Louisiana-Pacific was formed in 1972 (incorporated in 1972, often cited as 1973 as its public debut) when its parent, Georgia-Pacific, was required by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to divest certain assets amid antitrust concerns. The spin-off transferred to LP a set of building and timber operations, but left much of the prime timber holdings with Georgia-Pacific, pushing LP to innovate in wood products rather than rely on old-growth forest assets. Over the years, LP relocated its headquarters (moving from Portland, Oregon to Nashville, Tennessee in 2004) and restructured its asset base to focus on more specialized and higher value building products.
LP is a manufacturer and marketer of a range of building materials, particularly engineered wood products. Its key product lines include oriented strand board (OSB) structural panels (used for sheathing, subflooring, and walls), engineered siding (branded under names like SmartSide), and complementary building solutions such as air and water barriers, trim, soffit, fascia, and fire-rated sheathing. LP also has operations in South America that support wood-frame construction markets there. It distributes its products through building materials distributors, dealers, and large retail home center chains, serving new construction, repair/renovation, and outdoor structure markets.
LP aims to be a leading, value-added building materials provider with a differentiating emphasis on engineered, specialty wood products rather than commodity lumber. Its adoption and promotion of OSB early in the industry gave it a technological footing and cost advantage versus more traditional plywood and solid lumber alternatives. By focusing on high-performance siding, structural panels, and integrated building systems (e.g. sheathing plus barrier layers), LP works to avoid pure price competition and instead compete on product differentiation, brand, and compatibility. Its geographic diversification (U.S., Canada, South America) helps mitigate regional housing and construction cycles.