Former company co-owner Doug Boykin said the Brookhaven sawmill was purchased from Bank of America by Rex Lumber LLC, a multi-company lumber corporation headquartered in Graceville, Fla., last Friday. The sale amount was not disclosed, and the future usage of the sawmill remains unclear, he said.

"Hopefully, they'll be able, at some point, to bring this facility back up. That depends on a lot of things," said Boykin, who now works for Rex Lumber LLC. "My next step is to work with them to introduce them to the local officials, local business leaders and see what options are available for the future of this facility."

Officials from Rex Lumber LLC were not available for comment. Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Cliff Brumfield said the chamber and Industrial Development Foundation would meet with Rex Lumber LLC officials later this week.

"We are extremely fortunate the company has been purchased and will hopefully be back in full production at some point," he said. "Considering the current market, the facility could have stayed idle for quite some time."

Brumfield said the fact Rex Lumber LLC is a large and experienced lumber corporation should bring strength to the former Columbus Lumber Co.

"They bring a lot of resources to the table," he said. "It's a fact that Columbus Lumber is located in the middle of one of the biggest wood baskets in the U.S. The mill is needed in this area and is a vital part of our forestry industry."

The corporation also owns North Florida Woodlands, North Florida Lumber and a wood treatment facility. All the corporation's holdings are based in North Florida, and the former Columbus Lumber Co. is its first out-of-state operation.

Columbus Lumber Co. had operated in Brookhaven since 1943. The sawmill was one of Brookhaven's most venerable industries until 2008, when the collapse of the national housing market caused lumber prices to plummet to near historic lows.

Since last spring, the company implemented several cost-saving measures and expanded its markets creatively to combat the national recession.

The efforts fell on Sept. 24 when Bank of America ordered the mill to cease operations. More than 100 jobs were lost.

The bank's six-week process of selling the mill ended Friday when Rex Lumber LLC purchased the sawmill, all its assets and approximately 145 acres of property surrounding the site in Northeast Brookhaven.

Jeff Grierson, a former Columbus Lumber Co. co-owner who resigned for personal reasons on the eve of the sawmill's sale, said the sale of the mill to Rex Lumber LLC was the outcome he and Boykin have worked toward since the bank issued the stop order in September. He alluded the sale should keep the mill from being dismantled and carried away, though no official comment has come from the new owners.

"To have this for the employees and for the community in the long run was what was important for me," he said. "Once we got to the point to where I was satisfied it would be sold, me staying on board past that point wasn't going to make it better or worse."

Grierson said several parties expressed interest in the sawmill before Rex Lumber LLC closed the deal last week. He said several bids were submitted before an auction in Chicago on Oct. 26 drew no interested parties, pointing out the auction was simply "part of the process" and not indicative of a lack of interest in Columbus Lumber Co.

Likewise, Boykin said a legal notice scheduled to run in The DAILY LEADER throughout November advertising a second auction at the Lincoln County-Brookhaven Government Complex on Nov. 30 is also simply a legal necessity.