Ainsworth Turns Cost Savings into Charitable Giving; Clever Reuse of Packaging will Generate more than $200k in Donations.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- It started with a simple idea, and turned into an act of kindness. When Ainsworth acquired three northern Minnesota lumber mills from Potlatch Corporation last September, they also gained an inventory of Potlatch-branded plastic packaging, valued at approximately $230,000. Ainsworth felt that discarding the old packaging, which is used to protect their oriented strand board (OSB) product during transport, would not only be wasteful, but also environmentally irresponsible.

"Our CEO Brian Ainsworth suggested that we should reuse the leftover packaging, turning it inside out so as not to confuse our customers," explains Robert Fouquet, vice president of sales and marketing. "He also suggested that all the money we save from not printing new packaging, should be donated to charity."

Employees at Ainsworth's Cook Mill embraced the idea and took it to the next level. Each employee nominated three charities to receive a monetary contribution. Donations are being made to the employees' top choices, and will continue to be made until the mill's existing inventory is depleted. They also produced labels that affix to the packaging on each pallet indicating which charity is benefiting from the program.

"There is a sense of pride felt among our employees whenever we package up another pallet and affix the charity label," says Nick Ausman, Cook Mill plant manager. "It's been a simple way for all of us to participate in giving to the charitable groups that are closest to our hearts."

Ainsworth has already donated more than $68,000 and expects to allocate close to $80,000 by the end of September to nine different charitable groups, including the American Cancer Society, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, Cook and Gilbert schools' playground equipment, Laurentian Arts and Cultural Alliance, and two local volunteer fire departments. In the upcoming months, the program will move to the other two Ainsworth OSB mills in Bemidji and Grand Rapids, until the total target donation amount of $230,000 is reached and remaining inventory is used up at all of the mills.

Photos of the charity labels are available upon request.

About Ainsworth

Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd., one of the Ainsworth Group of Companies, is a leading Canadian forest products company with a 53-year reputation for high-quality products and customer service. The company has operations in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, Canada, as well as Minnesota. Ainsworth is committed to maintaining the integrity of the environment through responsible and sustainable forestry management and stewardship. AinsworthEngineered(R) OSB sheathing and flooring products are certified APA and known for their consistent quality, reliability and competitive price.

For more information about Ainsworth, visit www.ainsworth.ca.