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Top 10 Under 40
Canadian Forest Industries showcases the up-and-coming leaders that make up the 2025 Top 10 Under 40 winners.
Kit Burke, planning superintendent for West Fraser Mills in Chetwynd, B.C., is one of this year’s forestry superstars. Read about all the Top 10 Under 40 winners on page 18. Photo: West Fraser.
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Canadian Forest Industries
Expanding markets
How can Canada’s forest products sector grow?
This past August has been a rough one for Canada’s wood products sector, particularly for softwood lumber producers.
The U.S. Department of Commerce chose to more than double countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber from 6.74 per cent to 14.63 per cent. Add this to the recently announced increase in anti-dumping duties to 20.56 per cent, and producers are now forced to navigate 35.19 per cent in duties and tariffs in its largest export market. Yikes!
To try and offer some form of relief, the Government of Canada announced additional support for Canada’s softwood lumber sector. In August, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a $1.2-billion aid package for the softwood lumber sector designed to help producers retool and pivot to new markets. The package included $700 million in loan guarantees and $500 million to “supercharge” product and market diversification to improve the industry’s global competitiveness. The federal government also announced that it would prioritize Canadian materials in construction, and require companies contracting with the feds to prioritize Canadian lumber. The impact this will have is currently unclear, and but there is at least an effort being put forth to help one of the most battered industries of the current trade disputes with our neighbours to the south.
One saving grace for Canada’s softwood lumber sector in the short-term is that the U.S. does not have enough domestic production to fulfill its domestic market consumption. Our country supplied 12 billion board feet to the U.S. in 2024. This accounted for approximately 24 per cent of U.S. total consumption.
During the Canadian Woodlands Forum’s 2025 Spring Meeting, the Maritime Lumber Bureau’s executive director Kevin Merriam told attendees that it would take U.S. producers upwards of a decade to meet that additional production – without taking into account all the challenges of that scale-up, including the additional fibre supply and massive capital investments. This also did not account for
any increase in U.S. housing demands over the next 10 years.
While U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments about not needing any Canadian lumber are inaccurate, that does not mean Canada’s market share in the country won’t shrink over time. For this reason, Canadian wood products producers need to focus on finding new markets and growing current relationships with other countries that have need of our products. This, of course, won’t be an easy feat.
The U.S. currently makes up about 90 per cent of Canada’s lumber exports, and the next two largest markets, China and Japan, are not in a position of growth. Even if China’s economy speeds back up and housing demand were to come back strong, Canada’s trade relationship with the country is a complicated one, and it wouldn’t necessarily prove to be more reliable than the U.S., as we’ve seen in the past, with China cutting off trade with Canada due to differences in politics and policies.
What about the U.K., the E.U., Australia, New Zealand, India and South Korea? Could any of these countries provide growing markets for Canadian wood products? Perhaps, but there are significant producer countries that are closer geographically including Sweden, Finland, China and Russia.
Could some of the market growth be absorbed internally? Highly unlikely. While Canada does import some wood products, the country is a far larger exporter than importer. According to Russ Taylor Global, Canadian lumber production in 2024 was approximately 20 billion board feet, and the country’s domestic consumption is about 7 billion board feet.
The reality is that the U.S. will always be our biggest trading partner and importer of Canadian softwood lumber. Our producers are facing one of the most challenging times in the sector’s history, and will need to find ways to innovate, locate new markets, and create new high-value products in order to stay healthy. This will take significant collaboration between industry members and support from all levels of government.
ANDREWsnook
QUALITY DRAG C HAIN ENSURES A QUALITY MILL
CIF-IFC names new executive director
The Canadian Institute of Forestry/Institut forestier du Canada (CIF-IFC) has appointed Curtis Cook as its new executive director, effective Sept. 2, 2025.
“After thoughtful consideration, the CIF-IFC is delighted to welcome Curtis Cook to the team,” says Margaret Symon, CIF-IFC president.
Cook comes to the organization with over 20 years of senior management and executive experience working with non-profit organizations, First Nations, and community services throughout his career. The CIF-IFC stated that his work as an economic and business consultant provided him with multiple opportunities to conduct forest industry research and analyses for both public- and private-sector clients.
