Timber is at the root of Rayonier's business. The real estate investment trust (REIT) owns and manages timberlands, grows and sells timber, and manufactures Southern pine lumber, specialty cellulose fibers, and fluff pulp used in absorbent consumer products. The company owns, leases, or manages about 2.4 million acres of timberland and real estate in the US, in addition to some 300,000 acres in New Zealand through a joint venture. Rayonier operates two cellulose fiber mills and lumber sawmills in Georgia and Florida. The firm also ships wood pulp to China and Japan. Founded in 1926 as a pulp and paper manufacturer, the name Rayonier is derived from rayon (a manufactured cellulose fiber) and Mount Rainier.