Cox Industries Announces Sale of Residential Lumber Division

ORANGEBURG, S.C., Dec. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cox Industries, one of the country's largest producers of pressure-treated wood products announced today that it is selling its Residential Lumber Division assets to Culpeper Wood Preservers, a Virginia-based wood treater with a similar focus on residential lumber. Included in the sale are Cox manufacturing plants located in Orangeburg, South Carolina, Coleridge, North Carolina, Cove City, North Carolina and Branchville, South Carolina.

In aligning its Residential business with Culpeper, Cox will help to create an industry powerhouse, with combined manufacturing facilities and customers that stretch throughout the Eastern and Midwestern states. Additionally, all Cox employees currently working in the Residential business will be provided opportunity to transition to Culpeper while Cox will retain its corporate headquarters in Orangeburg, South Carolina to oversee its rapidly growing Industrial Division.

"We are excited at the opportunities this next phase in Cox's history presents for our employees," said Mikee Johnson, CEO of Cox Industries. "The Residential Division of Cox represents a significant part of our company's legacy so it was extremely important that any transaction we entered into was done with a company that shares the same foundational values as us. As a family-run business in operation since 1976, we certainly believe that in addition to providing a platform for continued expansion of the Residential Division, Culpeper operates its business with the same employee focus that has served us well for over 75 years," said Johnson. "Our alignment on shared values was critical to our decision to sell this business unit."

"Both Cox Residential and Culpeper focus on selling products to independent building supply retailers and the merging of these entities is expected to position the business for strong future growth through expanded product lines and additional manufacturing facilities," said Johnson.

In addition to providing a platform for significant growth in Residential lumber, this transaction will allow Cox to place additional resources into its rapidly growing Industrial Division which predominately manufactures and sells utility poles and marine piling. "Within only a few years, our Industrial Division has grown to become one of the largest providers of utility poles in the United States, with a customer base that now extends from coast to coast," said Johnson. "We look forward to using proceeds from the sale of our Residential Division to growing and diversifying this business while expanding our role as a key player in supporting America's electrical and marine infrastructure. We will continue to manage this expanding business from our Orangeburg headquarters where we now oversee operations at 10 plants located across the country."

"A key to success in the residential lumber business is to operate with sufficient scale so that customers, employees, and investors all clearly see a growth path for the business. Clearly, the combination of these two businesses does just that." - Mikee Johnson, CEO Cox Industries, Inc.

The transition of the Cox Residential business to Culpeper is expected to be complete by year-end 2017.

Fast Facts

• Cox Industries is selling its Residential Lumber division to Culpeper Wood Treaters, a family-owned business headquartered in Culpeper, Virginia.
• Included in the sale are Cox manufacturing plants in Orangeburg, South Carolina, Coleridge, North Carolina, Cove City, North Carolina and Branchville, South Carolina.
• All Cox employees currently working in the Residential Lumber division will be offered opportunity for employment with Culpeper.
• Cox will continue to operate its company headquarters from Orangeburg, South Carolina where it manages Cox's Industrial Division, a multi-state, multi-plant operation that is one of the country's largest providers of utility poles.

Media Contact:
Keith Harris, VP Marketing Cox Industries, Inc.
[email protected], 803-928-5096

SOURCE Cox Industries, Inc.