Six Lumber Mills Up for Auction Amid Financial Struggles
Check out the latest on the Besse Forest Products mill closures...
The six Besse Forest Products lumber mills in Wisconsin and Michigan are being offered for sealed bid auction by auction houses Hyper AMS and James G. Murphy on October 31.
The mills’ total capacity is over 75 million board feet per year. The largest mill is in Gladstone, Michigan, and includes hardwood veneer capabilities. The mill has a total annual capacity of 30 million board feet, according to Hyper AMS. A second Michigan mill is in Baraga. Four of the mills are in Wisconsin: Ladysmith, Rice Lake, Goodman, and Matton. According to Hyper AMS, they have a total capacity of 34,600,000 board feet.
The auction is a “turn-key” sale of the assets at all of the facilities.
On September 6, 2024, the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan appointed Timothy Turek as receiver of the Besse Forest Products Group. Turek engaged a joint venture comprised of HyperAMS, LLC and James G. Murphy Co. to serve as an agent to assist in selling all of Besse’s “owned real and personal property”, according to the auction announcement.