DOAKTOWN, New Brunswick, has been home to a sawmill since 1924. J.D. Irving, Limited bought the mill in 1987, and has since made multiple upgrades, adding a value-added centre including a new biomass boiler, kilns, planer and rip lines. In 2016, the company added a paint line, and installed an automatic grade scanner in 2018. In September 2020, construction began on a $35-million modernization and expansion project. …The white pine mill, which employs 135 people operating a single shift, produces 35 mmbf annually. The new mill successfully started-up in July 2021, and the old mill was officially decommissioned on August 20. … Highly automated equipment will also help the Doaktown mill navigate the ups and downs of the lumber market, which has seen record-highs in the past year-and-a-half.