A History of Growth and Change
The company we are today began in 1848 in England, when Henry Potter Burt founded Burt, Boulton Holding Ltd. By focusing on treating lumber to prevent decay, our business thrived as demand for railway ties and wharf pilings grew in Europe and North America.
Continued Expansion
Steady growth led to the founding of Dominion Tar and Chemical Company, Ltd., in 1903, which first operated as a coal tar distillation plant in Nova Scotia. As Canada’s economy industrialized, we continued to expand.
We established our headquarters in Montreal, Quebec, in 1914, incorporated as a Canadian company 15 years later, and sold shares to the public. We grew into one of Canada’s largest companies, with business interests ranging from chemicals to fine paper, consumer products to packaging.
We became known as Domtar Ltd. in 1965. Sales passed $1 billion (CDN) in 1977, and we changed our name to Domtar Inc.
Building on Pulp and Paper
Domtar focused on pulp and paper in the 1990s, and continued to grow through acquisitions. We combined operations with Weyerhaeuser’s fine paper business to form Domtar Corporation in 2007, the largest integrated manufacturer and marketer of uncoated paper in North America and the second-largest in the world.
Diversified Into Personal Care
Our Personal Care division was built through further acquisitions and investments between 2011 and 2014, broadening our business to make, sell and distribute absorbent hygiene products.
In 2016, the acquisition of Home Delivery Incontinence Supplies (HDIS) gave Domtar a direct-to-consumer channel for personal care products. In 2021 the Personal Care business was sold.
Entrance into Packaging
Domtar entered the packaging market with the announced conversion of our Kingsport, Tennessee mill. The construction will officially begin in 2021, setting the stage for the completion of North America’s premier lightweight containerboard facility, with the ability to produce and market approximately 600,000 tons of high-quality recycled linerboard and corrugated medium, by the end of 2022.
Today, more than 170 years since our beginning, Domtar employs approximately 5,800 people, all of whom are dedicated to adapting and innovating to meet customers’ needs for paper, pulp and packaging products.
Acquired by Paper Excellence Group
In November 2021, Domtar was acquired by Paper Excellence Group, a global diversified manufacturer of pulp and specialty, printing, writing and packaging papers.
