Region Archives: Canada

A year after its Merritt mill was permanently shuttered, Tolko Industries has started the process of dismantling some of the equipment on site in order to help process an influx of fire-damaged timber at other B.C. mills owned by the company. “We are sending some of the debarkers to Lakeview and Soda Creek to help improve the debarking quality for fire damaged wood,” explained Janice Lockyer, communications advisor for Tolko Industries. While the company still has no concrete plans for the Merritt property, Lockyer said the company will continue to look for other homes for the some of the equipment onsite. …Meanwhile, Tolko Industries has applied to the BC Assessments Office for a shutdown allowance, a move which will shrink the industrial tax base for the City of Merritt in 2018.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA– Conifex Timber Inc. (“Conifex”, “we” or “us”) (TSX:CFF) today reported results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2017. Adjusted EBITDA*, including countervailing (“CVD”) and anti-dumping duty (“ADD”) deposits of $3.4 million, was $12.1 million, compared to $10.2 million in the second quarter of 2017 and $8.5 million in the third quarter of 2016. …Our revenues totaled $120.3 million in the third quarter of 2017, an improvement of 3% over the prior quarter and 16% over the same quarter last year. Our revenue growth over the previous quarter was mainly attributable to a slight increase in our lumber segment revenues, and a 30% increase in revenues from electricity sales. Compared to the third quarter of 2016, our lumber segment revenues increased by 15% and our bioenergy segment revenues by 24%.

VANCOUVER, BC – Western Forest Products today announced the closure of its Englewood logging train. This announcement is consistent with the Company’s ongoing efforts to reduce costs and strengthen its competitiveness. Logs will be transported by truck at a lower cost to create efficiencies in the transportation of logs to its mills from northern Vancouver Island forestry operations. …As a result of the closure of the train, these positions will be eliminated. The Company will work with its employees and union representatives to identify opportunities for the impacted employees to transition to other positions within its operations. Accordingly, the reduction in overall jobs is anticipated to be fewer than 15.

The workers at the Crofton pulp mill have a new four-year contract. Few details of the new collective agreement have been publicly released, other than a statement from Catalyst Paper, which owns the mill, that it is pleased that the contract has been ratified. “We worked hard to achieve a negotiated agreement that recognizes employees’ contributions and reflects the changing realities of our business,” Catalyst’s statement said.

Flare-ups have kept firefighting crews and Tolko busy at Tolko’s Lakeview Division in Williams Lake where a fire broke out in the sawmill at about 6:20 p.m. last Thursday. “It appears the fire is hiding in the ceiling a bit, and that’s what we are dealing with,” communications advisor Janice Lockyer told the Tribune Monday. …Deputy Fire Chief Rob Warnock said his crews were there for 25 hours straight from 6:36 p.m. Thursday and then back late Friday, Saturday for about 10 hours and again Sunday evening for a few hours. “Tolko had employees monitoring and they had their own equipment so they could get in and rip the siding and plywood off so we could get our equipment and manpower into the mill,” Warnock said. “There is plywood up against the tin roof and if there is dust inside that is what keeps catching on fire.”

The fire at Williams Lake proved itself stubborn as flare-ups continued over the weekend and into early Monday morning. The fire, located largely in the offices’ section of the sawmill, continued to burn between the ceiling and roof. Given the location of the fire, it was difficult to get at from the outside and we could not safely access to fight the fire from inside the building. …This afternoon, we were able to complete a very early and high-level assessment of the damage and structural engineers have now started the work required to determine the integrity of the building. This work will be completed over the coming days and will help us determine our recovery plan for the mill. Our CEO, Brad Thorlakson, and members of the executive were also in Williams Lake today to survey the damage and speak to employees.

Tolko Industries confirmed Friday afternoon that firefighters remain at the Lakeview Mill in Williams Lake where a fire broke out at the sawmill about 6:20 p.m. Thursday. “As their efforts continue, we want to inform employees that the mill — sawmill and planer — will not operate today,” communications advisor Janice Lockyer said. “Supervisors will be contacting employees directly to share additional details as they become available.” Lockyer said she could not comment on the extent of the damage to the structure at this time, but once the fire is extinguished and there is an examination of the affected areas by a structural engineer, Tolko will be able to share more information. “We anticipate this assessment will occur over the weekend and into next week,” Lockyer said.

Operations at a sawmill in British Columbia’s Interior, temporarily evacuated over the summer because of massive wildfires, has now been shut down following a fire inside the mill. For an industry already struggling with the Canada-U.S. softwood lumber dispute, destruction by the mountain pine beetle and last summer’s massive wildfires, the shutdown of Tolko Industries’ Lakeview Mill in Williams Lake is just one more blow for the province’s forestry-dependent communities. Structural engineers aim to be able to get into the mill site on Monday to assess the damage, but the mill, which employs 170 workers, was already facing an uncertain future as it processed wood salvaged from forest fires that are still smouldering in some parts of B.C. “I don’t know how much more the people of Williams Lake can handle,” Forests Minister Doug Donaldson said on Sunday.