please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . july 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message domtar corporation type public traded as tsx ufs nyse ufs industry paper & paper products headquarters montreal quebec canada key people john d. williams 1 revenue us 5.6 billion 2014 2 operating income us 0.320 billion 2012 us 0.588 billion 2011 2 net income us 0.172 billion 2012 us 0.365 billion 2011 2 total assets us 6.123 billion 2012 us 5.869 billion 2011 3 total equity us 2.877 billion 2012 us 2.972 billion 2011 3 number of employees 9800 2014 4 website www.domtar.com domtar corporation is the largest integrated producer of uncoated freesheet paper in north america and the second largest in the world based on production capacity and is also a manufacturer of papergrade pulp . citation needed the firm designs manufactures markets and distributes a wide range of business commercial printing publication as well as technical and specialty papers with recognized brands such as cougar lynx opaque ultra husky opaque offset first choice sandpiper premium 100 % recycled unbleached and domtar earthchoice office paper part of a family of environmentally and socially responsible papers . domtar owns and operates domtar distribution group an extensive network of paper distribution facilities . the company overall employs nearly 10 000 people . its head office is in montreal and its operations center is in fort mill south carolina . after a 2006 merger with us based weyerhaeuser domtar is not viewed as a canadian entity and does not qualify for inclusion in canadian stock indexes . contents 1 history 1.1 origins in britain 1.2 incorporation in canada 1.3 creation of domtar 1.4 acquisitions and rationalizations 1.5 merger with weyerhaeuser 2 environmental issues 2.1 nova scotia 2.2 cornwall 2.3 western canada 2.4 other locations 3 business segments 3.1 paper 3.2 research facility 3.3 distribution 3.4 personal care 4 see also 5 references 6 further reading 7 external links history edit origins in britain edit in 1848 henry potter burt founded burt boulton holdings ltd. in england a company that specialized in treating timber against rot from moisture . the company used substances such as creosote derived from coal tar to prolong lumber s useful life supplying railway ties and pilings for wharves and foundations throughout europe and the british empire . within eleven years burt boulton was exporting to north america and acquired a sawmill in quebec s eastern townships . in the coal intensive environment of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries there was an ever increasing source of coal tar and a demand for treated wood . growth continued for burt boulton holdings ltd. and led to the founding of a new company on february 4 1903 . it was called the dominion tar and chemical company limited . dominion tar s first plant was located in cape breton nova scotia and began operations just eight months later . in 1910 the company obtained two major contracts . the first from the canadian pacific railway was to treat railway ties and the second with the lake superior iron & steel company a predecessor of algoma steel was to process tar produced from the coke ovens at its sault ste. marie ontario mill . this required the financing of two new plants at opposite ends of eastern canada . burt boulton retained the majority of shares in the company but took on senator john s. mclennan from nova scotia and drummond mccall & co. of montreal as the corporation s first canadian shareholders . when the first world war broke out in 1914 dominion tar established its head office in montreal . incorporation in canada edit throughout the first quarter of the twentieth century dominion tar opened offices in toronto halifax vancouver and calgary . on november 26 1928 canadian business magnates sir herbert holt of montreal and harold gundy of toronto acquired the british owned corporation . in 1929 dominion tar and chemical company ltd was formed as a canadian corporation in order to acquire the assets of the former company and shortly thereafter offered its shares for public sale . it was then listed on the montreal and toronto stock exchanges . by the following year it had unlisted trading privileges on the american stock exchange . during the great depression of 1931 36 operating costs were slashed and capital expenditures delayed . employee wages were reduced 10 % and management was consolidated . several plants were closed some temporarily others permanently . dominion tar withheld its annual dividend on common stock from 1932 to 1937 . in 1937 dominion tar invested in industrial minerals an alberta company that was producing salt under the sifto brand . in the 1950s the firm s assets grew from 35 million to over 500 million with annual sales surging from 33 million to 325 million and annual net profits climbing from less than 2.25 million to almost 19 million . operations were still based on coal tar salt and construction materials . however throughout this decade the company negotiated a series of acquisitions to fuel its growth in 1956 it began accumulating shares of howard smith paper mills canada s largest fine paper company . citation needed in 1958 it entered the field of construction materials with the acquisition of gypsum lime & alabastine canada limited makers of gypsum wallboard it also elevated dominion tar into the ranks of the largest canadian owned corporations with plants located across the country over 350 million in assets and annual sales to match . while continuing to invest in all its business sectors dominion tar began to concentrate efforts on paper manufacturing and converted the windsor quebec pulp mill to exclusive production of bleached hardwood pulp and building a new greenfield pulp mill in lebel sur qu villon . in 1962 the cape breton operations were abandoned leaving behind dominion tar