Simpson Investment Company

The Simpson Investment Company is a privately held holding company based in Seattle, Washington in the US Pacific Northwest that specializes in manufacture of forest products. Founded as a logging company in 1890 by Sol Simpson, the company is now owned by the Reed family.

Former divisions

The Simpson Lumber Company conducted logging operations and was based in Shelton, Washington. Four mills were sold to Interfor and the Shelton property was sold to Sierra Pacific Industries.^[1][2]

The "Simpson Tacoma Kraft Company" produced pulpwood and linerboard products. Previously owned by St. Regis Corporation,^[3] the mill on the shore of Commencement Bay was acquired by Simpson in 1985 and sold to RockTenn in 2014.^[4][5] In West Linn, Oregon, Simpson operated a vintage paper mill from 1990 to 1996.^[6][7][8][9]

Simpson announced in 2008 that it would be entering the "green power" industry by building a new power plant at its Tacoma Tideflats mill that would generate power via the burning of sawmill and other forest waste. In August 2009, construction of the power plant was completed. It generated 55 megawatts of power which is sold to Iberdrola Renovables and used by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.^[10][11]

Railroad

Simpson train in 2011

The Simpson Company built and operated a logging railroad known as the Simpson Railroad. When it closed in July 2015 it was the last logging railroad operations in the continental United States,^[12] and dates back 120 years. The railroad was once extensive and branched out into several hundred miles of forestland in the Olympic Peninsula but at the end was limited to just ten miles of operational track. The rail line was to transport lumber and as a transportation network to remote logging camps and towns. Construction of the railroad line was an engineering feat as demonstrated by the large and complex bridges built to span gorges and the mountainous terrain the railroad traveled through. The Vance Creek Bridge and the High Steel Bridge were built in 1929 and used until 1985 when the line was abandoned. The Vance Creek Bridge still stands, and the High Steel Bridge is still in use as a forest road. The High Steel Bridge is one of the tallest rail bridges in the United States and has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places.^[13]

In January 2019, Green Diamond Resources leased the railroad's remaining 10 miles, plus sidings, to the Peninsular Railway and Lumbermen's Museum, a locally based 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The all-volunteer group is advancing plans to operate several Simpson locomotives and other rolling stock for tourist trains designed to highlight the significant role lumbering and the railroad played in developing the economies of the local area, the Olympic Peninsula, and the entire Pacific Northwest. The name “Simpson Railroad” and associated graphics and logos have been licensed by Simpson for the museum's use. ^[14]