Subscribe Archives Events ContactTimberWestMadison's Lumber DirectoryAdvertiseMedia Kit LSJ Home Forestnet
 
Untitled Document

Logging and Sawmilling Journal October/November 2011

September 2012

On the Cover:

The installation of more advanced sawmilling equipment is a big part of the equation in the quest by many forest companies to achieve greater efficiency, recovery and value uplift in forest products. A good example of that is the significant investment West Fraser Timber has made in its Blue Ridge Lumber sawmill—read all about the upgrade beginning on page 8 of this issue (Cover photo of Blue Ridge Lumber's logyard crane by Tony Kryzanowski).

Spotlight: A century of Service to B.C. forests

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the B.C. Forest Service, which at one point was one of the main engines driving access to the tremendous forest resources in Canada's number one forestry province.

Maintaining the sawmill edge

West Fraser's Blue Ridge Lumber sawmill in Alberta focuses on advanced equipment—including new equipment from a recent upgrade—and a skilled work force to maintain a competitive edge.

Proper maintenance keeps skidders on track

Skidders are the lifeblood of many logging operations, crucial tools for extracting logs from the forest to the landing quickly, efficiently, and safely. As with all forestry equipment, skidders need proper maintenance to ensure maximum productivity.

Making room for small contractors

In an era of large logging contractors, Ainsworth Lumber in Alberta is
making room for smaller contractors with an Owners/Ops Group that
allows a group of individual owner/operators to work cooperatively to
harvest and deliver wood to roadside.

Alberta's Top Logging Contractors,
Lumber Producers

Logging and Sawmilling Journal presents its authoritative list of the top logging contractors in Alberta, and the top lumber producers in the province.

Multi-generation sawmillers

New Brunswick's Tompkins sawmill may be small, but it has managed to weather industry downturns—turning out high value hardwood lumber and bread and butter products, such as railroad ties—for three generations.

Managing Wildfire Risks

The city of Prince George—smack in the middle of Canada's largest softwood lumber producing region— is making wildfire protection a high
priority with the management of its community forest, but it brings its own set of challenges.

Generating new revenues with Scrimtec

An engineered wood product called Scrimtec—developed in Australia and now being produced in the U.S. South—could help B.C. forest companies further utilize beetle killed wood.

A bit different demo

B.C. heavy equipment dealer Great West Equipment took a bit of a
different approach in presenting their equipment to potential customers
this past summer, setting up a demo site at one of Tolko's mill facilities.

The Edge

Included in The Edge, Canada's leading publication on research in the forest industry, are stories from Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions, the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre and Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development Department.

Tech Update

Logging and Sawmilling Journal has the latest product information on kiln equipment in this issue's Tech Update.

The Last Word

Tony Kryzanowski notes that the digital revolution is taking a toll on the market for wood chips, and sawmillers would be well advised to look for additional uses for their chips outside of pulp and paper mills.

Supplier newsline
 

Bookmark and Share  Or CLICK to download a pdf of this article

Alberta's Top Logging ContractorsThe top companies in Alberta's forest industry

The common thread running through Alberta’s logging community at present is that they are busy and there is more volume being made available to them from forest companies. However, there seems to be no great rush to take on that extra volume without first taking a long, hard look at such key issues as return on investment, rising fuel costs and staffing.

Contractors say that there have been little, if any, increases in the amount that forest companies have been willing to pay their contractors since the industry downturn in 2008.

Most have made do with their equipment fleets through the downturn, but are now upgrading their equipment or moving on to other opportunities. Competition from the oil patch and mining industry remains brisk and some forest industry veterans are responding to the call from these other industries, in search of bigger paycheques and a change in scenery.

However, there still seem to be enough owner operators interested in growing their businesses and willing to take on additional volume, by working as efficiently as possible or diversifying their businesses beyond the forest sector.

All logging contractors on this list were contacted and participation was voluntary. While we do our best to identify contractors working in the industry, it is possible that we may have inadvertently missed someone. If you know of someone who should be on the next list, please contact our office at (604) 990-9970.

