By Steve Pawlett

By Investing over $20 million in upgrades, Ben Hokum & Sons sawmill is now the most

THE OREGONIAN — Efforts are underway to reopen the 130-year-old West Linn Papermill, nearly two years after it closed. According to a report in The Oregonian, the revival effort is being led by Clark County investor Ken Peterson, whose portfolio includes a pulp mill in Dayton, a Texas housing development, an augmented reality startup in…

CBC NEWS — Four people are recovering after being injured in a stubborn fire at Port Hawkesbury Paper in Point Tupper, N.S. According to CBC News, two firefighters had to be rushed to hospital after working to put out a blaze that broke out in a wood chip silo Thursday night. “They were taken to…

VANCOUVER SUN –There are no immediate solutions to prevent more sawmills closures in the B.C. Interior as the amount of timber available for logging has been significantly reduced by the mountain pine beetle epidemic. According to a report in the Vancouver Sun, both the B.C. government and industry agreed on that point as a sixth…

CBC NEWS — More than 400 laid-off mill workers in B.C. are trying to figure out what comes next. Canfor announced earlier this week that its Vavenby sawmill would be closing in July, leaving over 170 mill workers without jobs. In May, Tolko announced it would be closing its mill in Quesnel, where 150 people…

Vancouver, BC, Canada — Canfor Corporation has announced it will be closing its Vavenby sawmill in British Columbia this July following an orderly wind down. Canfor has reached an agreement to sell the forest tenure associated with the Vavenby sawmill to Interfor for a price of $60 million. The sale of the forest tenure is…

Vancouver, BC — Canfor Corporation has announced that it has completed the first phase purchase of 49% of Elliott Sawmilling Co. Inc. following the Company’s news release dated November 9, 2018, announcing the purchase. The balance will be acquired in one year.

Global News — A sawmill in Quesnel will be permanently closed, while another sawmill in Kelowna will undergo a shift reduction, Tolko Industries Ltd., announced on Friday. Citing high wood costs and weak markets, the company said the closure process for Quest Wood sawmill in Quesnel will begin on Friday, Aug. 2. The company said…

Forestry workers are back on the job after a week-long production curtailment affecting Canfor-owned sawmills across B.C. The Vancouver-based company announced the temporary shutdown on April 24, with mills closing five days later and resuming operations on Monday, May 6. The curtailment comes amid low lumber prices and the high cost of fibre. “We regret…

KILLALOE – Today, John Yakabuski, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, toured the Ben Hokum & Son Ltd sawmill to view firsthand how the province’s investment has helped create and protect local jobs and modernize operations. Ontario is investing $5.5 million over five years in the sawmill, helping the lumber producer protect over 100 jobs,…