Tolko Industries ends operation at 100-years old Merritt, B.C sawmill

VANCOUVER (Scrap Monster): Tolko Industries’ Merritt, B.C lumber mill operations have come to an end, after 97 years of operation. The company stated that final logs have passed through the mill Monday, marking an end to its operations. The press release issued by the company says that employees will remain on-site for nearly a couple of weeks in order to prepare the mill for closure. The future reopening of the mill remains uncertain as of now.

The mill operations started in 1919 under the name Nicola Pine mills, at the current property, which did not have city power or water lines. As part of a deal with the City of Merritt, the company at their own expense had connected the mill and yard site to municipal water lines and city’s power plant.

During early 1930’s mill operations at the mill were suspended. In 1933, the mill was purchased by Penticton Sawmills Ltd. However, it took another 4 more years for the mill to return to full operation. The mill was operated by the new Nicola Pine Mills Ltd. until 1943, when Long Brothers Sawmills purchased the sawmill property from Penticton Sawmills Ltd. However, Long Bros sold the mill to A. S. Nicholson of Burlington, Ont. in 1946.

Nicholson created a new company- Nicola Valley Sawmills Ltd, to manage the mill operations. He implemented many changes in the mill to expand its output. The mill attained some sort of stability under this ownership. In 1977, the Kamloops-based Balco Industries purchased the Merritt mill. Tolko Industries had purchased the mill from Balco Industries in 1987.

Earlier in September this year, Tolko Industries has announced that it plans to permanently close its Nicole Valley, Merritt, B.C sawmill operations by mid-December. The company press release had stated that the decision to close the mill was purely due to fiber supply shortage. The review conducted by the company had revealed that timber supply was not adequate to meet the requirement of all its mills in the region.

The company had announced transition package for nearly 200 employees working at the sawmill. The company had offered pension to senor crew, whereas younger workers were offered positions at Tolko mill’s other locations including Armstrong, Vernon, Quesnel, Williams Lake, Kelowna, Kamloops and Lumby.

According to sources, the decision to lower the allowable annual cut (AAC) from 2.4 million cubic metres to 1.5 million cubic metres had badly impacted the company’s Southern Interior operations. Although the company noted that the decision may not impact the operations in the immediate term, it had clarified that the full impact of the decision would be devastating. In November 2015, the company had cut 29 full time positions and had curtailed its small log line in response to the expected reductions to annual allowable cut.

The company noted that its remaining lumber operations are performing well. The company’s operations in three other lumber mills in Southern B.C. and two plywood plants would be unaffected by the Merritt closure.

About Tolko Industries Ltd.

Tolko Industries Ltd. is a privately owned Canadian forest products company based in Vernon, British Columbia. It manufactures and markets specialty forest products to world markets. Tolko's products include lumber, plywood, veneer, oriented strand board, and kraft papers. Tolko's Woodlands departments hold third-party certification on the forestlands they sustainably manage in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.