Birmingham Forest Products

Birmingham Forest Products Inc., later Champion Building Products Alabama was the operator of a former plywood plant at Bough Bend on the Mulberry Fork, near Dovertown, from 1969 to 1975.

The plant was developed as a joint venture of U.S. Steel and Champion International, supported with federal loans for economic development. A spur line from the Southern Railway was built to the plant, and Hank Wilson was hired as plant manager.

The upstart veneer mill struggled to generate sufficient revenues and was a frequent target for organizing actions by the Lumber & Sawmill Workers Union. Wilson was succeeded in 1972 by another manager with a reputation for opposing labor unions. He fared no better and the plant closed in 1975.