Headquartered in Vancouver, MacMillan Bloedel was one of the largest forestry companies in the world. It was formed through the merger of three smaller forestry companies, in 1951 and 1959: the Powell River Company (est. 1908); Bloedel, Stewart and Welch (est. 1911); and H.R. MacMillan Export Company (est. 1919). George Currie was appointed Chairman of the company in 1974, having previously served as Executive Vice President of Finance. In 1999 MacMillan Bloedel was bought by Weyerhaeuser.