“Curtis Cook brings to the CIF-IFC a suite of team leadership skills, as well as expertise at building beneficial relationships with partners, funders, and stakeholders,” Symon said.
One of Cook’s previous roles was executive director of the $12-million Clayoquot Biosphere Trust where he led socio-economic, environmental conservation, and educational initiatives aligned with the UNESCO Biosphere Program.
COFI responds to increased duties
The BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI) expressed its condemnation of the U.S. Department of Commerce more than doubling countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber imports from 6.74 per cent to 14.63 per cent. These duties are in addition to the previously announced increase to anti-dumping duties to 20.56 per cent, spiking the total duties to 35.19 per cent.
“These unjustified actions continue to harm workers, families, and communities on both sides of the border,” said Kim Haakstad, president and CEO of COFI. “To mitigate these harms, we must focus on what we can control, which is the competitiveness of the B.C. forestry industry within Canada.”
She stated that the sector faces mounting challenges, including
rising costs, declining harvest levels, regulatory delays, and policy uncertainty.
“If we don’t take urgent action to improve our business climate, we risk losing more mills, jobs, and economic opportunities,” she said.
COFI has urged the province to take immediate actions, including streamlining permitting processes, activating provincial timber sales, removing cross-ministry bottlenecks, and enhancing partnerships and revenue sharing with First Nations.
“With the right policy tools, B.C. can send a strong message that it is committed to creating a climate where primary and secondary forest manufacturers want to invest, ensuring a steady supply of wood products for B.C., Canada, and beyond,” Haakstad stated.
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Groupe Savoie investing in Kedgwick facility
From left: Jean-François Martel, deputy mayor of Saint-Quentin; Luke Randall, minister responsible for Opportunities NB; Yves Nazair, business development executive, Opportunities NB; Luc Plourde, senior financial specialist, Opportunities NB; Vincent Caron, vice-president of production, Groupe Savoie; Luc Gauvin, chief financial officer, Groupe Savoie; and Jason Somers, CEO of Groupe Savoie. Photo: Government of New Brunswick.
Groupe Savoie, a hardwood products manufacturer headquartered in Saint-Quentin, N.B., has announced plans to modernize its operations at its Kedgwick, N.B. facility with assistance from the provincial government.
“Groupe Savoie has deep roots in northern New Brunswick and continues to show leadership through innovation,” said Luke Randall, minister responsible for Opportunities NB.
Groupe Savoie will receive a repayable loan of up to $115,000 to assist with the purchase and installation of a high-performance moulder. The loan has been made available through Opportunities NB, a Crown corporation and the lead economic development agency for the province.
The moulder will be used to process larger panels more efficiently, reduce the amount of rejected materials, and eliminate the need for sanding and additional end-matching processes.
Groupe Savoie operates facilities in Kedgwick, Saint-Quentin, and Westville, N.S., producing a range of value-added wood products, including kitchen cabinetry components, hardwood flooring, pallets and more.
“This investment will allow us to further optimize our operations and strengthen our competitiveness in domestic and international markets,” said Jason Somers, CEO of Groupe Savoie. “Opportunities NB’s support helps make projects like this possible, and we value their ongoing collaboration in helping rural manufacturers succeed.”
GEARING UP FOR WINTER
BY TIM FLOWERS, LEAD INSTRUCTOR, FORESTRY, JOHN DEERE
As we gear up for the colder months, it’s essential for loggers to prepare their equipment for freezing temperatures and snow. Taking the right precautions ahead of winter storms can significantly reduce downtime and keep operations running smoothly, even in the most challenging weather conditions.
Before performing any routine maintenance, it’s important to review your operator manual or speak to your local dealer for proper guidelines on maintenance schedules, fuel replacements, and coolant recommendations.
