The Chicago Mill & Lumber Company developed the Craveneer process during World War II in their Tallulah, Louisiana laboratory. Experimenting with Mississippi delta oaks, which had no commercial value, Chicago Mill & Lumber Company discovered an adhesive that would glue 42 pound Kraft paper to the green veneer wood with a continuous roller process. One advantage of the process was the small amount of shrinkage when it dried. Conventional rotary cut veneer shrank up to 10 percent; Craveneer shrank only 1 1/2 percent. The Kraft paper also hid defects such as knots. And the exterior could be treated with a wax emulsion that acted as a mold inhibitor, a real plus in a citrus packinghouse.
In 1953, Fruit Growers Supply Company purchased the necessary machinery from Chicago Mill & Lumber Company and became the sole licensed manufacturer of Craveneer for the West Coast.
The big question facing Fruit Growers was where to install the plant—convert the box factory at Hilt or build a new sawmill and Craveneer plant at Burney? On November 9, 1953 it was decided to convert the veneer plant at Westwood into a Craveneer plant, yet Burney was still a future option.