Western Forest Products investing in B.C. facilities

LADYSMITH, B.C. — Western Forest Products Inc. plans to invest millions on its B.C. operations.

The company announced it will spend approximately $29 million to support value-added manufacturing on the B.C. Coast and grow its wood products business.

The capital investments represent an increase of $13 million over and above the $16 million of capital investments discussed in the company’s first quarter.

Specifically, the investments include:

• $12.3 million in a new continuous kiln at the Saltair sawmill in Ladysmith, B.C., allowing for increased capacity for continuous drying of lumber, while reducing energy consumption. The facility has three existing kilns onsite for drying lumber.
• $7.9 million at the Duke Point facility in Nanaimo, B.C., to optimize the centralized planer facility with new equipment, including a machine stress rated lumber grading machine. The machine provides strict lumber grade quality control with known values for strength and stiffness for lumber utilized in engineered products, including roof trusses, glulam and mass timber.
• $8.3 million in other capital investments in the company’s B.C. operations, including new kiln control systems at the Saltair sawmill and its Value-Added Division in Chemainus, B.C. to increase supply of kiln dried finished products.

Work on the projects is underway and is expected to be completed by 2023.