CHECKING PARTS
Winter conditions can place additional stress on your forestry equipment, so it’s vital for operators to perform regular inspections of their equipment and attachments before use. You can begin with looking for leaks around hydraulic lines, fuel systems, and seals. It’s also important to inspect undercarriage components for damage or missing pieces and clear the undercarriage of any debris along with checking track tension for proper adjustment. Hydraulic lines should be inspected regularly as well, since cold weather can increase
Operators should be familiar with performing a cold start on their machine.
brittleness, and in extremely cold conditions, an extended warming up period will be necessary for hydraulic functions.
As part of general winter machine maintenance, loggers should also focus on properly greasing parts and getting their machines inspected by their local dealer ahead of the winter months. All bearings should be carefully greased to purge them of condensed water. Water should also be drained from the boom base, slew unit and water fuel separator. The saw unit and chain tensioner should be carefully cleaned out and greased regularly. Regularly performing these steps during winter months can be incredibly worthwhile, as built-up dirt, debris and snow can freeze, making maintenance procedures more difficult to perform.
Lastly, the heat and summer months can cause wear and tear to your machine’s batteries and battery health. Prior to the winter season, it’s important to prevent damage by ensuring each battery is fully charged and operating at full capacity.
CHANGING FLUIDS AND FUEL
Ahead of the colder months, it’s important to change the engine oil and perform a thorough inspection of all working parts to ensure that the machines are prepared for harsher conditions.
It is also important for fuel to be swapped with winter-grade fuel, which can help to avoid machine malfunctions and restrictions due to fuel gelling up in cold weather if changed early enough in the season. Lighter fuels are typically recommended for colder months, as the light fuel flows more smoothly through cold engines and can better protect them.
For hydraulic oils, utilizing a higher viscosity index (VI) oil can manage a wider range of temperatures than standard oils. Standard grade 46 oil typically can manage temperatures as cold as -15C, while higher VI oils can manage temperatures as cool as -25C. If you’re unsure about the optimal oil to use, consult your local dealer, who can provide a recommendation for your climate.
Coolant should also be tested to ensure it won’t freeze in extreme temperatures, and the grease in the central lubrication system should be replaced with a cold-weather-compatible grease to ensure proper flow and protection.
WARMING UP YOUR MACHINE
Operators should be familiar with performing a cold start on their machine, and remove any mud, ice, or snow prior to operation. Cold starts can be hard on engines and hydraulic systems, so it’s
best to begin by letting the engine idle for several minutes to allow oil and fluids to circulate. Avoid revving the engine immediately, as this can cause unnecessary wear. Slowly cycling the hydraulic controls helps warm up the fluid and components, ensuring smoother operation. It’s important to avoid sudden operation of hydraulic functions until the engine is thoroughly warmed up. Run the engine at low idle (typically 900 to 1,200 rpm, depending on machine settings) until the hydraulic oil temperature reaches 10C (50F) before actuating hydraulic functions. After hydraulic oil temperature reaches 10C (50F), throttle can be increased to full speed. Cycle all hydraulic functions to distribute warmed oil until all functions operate freely.
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF WINTERIZING EQUIPMENT IS MAINTAINING THE CAB AND PRIORITIZING OPERATOR SAFETY.
Operators should be sure that the Diesel Fired Coolant Heaters (DFCH) have ran three to five minutes with a cold machine, bi-monthly year-round.
Maintaining that prime will ensure that the DFCH is ready to perform during cold weather operations to maintain productivity. You should also test the coolant freeze point with a refractometer.
OPERATOR SAFETY AND STORAGE
One of the most important aspects of winterizing equipment is maintaining the cab and prioritizing operator safety. All locks should be properly lubricated, and seals should be lined with silicone to prevent cab doors from freezing shut. It’s also important to ensure that heaters and defrosters inside the cab are functional to keep operators warm. Operators should always use points of contact when getting on or off of the machine.
Windows should be kept clean and free of frost, and anti-fog treatments can help prevent condensation buildup. It’s important to note that forestry machine windows cannot be cleaned with am-
monia-based products. Specific cleaners are needed to ensure that windows don’t appear hazy. It’s also advised to keep a winter emergency kit in the cab, including blankets, a flashlight, extra batteries, snacks, water, and a first-aid kit. Finally, when not in use, it’s vital to keep your machinery and any attachments safely inside, away from the cold and storms.
