Paper Excellence Group rebrands as Domtar

British Columbia-based pulp and paper company Paper Excellence Group officially has rebranded, integrating sister companies Resolute Forest Products and Domtar Corp. to form what it calls a "leading, unified forest products company in North America." As of late October, the companies are doing business as Domtar.

"This integration represents a strategic alignment of the companies' strengths, resources and expertise, creating a stronger organization poised for future growth and innovation while maintaining the highest levels of environmental stewardship," Domtar says in a news release announcing the rebranding.

Paper Excellence acquired Fort Mill, South Carolina-based forest products company Domtar in late 2021 in a deal worth nearly $3 billion to broaden its reach, expand its product offering and increase pulp and paper production. In early 2023, Domtar completed a two-year conversion of its mill in Kingsport, Tennessee, to the company's first 100 percent-recycled packaging facility. The conversion added 600,000 tons of recycled linerboard and corrugated medium capacity annually.

Later that year, Paper Excellence and Domtar acquired Resolute Forest Products in a $2.7 billion deal that added 1.1 million metric tons of pulp capacity and seven paper mills totaling 1.5 million metric tons of capacity to the Paper Excellence portfolio.

"Domtar's new brand identity symbolizes the combined legacy, shared values and forward-looking vision of the three organizations," the company says.

The rebrand includes a new logo, which Domtar says reflects "the spirit of collaboration, sustainability and commitment to excellence" that will define its future. The inclusion of a seedling in the logo is meant to represent Domtar's commitment to nurturing potential and fostering growth as well as an "important evolution" of the company's gradual development from "a small, humble beginning to a thriving, mature global organization."

"Today marks a new and important chapter in Domtar's journey, representing the bright future ahead of us," says John D. Williams, nonexecutive chair of the management board of Domtar and its sister organizations. "As a fully integrated company, we are better positioned to deliver for our customers, strengthen relationships with key stakeholders and drive innovation across our industry."

Domtar will continue to serve pulp, paper, packaging, tissue and wood products markets and notes that products will be marketed under their legacy names. Commercial information will be updated on the Domtar website in the coming weeks; until then, information will be available on Paper Excellence and Resolute platforms.

Domtar will maintain its corporate office in Fort Mill, as well as Richmond, British Columbia, home of Paper Excellence, and Montreal, home of Resolute. According to Domtar, its physical locations and production footprint will not change as a result of the rebranding.

"As a result of the integration, we now have a company that boasts the best of our three legacy companies and is poised to pursue and achieve future growth and success," Williams says. "Our new brand is a reflection of our shared mission to lead with purpose and impact.