producing salt under the Sifto brand.
In the 1950s, the firm's assets grew from $35 million to over $500 million, with annual sales surging from $33 million to $325 million, and annual net profits climbing from less than $2.25 million to almost $19 million. Operations were still based on coal tar, salt, and construction materials. However, throughout this decade the company negotiated a series of acquisitions to fuel its growth:
It also elevated Dominion Tar into the ranks of the largest Canadian-owned corporations, with plants located across the country, over $350 million in assets, and annual sales to match.
Creation of Domtar
In 1961, Dominion Tar entered into a merger with several other companies:
In 1965, Dominion Tar & Chemical Company, Limited became known as Domtar Ltd. (later changed to Domtar Inc.). In addition, the newly formed Domtar was reorganized into several operating divisions:
In 1967, the latter three units were consolidated into a single pulp and paper group. By then, total corporate assets had reached $477 million, and Domtar was now determined to become a leader in paper manufacturing.
- Howard Smith Paper (involving those shareholders who had not yet sold out to Dominion Tar),
- St. Lawrence Corporation Limited, and
- Hinde & Dauch Limited.
- Chemicals,
- Consumer Products (sold to Bristol Myers in 1967),
- Construction Materials (sold to Georgia Pacific in 1998),
- Kraft and Fine Papers,
- Newsprint and Containerboard, and
- Packaging.
Acquisitions and rationalizations
Throughout the 1970s, Domtar began to re-evaluate its non-paper businesses as it continued to expand. The first noteworthy venture was the acquisition of Buntin Reid Paper Co. Ltd., the largest independent fine paper merchant in Canada. Next came the modernization and expansion of the flagship Cornwall, Ontario mill (closed in 2006), the expansion of the Caledonia gypsum wallboard plant, investments in a new laminated products plant at Huntsville, Ontario, and the acquisition of McFarlaneson & Hodgson Inc., a major Canadian fine paper merchant. Domtar also launched several joint ventures to increase its lumber operations and to supply more wood to its newsprint mill in Dolbeau, Quebec.
In 1978, Argus Corporation, a long-time controlling shareholder in Domtar, entered into a private deal with MacMillan Bloedel to sell its 19% stake. Macmillan Bloedel made a takeover bid for the rest of Domtar's shares, and Domtar retaliated with its own bid for MB's shares. When the Province of British Columbia announced that it was opposing any attempt to acquired MB, both bids were dropped and MB sold its Domtar shares to the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec in 1979. In 1981, the Caisse and the Société générale de financement du Québec expanded their shareholdings to a total of 42% of all outstanding common shares.[5]
In 1979, Domtar acquired Reed Limited, a subsidiary of a U.K. pulp and paper manufacturer, with three corrugated container plants, a linerboard mill, and a waste
Merger with Weyerhaeuser
On August 22, 2006, Domtar, Inc. agreed to merge with the paper division of Weyerhaeuser.[11] The merger was effected as an arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act, taking place in several steps:[12]
On March 7, 2007, the transaction officially closed, and Weyerhaeuser TIA was subsequently renamed as Domtar Corporation.[14]
In March 2013, Domtar announced it was acquiring Xerox's US and Canadian Paper businesses and began being the exclusive seller and distributor of Xerox products as of June 1, 2013.[15][16] Cornwall coated cover was produced for a time in Chinese paper mills due to the closure of the Cornwall, Ontario plant, but production has since ceased.
Acquisition by Paper Excellence
On May 11, 2021, privately held forest products company Paper Excellence announced that it was acquiring Domtar Corp. for US$2.8-billion.[17][18]
