Canfor to Include B.C. Government’s Commitment to Decision on Redevelopment of Houston Sawmill

British Columbia’s Houston Today newspaper reported on Wednesday (6-28-23) that Canfor Corp. is including the provincial government in its detailed analysis of whether to spend the money to replace its idled Houston sawmill or not.

In a statement released last week, Canfor official Michelle Ward said the company needs to understand how much wood the province believes will be available. “Ensuring we (Canfor) will have access to an adequate supply of fiber to support an investment of this magnitude is a key requirement for the project to advance,” she said.

In January, Canfor cited an uncertain fiber supply and high logging costs among the reasons it decided to announce it would cease operations at the Houston sawmill at the end of April. At that time the company said it wanted to replace the mill in Houston with one producing “high value products.”

Ward added that Canfor was also speaking with local First Nations about their interest in what she described as “partnership opportunities.” This follows an earlier statement made by Kevin Horsnell, Canfor’s senior vice-president of Canadian operations, who said economic agreements with First Nations could include buying fiber.

Ward said a package of information will be ready for the company directors when the Canfor board meets on July 27^th. “We are making good progress on our internal work on the business case to redevelop our Houston facility,” she said. “The business case includes preliminary engineering, a detailed financial analysis and an evaluation of the availability of economic fiber in the region.”