The soaring price of lumber has Vancouver Island sawmills running at full speed right now to turn out coveted building materials. As the essential building blocks of B.C.’s skyrocketing housing industry, lumber now cost as much as three times what it did before the pandemic. …The North American building boom has outstripped supply, just as southern U.S. sawmills struggle to get back up and running following loosening COVID-19 restrictions — resulting in B.C.’s mills attempting to feed the hungry demand. One of those sawmills, the San Group’s new re-manufacturing mill in Port Alberni, officially opened Monday — taking wood right from harvest to home, to cut out transportation costs and waste. “It’s not a traditional sawmill,” said San Group chief executive officer, Kamal Sanghera. “It’s not a traditional manufacturing facility. In this plant, you can do almost anything.” Sanghera said the sawmill, which also acts as a finishing plant, is the most efficient plant ever.

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