Canadian Nursery Grows Footprint In The Southern U.S.

One of the South’s leading producers of high quality, genetically-advanced pine tree seedlings for reforestation has been acquired by a Canadian firm.

British Columbia-based PRT Growing Services Ltd., the largest producer of container-grown seedlings in Canada, acquired International Forest Company (IFCO). At the time of acquisition, the Moultrie, Ga.-based IFCO owned five bareroot and six container nurseries strategically located across six states and maintained seed orchards in seven states. The company produces 290 million bareroot and container forest seedlings annually.

PRT said the acquisition accelerates the company’s growth and establishes it as North America’s leading supplier of container and bareroot seedlings. According to company information, it operates 21 facilities, mostly in Canada, and produces more than 300 million tree seedlings annually. Prior to the acquisition, the company’s only Southern facility was in Atmore, Ala., on the site of the former E.A. Hauss nursery, which it operates through a long-term lease with the Alabama Forestry Commission.

“This transformative acquisition brings together two great companies to establish the only pan-North American forest seedling supplier,” said Randy Fournier, PRT’s chief executive officer.

As a combined entity, PRT will operate 28 seedling nurseries and 14 seed orchards, producing 630 million forest seedlings annually in the U.S. and Canada.

PRT was founded in 1988 in response to a privatization initiative by the Canadian government. The company, then known as Pacific Regeneration Technologies Inc., was created by a group of employees who purchased six forest seedling nurseries from the province. PRT was acquired by private equity firm Instar in 2021.