Rayonier Advanced Materials recently rebranded as RYAM. RYAM is an American company recognized globally for its cellulose-based technologies. Specializing in high-purity cellulose specialties, RYAM produces natural polymers extensively used in manufacturing filters, food, pharmaceuticals, and various industrial applications. Additionally, the company produces products for the paper and packaging industries. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol RYAM. RYAM is headquartered in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, with manufacturing operations in the U.S., Canada, and France. The company was formed in 2014 when Rayonier, Inc. divided into two separate entities: Rayonier retained its real estate and forest resource operations, while RYAM took over the management of the performance fibers division.RSS news release concerning spin-off
Retrieved 28 May 2014

History

20th century

Rayonier Advanced Materials roots are traced back to 1926 with the founding of Rainier Pulp and Paper Company in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Its first mill opened the next year in

Shelton, Washington Shelton is a city in and the county seat of Mason County, Washington, United States. Shelton is the westernmost city on Puget Sound. The population was 10,371 at the 2020 census. Shelton has a council–manager form of government and was the ...

, and Port Angeles on the

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large peninsula in Western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the ...

. The mill used ''

Tsuga heterophylla ''Tsuga heterophylla'', the western hemlock or western hemlock-spruce, is a species of Tsuga, hemlock native to the northwest coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in nort ...

'' (western hemlock) trees to create a premium bleached paper pulp. In 1931, Rainier Pulp and Paper began working with the Du Pont chemical company to produce hemlock pulp for the manufacture of

rayon Rayon, also called viscose and commercialised in some countries as sabra silk or cactus silk, is a semi-synthetic fiber made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose fiber, cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has t ...

. Two additional pulp mills were constructed and began operation in the state of Washington. Rainier Pulp and Paper changed its name to Rayonier, a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of the words, "rayon" and "Rainier", 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 a

Fernandina Beach, Florida Fernandina Beach is a city in and the county seat of Nassau County, Florida, Nassau County, Florida, United States, in the state's northeastern corner. It is the northernmost city on Florida's Atlantic coast, situated on Amelia Island, and is o ...

, pulp mill, which began production in 1939. In 1944, the company moved its offices to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. 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 at

Jesup, Georgia Jesup is a city in Wayne County, Georgia, Wayne County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The population was 9,809 at the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Wayne County, Georgia, Wayne County. History By February 1869, Wi ...

. High demand prompted the facility to double its capacity by 1957. ITT purchased the company in 1968 and the name changed to ITT Rayonier. The Jesup mill grew larger in 1974, becoming the largest pulp mill on earth. Company headquarters were moved again in 1978; this time to

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

. Diplomatic relations with China 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 in

Beijing, China Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

in 1985. A log-trading office was opened in New Zealand during 1988. The New Zealand government sold Rayonier of timberland in 1992. 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 of timberland in Florida, Georgia and Alabama in 1999, then relocated the corporate offices to

to be closer to company employees and properties.Florida Trend: September 1, 2008-Florida Companies With Promise by Amy Keller
/ref>

21st century

Rayonier converted to a

real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT, pronounced "reet") is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of real estate, including office and apartment buildings, studios, warehouses, hos ...

(REIT) on January 1, 2004. TerraPointe LLC was established in 2005 to manage properties with development potential. The 2006 purchase of in six states brought the company's total of land owned, leased or managed to in the U.S. and New Zealand. In March 2008, the company purchased for $215 million in southwest Washington state from Sierra Pacific In March 2013, the company sold its wood products division, including its mills in Baxley, Swainsboro, and Eatonton, Georgia, to

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

-based International Forest Products (Interfor) for $80 million. 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.

Creation of Rayonier Advanced Materials

In June 2014, the company split its operations into two independent companies: ''Performance Fibers'' on one hand is named ''Rayonier Advanced Materials'' (NYSE: RYAM) and ''Forest Resources'' together with ''Real Estate'' as a REIT on the other hand continues as ''Rayonier, Inc.'', headed by David L. Nunes as its new CEO. Shareholders of Rayonier have received one share of the new Rayonier Advanced Materials company for every three shares of Rayonier on June 27, 2014.

References

{{Authority control Chemical companies of the United States Plastics companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Jacksonville, Florida Multinational companies headquartered in the United States American companies established in 2014 Chemical companies established in 2014 2014 establishments in Florida Manufacturing companies established in 1926 1926 establishments in California Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange ITT Inc. Publicly traded companies based in Jacksonville, Florida Multinational companies based in Jacksonville