White River Forest Products Announces $9.5 Million Sawmill Upgrade

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The White River, Ontario-headquartered community based company White River Forest Products LP (WRFP) has announced significant investment towards upgrades at its sawmill near the north shore of lake Superior.

The upgrades will make the mill one of the lowest cost mills in Eastern Canada, in addition to creating nearly 15 new jobs in the region. Also, the upgrades promise creation of spin-off jobs in related sectors such as forest harvesting, transportation etc. Further to upgrades, WRFP expects to lift the mill capacity by almost one-third from current levels of 130 million feet per year to as high as 170 million feet per year.

According to the company press release, it plans to invest more than $9.5 million in upgrades. It includes sawline modifications including residual handling and installation of additional debarking and drying capacity. The upgrades are expected to add new products to its portfolio. Out of $9.5 million investment, the company has received nearly $1.9 million from the province through its Jobs and Prosperity Fund. However, the bulk of the investment comes from the company, it said.

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Frank Dottori, President & CEO, WRFP expressed happiness on becoming one among the first companies to receive monies from the Jobs and Prosperity Fund. The province’s contribution is an encouraging recognition of the importance of green industries like forestry. The $9.5 million upgrades are intended to modernize the mill facility, he added.

This is the second major investment at the mill. The mill had undergone a multi-million dollar reinvestment and modernization program in 2015 to replace two existing sawlines with a new state-of-the-art high tech sawline.

The mill currently employs 150 employees at site. In addition, another 250 people are indirectly employed via contractors, suppliers and support services.