Forests provide a bounty of economic, environmental, and social benefits. We are committed to being leaders in responsibly maximizing fibre value and embedding sustainable practices across all our operations, ensuring these benefits are available to our customers, employees and communities today and in the future.
We are committed to providing a safe workplace, and to developing and maintaining respectful relationships with all our stakeholders, including our employees, customers, communities, and First Nations of the traditional territories on which we operate.
The Mill
The White River sawmill complex is centrally located within the White River Forest in White River, Ontario, and is known for its ability to produce high quality lumber products sourced from forests in the local and surrounding region. The company’s objective is to produce approximately 140 million board feet of FSC certified Random Length boards up to 16 Ft, stud and value added MSR lumber.
Equipped with the latest technology including a COMACT automated saw line, the new line began operation in the fall of 2015 and is currently operating at a 75% higher production rate than the 2 decommissioned lines combined.
The mill also has a modern Hewsaw equipped to process small diameter sawlogs up to 12'. We have installed two high-speed A-8 Nicholson debarkers.
We have recently added a new Cathild Kiln Dryer and Pro-grader that uses the latest fully automated technologies.
The mill has a Rated 45,000 pound per hour biomass boiler to provide steam and heat energy for the kilns and mill.
An additional 10 Million dollars in capital expenditures are currently underway to make the mill one of the lowest cost mills in Eastern Canada by addressing the areas in log processing, chip handling, kiln drying, Tilt Hoist, Planer, and lumber grading efficiencies. The mill site currently employs 145 people and an additional 250 more are indirectly employed via contractors, suppliers and support services. The mill injects approximately 50 Million dollars per year into the regional economy.
Forestry
The forests we source our timber from are managed, audited and certified by independent third parties. Most of the forest in Ontario is public land. The use of public land in Ontario is governed by long-term forest management arrangements that include a public input process and regular, periodic government auditing.
We are a responsible forest manager adhering to the best sustainable forest management practices, respecting federal and provincial laws. As a lumber manufacturer, access to abundant, affordable, and secure sources of fibre is of critical importance. We share our forest resources with many other forest users, and we strive to work cooperatively with those who have a stake in the forest and to conserve forest resources for future generations.
We are committed to certification for our managed timberlands through credible certification options. We have been, and remain, a supporter of the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certification standards, both in terms of responsible forest management certification and in chain of custody certification