Ainsworth Lumber Appoints Roy Bickell to Board of Directors.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 29, 1996--AINSWORTH LUMBER CO.(TSE, VSE: ANS ) Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd. has appointed a new member to its board of directors. Roy Bickell, Vice President of Alberta operations for the Company, was appointed as a director at Ainsworth's recent board meeting in Edmonton on August 20, 1996. Mr. Bickell came out of retirement 24 months ago to manage the Company's recently opened Oriented Strand Board plant and related woodland operations in Alberta. Prior to his retirement at the end of 1991, Mr. Bickell was President of Canfor Corporation for five years.

Ainsworth's OSB plant near Grande Prairie, Alberta, produced its first OSB board on schedule on December 14, 1995. The plant operated at an average of 60 percent of rated capacity during the second quarter, and has at times exceeded 90 percent of capacity. Approximately 98 percent of the plant's production is on-grade. The OSB facility has an annual capacity of approximately 500 million square feet (3/8 inch basis).

Ainsworth Lumber has operated as an integrated forest products company in British Columbia for more than forty years. In addition to its sawmill and OSB plant at 100 Mile House, Ainsworth operates a sawmill near Clinton, a sawmill and veneer plant at Lillooet, a specialty plywood plant at Savona, and a value-added plant at Abbotsford. Ainsworth's recently completed OSB facility in Grande Prairie, Alberta, is the Company's first operation outside of British Columbia.

CONTACT: Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd.

Kevin Ainsworth, 604/395-6233

or

Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd.

Catherine Ainsworth, 604/661-3223