UFP Industries (UFPI) announced that its affiliate, PalletOne, Inc., has acquired a 50% equity stake in Dempsey Wood Products, LLC. The purchase agreement includes options for PalletOne to purchase the remaining 50% of Dempsey after three years.
Founded in 1988 by Ronald Dempsey, Dempsey Wood Products produces kiln-dried lumber, pallet lumber, and other industrial wood products from a single location in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Dempsey had 2021 sales of $68.9 million, and its management team, including Ronald Dempsey and his son, Parker Dempsey, will continue in management roles.
The industrial lumber that Dempsey produces is a key product for pallet operations and has been in short supply as larger mills produce less of this type of lumber. PalletOne’s investment in Dempsey helps it secure and grow a critical long-term supply source. In 2021, five of Dempsey’s 10 largest customers were UFP affiliates, and nearly 40 other UFP locations could be served by Dempsey.
UFP Industries is a holding company whose operating subsidiaries – UFP Industrial, UFP Construction and UFP Retail Solutions – manufacture, distribute and sell a wide variety of value-added products used in residential and commercial construction, packaging and other industrial applications worldwide.
PalletOne manufactures new pallets, provides pallet repair programs, recycles used pallets, and produces a variety of other wood products. The company is an affiliate of UFP Industrial, which operates more than 70 company-owned wood packaging and pallet manufacturing operations across the U.S.
