Canfor’s Senior VP of Canadian Operations Discusses Houston Mill Closure and the Site’s Future

In an interview with British Columbia’s Houston Today (4-26-23), Canfor’s Kevin Horsnell, the company’s senior vice president of Canadian operations, said that Canfor would not be making a crucial decision on whether or not to replace its closed Houston sawmill until the end of July.

According to the report, Horsnell said, “We’re on schedule to get the information put together by end of June. But the actual approval by the board will be at the July board meeting in late July.” A new mill, if approved, is projected to take two years to build, a time Canfor calls a “transition period” from the current mill to the new facility.

Horsnell touched on other topics during the interview including the following:

• The need for the new mill to have the equipment necessary to get the highest value possible from each log that is processed.
• Canfor’s majority interest in the pellet plant adjacent to its Houston sawmill, which had been supplying a majority of the raw materials. “We’re looking and working hard to find solutions to keep some capacity running at the pellet plant in Houston,” Horsnell noted.
• The impact of the Houston mill closing on the property tax revenue the local district will be able to collect from Canfor, as prescribed by law.
• A new mill in Houston would be expensive, but Horsnell ruled out provincial or federal government aid.