Alberta’s Top Logging Contractors

1. Pineridge Logging/Peace Country Ventures
Owners: Jake Froese and Peter Peters
Head office: LaCrete, Alberta
Area of operations: Peace River, Whitecourt, Grande Prairie
Hardwood and softwood, tree length and cut-to-length
Volume: 1.8 million cubic metres

2. D & J Isley and Sons Contracting Ltd.
Owner: Roy Isley
Head office: Grande Prairie, Alberta
Area of operations: Grande Prairie, Fox Creek, Whitecourt, (Alberta), Fort St. John (B.C.)
Hardwood and softwood, tree length and cut-to-length
Volume: 1.5 million cubic metres

3. Lydell Group Inc.
Owner: Dwayne Lyda
Head office: Drayton Valley, Alberta
Area of operations: Drayton Valley, Edson, Sundre
Hardwood and softwood, tree length and cut-to-length
Volume: 1.05 million cubic metres

4. Timber Pro Logging Ltd.
Owners: Art Thiessen, Murray Head,
Art Head
Head office: Grande Prairie, Alberta
Area of operations: Southeast and
southwest of Grande Prairie
Hardwood and softwood, tree length
and cut-to-length
Volume: 500,000 cubic metres

5. SAN Forestry Ltd
Owner: Nikita Kuznetsov
Head office: Plamondon, Alberta
Area of operations: Northern Alberta
Hardwood, cut-to-length
Volume: 500,000 cubic metres

6. Promise Contracting Ltd.
Owner: Wade Fournier
Head office: Hinton, Alberta
Area of operations: Hinton
Hardwood and softwood, cut-to-length
Volume: 400,000 cubic metres

7. Paradis Bros. Logging Ltd.
Owners: John and Will Paradis
Head office: Caroline, Alberta
Area of operations: Central Alberta
Softwood, tree length and cut-to-length
Volume: 370,000 cubic metres

 

8. TJ Logging Inc.
Owners: Tim White and MaryAnn White
Head office: Whitecourt, Alberta
Area of operations: Whitecourt
Softwood and hardwood, tree length and cut-to-length
Volume: 335,000 cubic metres

9. Bigstone Forestry Inc.
Owners: Bigstone Cree Nation
Head Office: Wabasca, Alberta
Area of operations: Northeastern Alberta
Hardwood and softwood, cut-to-length
Volume: 320,000 cubic metres

10. Double B Logging
Owner: Leo Berube
Head office: Whitecourt
Area of operations: Whitecourt
Hardwood and softwood, tree length and cut-to-length
Volume: 300,000 cubic metres

11. JHL Forestry Ltd.
Owners: Heart Lake First Nation/Chipewyan Prairie First Nation
Head office: Heart Lake, Alberta
Area of operations: Northeastern Alberta, Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries’ Forest Management Agreement area
Hardwood and softwood, cut-to-length
Volume: 220,000 cubic metres

12. Echo Logging Ltd.
Owners: Ken and Cody Baker
Head office: Hinton, Alberta
Area of operations: Hinton
Softwood, cut-to-length
Volume: 215,000 cubic metres

13. R. Bruce Erickson Construction Ltd.
Owners: Murray and Allan Erickson
Head office: Innisfail, Alberta
Area of operations: Sundre and Rocky Mountain House
Softwood, cut-to-length
Volume: 200,000 cubic metres

14. Stellas Logging Ltd.
Owner: Stephane Berube
Head office: Whitecourt
Area of operations: Whitecourt
Hardwood and softwood, tree length and cut-to-length
Volume: 200,000 cubic metres

 

 



 

 

 

This page and all contents ©1996-2015 Logging and Sawmilling Journal (L&S J) and TimberWest Journal.
For personal or non-commercial use only.
Any questions or comments on this site can be directed to Rob Stanhope, Principal (L&S J).
Site design by Spilled Ink Studio