s contribution to the sydney tar ponds a canadian hazardous waste site on cape breton island nova scotia . creation of domtar edit in 1961 dominion tar entered into a merger with several other companies howard smith paper involving those shareholders who had not yet sold out to dominion tar citation needed st. lawrence corporation limited and hinde & dauch limited . in 1965 dominion tar & chemical company limited became known as domtar ltd. later changed to domtar inc. . in addition the newly formed domtar was reorganized into several operating divisions chemicals consumer products sold to bristol myers in 1967 construction materials sold to georgia pacific in 1998 kraft and fine papers newsprint and containerboard and packaging . in 1967 the latter three units were consolidated into a single pulp and paper group . by then total corporate assets had reached 477 million and domtar was now determined to become a leader in paper manufacturing . acquisitions and rationalizations edit throughout the 1970s domtar began to re evaluate its non paper businesses as it continued to expand . the first noteworthy venture was the acquisition of buntin reid paper co. ltd. the largest independent fine paper merchant in canada . next came the modernization and expansion of the flagship cornwall ontario mill closed in 2006 the expansion of the caledonia gypsum wallboard plant investments in a new laminated products plant at huntsville and the acquisition of mcfarlaneson & hodgson inc. a major canadian fine paper merchant . domtar also launched several joint ventures to increase its lumber operations and to supply more wood to its newsprint mill in dolbeau quebec . in 1978 argus corporation a long time controlling shareholder in domtar entered into a private deal with macmillan bloedel to sell its 19 % stake . macmillan bloedel proceeded to make a takeover bid for the rest of domtar s shares and domtar retaliated with its own bid for mb s shares . when the province of british columbia announced that it was opposing any attempt to acquired mb both bids were dropped and mb sold its domtar shares to the caisse de d p t et placement du qu bec in 1979 . in 1981 the caisse and the soci t g n rale de financement du qu bec expanded their shareholdings to a total of 42 % of all outstanding common shares . 5 in 1979 domtar acquired reed limited a subsidiary of a u.k. pulp and paper manufacturer with three corrugated container plants a linerboard mill and a waste paper recycling plant all in the toronto area . that same year domtar acquired kaiser cement s gypsum resources in the united states and canada . 6 lastly the company founded domtar resources inc. as an entry into the natural gas and oil exploration business in western canada . the leveling off of energy costs eventually led to the venture s demise . in the early 1980s domtar withdrew from its manufacturing activities abroad and closed its u.k. fine paper mill . paper remained paramount and domtar began to explore the potential for paper recycling and the packaging group proceeded to convert purchased waste paper into pulp . in 1989 the company divested itself of the arborite products and salt divisions and exited the consumer products business to turn to manufacturing commodities for conversion or packaging prior to sale . in december 1997 domtar and cascades inc. developed a joint venture called norampac . a major north american manufacturer and distributor of container board norampac is canada s largest producer of corrugated packaging . in 1998 it bought the e. b. eddy company . in january 2000 domtar launched an e business application e paper enabling merchants and distributors to communicate with domtar via the internet . it also enabled customers to check on inventory place orders and track orders in transit via truck mounted gps units . in july 2000 domtar completed its acquisition of ris paper company inc. one of the largest independent merchants of commercial printing and business papers in the united states . on august 7 2001 domtar purchased four paper mills and their associated businesses and assets from georgia pacific corporation for a total of us 1.65 billion . with the acquisition of mills in ashdown arkansas ; nekoosa and port edwards in wisconsin ; and woodland maine domtar became canada s largest paper company in terms of sales third largest producer of uncoated free sheet paper in north america and fourth largest in the world . the port edwards plant was closed in 2008 and sold in 2013 7 and the woodland plant was sold in 2010 . 8 in august 2011 domtar acquired attends healthcare inc. manufacturer and supplier of incontinence products from kps capital partners l.p. for 315 million . 9 domtar also purchased attends healthcare limited manufacturer and supplier of adult incontinence care products in europe from rutland partners for 180 million pursuant to a definitive agreement entered into on january 26 2012 . 10 the brand was founded by procter and gamble in 1979 . merger with weyerhaeuser edit on august 22 2006 domtar inc. agreed to merge with the paper division of weyerhaeuser . 11 the merger was effected as an arrangement under the canada business corporations act taking place in several steps 12 weyerhauser transferred its division to weyerhauser tia inc. 13 whose shares would be spun off to weyerhauser s shareholders . domtar s shareholders would exchange their shares for those of weyerhauser tia . the shareholdings were effectively split 55 % for weyerhauser s shareholders and 45 % for domtar s former shareholders . weyerhauser had the right to nominate a majority of the new board of directors . on march 7 2007 the transaction officially closed and weyerhauser tia was subsequently renamed as domtar corporation . 14 in march 2013 domtar announced it was acquiring xerox s us and canadian paper businesses and began being the exclusive seller and distributor of xerox products