1920

Expanding East

Until the Panama Canal opened "new territories" to the company, shipping Douglas fir to the East Coast had been too costly. Soon, Atlantic Coast retailers were clamoring for this new and exceptional lumber product from the Northwest.

Weyerhaeuser Enters the Steamship Business

The company purchased four surplus World War I merchant ships to transport lumber from the Northwest to the East Coast. In later years, the company purchased additional ships and created the Weyerhaeuser Steamship Company, the predecessor to today's Westwood Shipping Lines, which serves markets in Europe and Asia.

Baltimore Yard

The first distribution center for Weyerhaeuser lumber shipped through the Panama Canal.

4-Square® Lumber

In February 1928, F. K. Weyerhaeuser gave a rousing talk to the company's sales force emphasizing the tradition of "square dealing" begun by Frederick Weyerhaeuser. This inspired one of the greatest marketing efforts ever attempted at Weyerhaeuser: 4-Square® lumber.

Advancing Lumber Quality

The program significantly improved the appearance and quality of products. For the first time, lumber was grade marked, precisely squared, cut to exact lengths and wrapped. The company even provided building plans for barns and other structures using exact-cut lengths for lumber. Weyerhaeuser's program revolutionized the lumber industry.

A New Unity

4-Square® lumber provided unity and quality assurance in the growing market by providing a common brand identity. Numerous company mills were now bound together by a marketing program and a product that became tops in the industry.

Weyerhaeuser Logged-Off Land Company

In 1925 this new subsidiary was given over 200,000 acres of previously logged land and charged with making an intensive study of the best use of the land, including sale, development or reforestation. George S. Long hoped to show taxing authorities that reforestation was possible and good for business. These efforts were ultimately successful in altering state timber taxation laws to encourage the long-term growth of timber on private lands.

Innovation and New Ventures

Since the 1910s, the company had explored using wood leftovers to create new products. The Wood Conversion Company was formed in 1921 to research and market new uses for wood. Among these were "Balsam-Wool," a fluffy material used as insulation, and "Nu-wood," a composite insulation board. Over the next 30 years, the Wood Conversion Company would introduce dozens of new products.

Sawmill - Longview, Washington

When built in 1929, this mill was the world's largest. It was designed for maximum utilization by including a shingle mill and three separate sawmills, each to cut a different type of log.