New South Companies, Inc., a member of the Canfor group of companies, purchased what was then Chesterfield Lumber here in late 2007 with the understanding that it would need additional resources and capital improvements to be competitive. With the addition of Darlington, there are now four New South mills, all in the Carolinas.
“When New South acquired this site, there was no formalized maintenance program,” according to Chief Engineer, Travis McDonald. In 2008 and 2009, management started a cultural shift in processes and mindsets in an ongoing effort to implement preventative and predictive maintenance.