International Forest Co. announced this month it is purchasing a seedling nursery in Washington from Weyerhaeuser Co.

The Washington nursery, which holds bareroot forest seedlings and containerized seedling production, is one of four across the South purchased by IFCO Bareroot LLC, a sister company of International Forest, according to a press release.

The other three nurseries are located in Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama, and IFCO will also purchase a Georgia seed orchard, the release stated.

About 1 billion seedlings are planted in the South each year for tree-planting efforts, according to Wayne Bell, chief operating officer at IFCO. With these purchases, IFCO will oversee more than 250 million of those seedlings, he said.

Bell said IFCO has big plans for the Washington nursery, and after Weyerhaeuser’s current crop is sold and shipped, the new owners will come in to plant seedlings of their own.

“Our intentions are to continue operating these nurseries as near to capacity as we can,” Bell said. “It’s our intention to fully staff the facility and to run it for years and years to come.”

“I know in a small place like (Washington) jobs are important,” he added.

Bell said the deal with Weyerhaeuser has yet to officially close, but is expected to within the first quarter of 2017. The next steps will be to discuss plans with employees and begin sowing a new crop around April, according to Bell.

“These Weyerhaeuser nurseries have a proven track record of producing high-quality bareroot and container forest seedlings. The combination of this production with IFCO’s existing containerized-seedling production, high-value genetic resource and sales expertise will help us bring the best products and service to forest landowners of all sizes in the South,” stated Doug Sharp, business development manager at IFCO.

Weyerhaeuser, founded in 1900, has four locations in eastern North Carolina and roughly 100 more across the globe. Besides forestry-related products, the company also works in energy and sustainability, land development and wood products.

International Forest is a privately owned company based in Moultrie, Georgia, and was founded in 1971.

Providing seedlings to investors, the U.S. Forest Service and individual landowners, IFCO officials hope to maintain connections already formed by Weyerhaeuser and remain competitive, Bell said.