Pleasant River Lumber changes ownership

DOVER-FOXCROFT – The Brochu family of Stratton and Rodney Irish of Freeport earlier this week completed their purchase of Pleasant River Lumber Co. in Dover-Foxcroft from Gerard Crete & Sons of Quebec.

“We’re very excited about the opportunity to put the natural resources of our great state to work in this facility,” Luke Brochu, president of Pleasant River Lumber Co., said Friday.

About 80 people are employed at the facility, which produces 75 million board feet of dimension lumber a year for the wholesale market.

Luke Brochu, Guy Brochu, Jason Brochu, Chris Brochu and Adrien Brochu, owners of the company, received a loan guarantee in May from the Finance Authority of Maine to help with the purchase. FAME’s board approved a guarantee of $1.75 million on $8.4 million of debt.

The Brochus are a third-generation logging family engaged in the softwood lumber business as operator and partners of Stratton Lumber Co. in Stratton, according to Jason Brochu, vice president of the Dover-Foxcroft business.

He has no immediate plans for changes, but hopes to expand in the future. Part of Pleasant River Lumber Co. uses advanced technology, and the new owners want to finish modernizing.

Company officials support the Dover-Foxcroft Water District’s plan to extend the water main from the former bowling alley to the plant,

Brochu said. The move would improve the company’s fire protection coverage, which should reduce insurance rates.

The lumber company is located within a Pine Tree Development Zone, a state program that seeks new investment by providing targeted tax-based economic development incentives within the zones.