 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| NYSE: RYN S&P 400 Component | |
| Industry | Timber |
| Founded | 1926 |
| Headquarters | 1 Rayonier Way Yulee, Florida, 32097 |
Key people | Scott Jones – Chairman, Mark D. McHugh – President and CEO, Douglas M. Long – SVP and Chief Resource Officer[1] |
| Products | Timber,real estate |
| Revenue |  US$1263 million (2024)[2] |
| US$359 million (2024)[2] | |
Number of employees | 424 (332 in US)[2] |
| Website | rayonier |
| Footnotes / references [3][4] | |
Rayonier Inc, headquartered inYulee, Florida is a timberlandreal estate investment trust ("REIT") with assets located in softwoodtimber growing regions in the United States and New Zealand. Its core business segments are timber and real estate.[5]
As of December 31, 2024, the company owned or leased approximately 2.5 million acres of timberlands overall, located in theU.S. South (1.75 million acres) and U.S. Pacific Northwest (308,000 acres). The company also has a 77% ownership interest in Matariki Forestry Group, a joint venture, that owns or leases approximately 412,000 acres of timberlands inNew Zealand.[2]
Rayonier was founded in 1926 as theRainier Pulp and Paper Company inShelton, Washington, with a headquarters office inSan Francisco,California. Its name was inspired byMount Rainier in Washington state. Its first mill opened the next year in SheltonWashington, on theOlympic Peninsula. The mill usedTsuga heterophylla (western hemlock) trees to create a premium bleached paper pulp.
In September 1930, Rainier Pulp and Paper began working with theDuPont chemical company to producehemlock pulp for the manufacture ofrayon.[6] Two additional pulp mills were constructed and began operation in the state ofWashington atHoquiam, Washington andPort Angeles, Washington.
Rainier Pulp and Paper changed its name to Rayonier, aportmanteau of the wordsrayon andRainier, in 1937, when it became a publicly traded company. The following year, the company acquired timber stands in the southeastern United States, and began construction of aFernandina Beach, Florida, pulp mill, which began production in 1939.[7]
In 1944, the company moved its offices toNew York City.[8] As World War II ended, Rayonier began making large land purchases in the Pacific Northwest. The Rayonier Foundation was created in 1952 to provide assistance to charitable, civic and education organizations in the communities where Rayonier did business.
Rayonier opened international sales offices in Europe and Asia during 1954. That same year, another pulp mill in the southeast was constructed atJesup, Georgia.[8] High demand prompted the facility to double its capacity by 1957.
ITT purchased the company in 1968 and the name changed to ITT Rayonier.[9]
The Jesup mill was expanded in 1974, becoming the largest pulp mill on earth.[10]
Company headquarters were moved again in 1978; this time toStamford, Connecticut.
Diplomatic relations withChina were restored in 1979. The following year, Rayonier received orders for pulp and logs. It took almost five years to receive permission to open an office inBeijing in 1985.[citation needed]
A log-trading office was opened in New Zealand during 1988. The New Zealand government sold Rayonier 250,000 acres (1,000 km2) of timberland in 1992.[11]
The company was spun off from ITT in 1994 with the company name reverting to Rayonier and shares again traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Rayonier purchased 969,000 acres (3,920 km2) of timberland in Florida, Georgia and Alabama in 1999, then relocated the corporate offices toJacksonville, Florida, to be closer to company employees and properties.[12]
Rayonier converted to areal estate investment trust (REIT) on January 1, 2004.[13]TerraPointe LLC was established in 2005 to manage properties with development potential.[14]
The 2006 purchase of 228,000 acres (920 km2) in six states brought the company's total of land owned, leased or managed to 2,600,000 acres (11,000 km2) in the U.S. and New Zealand.
In March 2008, the company purchased 56,300 acres (228 km2) for $215 million in southwest Washington state from Sierra Pacific[15]
In March 2013, the company sold its wood products division, including its mills in Baxley, Swainsboro, and Eatonton,Georgia, toBritish Columbia-basedInternational Forest Products (Interfor) for $80 million.[16]
In April 2013, the company increased its shareholding in the joint venture Matariki Forestry Group in New Zealand from 26% to 65% for $140 million.[4]
In May 2014, Rayonier named David L. Nunes as post-separation president and CEO for Rayonier.[17]
Aclass action against members of the former management team by certain shareholders was launched for the period from October 26, 2010, to November 7, 2014, claiming over-harvesting while communicating publicly harvesting below a sustainable rate.[18]On October 5, 2017, the court entered orders approving the settlement and a plan of distribution terminating these class actions.
In June 2014, Rayonier spun off its performance fibers business into an independent, publicly traded company,Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. (NYSE: RYAM).[19][20] Shareholders of Rayonier received one share of the new Rayonier Advanced Materials company for every three shares of Rayonier on June 27, 2014.[3][21]
In August 2015, Rayonier announced its ownership in the New Zealand joint venture will increase from 65% to approximately 77%, as part of an anticipated recapitalization of the JV.[22]
In May 2016, Rayonier announced upgrades to it Pacific Northwest timberland portfolio through the acquisition of 61,000 acres of timberlands in western Oregon for $263 million, and a disposition of 55,000 acres comprising predominantly pre-merchantable timber in Washington state for $130 million.[23]
In August 2017, Rayonier consolidated its corporate headquarters, real estate, and forest resources offices into a newly constructed, state-of-the-art building in Wildlight, Florida.[24] The company is currently constructing a 23,600 acre development in Wildlight.[25] It began work on phase two of the project in 2022, developing 15,000 acres of land.[26]
In May 2020, Rayonier acquiredPope Resources in the Pacific Northwest.[2]
In March 2025, Rayonier announced the intended sale of its interest in the New Zealand Joint Venture to the Rohatyn Group for $710 million.[27]
In October 2025, Rayonier andPotlatchDeltic announced a plan to combine in an all-stock deal creating a $7.1 billion forestry company. The combined company will own roughly 4.2 million acres of US timberland.[28]