ATHENS, Alabama -- Sunbelt Forest Products announced this week the purchase of a pressure treated wood facility in Athens, Alabama, from Georgia-Pacific.

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 is one of the largest pressure treaters in the Southeast, with plants in Bartow, Florida, Rockledge, Florida, and Louisville, Alabama. Sunbelt Forest Products is a wholly owned subsidiary of PalletOne, Inc.