Ladysmith, British Columbia  –  Local government representatives (and the Tree Frog News) joined Western Forest Products employees to celebrate the completion of the first continuous dry kiln on the coast of B.C. at the Company’s Saltair sawmill. The Company also plans to continue accelerating its transition to higher value products with approximately $35 million of investments for two additional continuous dry kilns. The newly installed $12 million continuous dry kiln at the Saltair Sawmill increases the mill’s capacity for continuous drying of lumber, and also provides environmental benefits by reducing energy consumption. The new kiln adds to the three existing kilns on site for drying lumber. The Saltair sawmill is the largest single-line sawmill on the coast of B.C. following previous multi-phase strategic capital investments of over $42 million to modernize the sawmill since 2013. …Western is pushing ahead with two additional continuous dry kiln projects. One of the kilns will be constructed at the Company’s Duke Point sawmill in Nanaimo, B.C. and the other one at its Value-Added Division in Chemainus, B.C. [Slide show provided by the Tree Frog News]

Additional coverage in Nanaimo Daily News, by Ian Holmes: ‘We need to catch up:’ Western Forest Products increases focus on value-added products