Experienced OSB Mill Developers & Operators
GFP was founded by John Godfrey. Mr. Godfrey was born in Bangor, Maine where his family had been involved with sawmills and timberlands since the mid 19th century. He was educated at Harvard College and Harvard Business School. Upon graduation, he went to work for the Great Northern Paper division of Great Northern Nekoosa Corporation in Millinocket, Maine and was involved with the management of GNN’s 2.6 million acres of Maine woodlands. Later, he moved to a senior finance department posting at GNN headquarters where he managed investor relations, representing GNN to the financial community including security analysts and bond rating agencies.
In 1979, Mr. Godfrey was part of a GNN study on the feasibility of an OSB mill in Maine. GNN’s principal objective was to utilize otherwise useless trees from its lands. GNN elected not to proceed with the OSB mill, but encouraged Mr. Godfrey’s idea to do so independently. He did this. With the opening of an OSB mill at New Limerick, Maine in 1982, GNN synergistically found an outlet for previously undesired trees.
Mr. Godfrey, through GFP or other affiliates, then went on to develop, finance and construct other OSB mills. GFP has dealt with leaders in engineering, equipment,financial, legal and regulatory sectors: