Bartow, Florida, USA 14 June 2016 -- Sunbelt Forest Products of Bartow, Florida has announced the purchase of a pressure treated wood facility in Athens, AL from Georgia-Pacific (GP).

Sunbelt is one of the largest pressure treaters in the Southeast, with plants in Bartow, Florida, Rockledge, Florida, and Louisville, Alabama. The acquisition will increase the company's manufacturing capabilities to over 600 million board feet of pressure treated wood a year.

"The Athens plant will provide Sunbelt with new opportunities in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana," said Ken DelleDonne, Sunbelt president. "With the added capacity we can begin to expand our reach beyond the southeast, providing both above ground and ground contact pressure treated wood to more lumber yards in the region."

Sunbelt also exports pressure treated lumber to the Caribbean and will be looking in the future at other export opportunities, because of the increased capacity and additional flexibility to shift production to plants within proximity of shipping lines and ports.

Sunbelt Forest Products is a wholly owned subsidiary of PalletOne, Inc. In addition to Sunbelt facilities, PalletOne owns and operates 15 locations involved in the manufacture, recycle and distribution of wood pallets and Industrial Recycling Services, Inc., involved in the purchase, sale and resale of post-industrial waste.

"We are excited about this expansion," said Howe Wallace, PalletOne president and chief executive officer. "Treated wood customers in these expanded markets have expressed a strong interest in the products and services we provide. We look forward to showing what we can do."

Founded in 1982, Sunbelt Forest Products was the first facility in Florida to introduce treating with arsenic-free preservatives as well as the first in the state to start treating with water repellents and mold inhibitors.