Ikea acquires 42,000 acres of forestland in East Texas

IKEA has acquired 42,000 acres of forestland in East Texas to source wood for its furniture. IKEA has acquired 42,000 acres of forestland in East Texas to source wood for its furniture. Photo: William Luther, Staff Photographer / San Antonio Express-News Photo: William Luther, Staff Photographer / San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Ikea acquires 42,000 acres of forestland in East Texas 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

Ikea said Friday it had acquired 42,000 acres of forestland in East Texas to source wood for its furniture.

The Swedish furniture giant said the acquisition, coupled with the recent purchase of 18,000 acres in Southeast Oklahoma, nearly doubled its U.S. forestry portfolio to 125,000 acres. The retailer declined to share financial details of the transactions.

“We are committed to manage our forests in a sustainable way, with proper care for people and (the) environment, and at the same (time) meeting our business objectives, Krister Mattsson, a managing director with Ikea ’s parent company, said in a statement.

Ikea previously owned 64,000 acres in Texas, Alabama and South Carolina, including 22,000 acres in the piney woods of Jaspar, Orange, Newton, Hardin and Tyler counties along the Texas-Louisiana border. The company now owns more than 580,000 acres of forestland in the U.S. and Europe.

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Ikea , which uses wood in much of its furniture, has been buying forestland since 2014 as it works toward its goal of using 100 percent sustainably sourced wood in its products. The company’s forests are inspected annually by the Forest Stewardship Council to ensure the company is following international principles of good long-term forest management. Last year, IKEA planted 600,000 tree seedlings in the U.S., and nearly 7 million globally.

The company earlier this year acquired 144 acres in Generation Park in northeast Houston to develop a new distribution hub. It leases 1 million square feet of distribution space in Cedar Port Industrial Park near the Port of Houston.

The retailer has 374 stores in 30 countries, including one Houston store off Interstate 10.