Over the last 30 years I…

Over the last 30 years I have had the opportunity to work for the Ontario Government, Corporate America, Forest Industry, First Nations and Independent Forest Operators as an employee and/or project advisor.

Independent Operators are those forestry contractors that work on the crown forests and are not tied to any mills but pay fees to their local Sustainable Forestry Licence Holder or companies for the right to harvest on crown lands. From my knowledge of the forest industry obtained through my experience, it is my belief; International Wood Industries in Bonfield would provide an additional outlet for some of those independent operators to sell their logs.

Competition is healthy for growth. If a company is willing to make a capital investment in a state of the art mill that would be beneficial for the forest operators to have new and exciting markets available to them, I am all for it. The jobs and spin offs to the local economies would be a tremendous boost to the region as well.

In the last 10 years, since 2009 recession, mills that survived have had upper hand when it comes to buying logs from independents. With a new mill on the horizon, that is centrally located, requires round wood for value added products and has a diversity of markets; this would be very beneficial for all operators. Independents have been forced to come up with innovative means to sell their products when local mills have refused to buy their logs. Measures such as (Manufactured in Canada Exemption) permits and Letters of Refusal to sell logs outside Ontario; are examples of markets that operators have been forced to seek out in times of need.

There will be some objection from other mills, but at one time, Mattawa had a thriving mill. Other mills have idled down and/or just closed the door as the result of declining markets. These exiting mills left a void that current day mills have not been able to fill, forcing operators to work in accordance to the needs of the mills. Allowable cuts are down and growth is slow. With incremental, but steady growth projected in the local regions forests and new innovation available; now is the time to make the investments into Ontario’s future, and that is what International Wood Industries appears to be doing.