Harsh winter weather conditions can transform a jobsite entirely, and focusing on warming up all machines, checking fluid levels and parts, and performing
routine machine maintenance are essential to winter season success. In extreme weather conditions, operators are also encouraged to look after themselves as well, not just their machines, and wear the appropriate gear and bring the necessary tools to stay warm on the job.
A LONG WAY TOGETHER
FORESTLAND
Designed for the most demanding applications, FORESTLAND is BKT’s most recent and innovative bias tire for the agro-forestry sector, but it can also be employed in some agricultural operations such as landscaping and light mulching. Its polyester carcass and specific tread compound make it particularly cutand-chip resistant, while the robust sidewall ensures a long product life cycle. FORESTLAND’s key features are excellent traction on soft terrain, good grip on any ground thanks to stiff and reinforced tread lugs, a high level of stability thanks to the strong bead construction and top self-cleaning properties.
In Campbell River, B.C., an innovative piece of equipment has been created that is piquing the curiosity of logging contractors around the world.
After five years of research and development, T-MAR Industries has produced the 7280E Hybrid Electric Drive Yarder, the first diesel-electric hybrid yarder for steep slope logging applications.
Started up in 1984, the company has been producing yarders for decades for contractors around the world, mainly servicing primary markets such as Western Canada, Western U.S., and New Zealand. But one evening over five years ago, T-MAR Industries vice-president Tyson Lambert was having a conversation with one of the company’s engineers, and that started up the idea of creating a hybrid diesel-electric yarder.
“One of the engineers and I were talking, and he had a background in electric powertrain from a prior job. I asked, ‘Would one of those drives work in a yarding winch?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I think so.’ That’s how we started,” Lambert recalls.
They presented the idea to the company’s board of directors, and they decided it was worth pursuing. So, Lambert’s team built a small-scale prototype and tested it out, trying the concepts they wanted to implement.
“Not only did they work, but to our surprise,
they worked a lot more efficiently than we were expecting,” Lambert says. “The energy recovery, ease of operation, and just the simplicity of it, exceeded expectations, even in our scaled-down experiment.”
One of the unexpected benefits of designing the hybrid yarder were the updated controls. Initially, the company tried
to mirror the controls of their standard yarders but found it was not practical for use in the hybrid version.
“We came up with a new control scheme and thought, we’d re-visit that later. But when we ran the prototype, it became clear that this was the way it needed to work. It was way better than
traditional controls,” Lambert says.
As the company worked away on the prototype, one of their existing customers visited their shop, so Lambert’s team took the opportunity to present their prototype to the contractor. After taking the prototype yarder for a test drive, the contractor asked Lambert’s team to retrofit one of his existing yarders with the hybrid technology they developed. That yarder became the first 7280E Hybrid Electric Drive Yarder that was produced.
“It’s an older machine, and we took out all the old, traditional powertrain components, and we put in all the new stuff that we’ve designed,” Lambert says.
Finding parts to build the hybrid technology for the yarder was extremely difficult, so many parts had to be designed and built from scratch.
“We went shopping for components like gear reductions, control modules, and things like that. We found there wasn’t anything available. So, we ended up making all of that. We bought the motors and the controllers for the motors, and that’s about it. We ended up engineering everything else in-house,” Lambert says.
Many parts to build the technology for the yarder had to be designed and built from scratch.
“With the space constraints we were working with, and the performance envelope we wanted to run the winch at, there weren’t any existing drives that would fit in the physical constraints that we had with enough power.”
Even the information to design the parts needed
to construct the hybrid prototype was extremely difficult to find.
“How fast do you want to go? How much torque do you need? How much space do you have? All those kinds of things you have to sort of weigh out and come up with the best sort of combination of [were difficult to find],” Lambert says.
Lambert says there wasn’t a single challenge that was the biggest one to overcome. It was the project as a whole that presented a unique challenge to his team.
“There was so much learning along the way about how to treat these new motors and how to store energy. We just had to figure the whole thing out from scratch,” he says. “The biggest challenge was the volume of inventing and learning that we had to do to get from start to finish.”
The machine has been tested in a scale setting using various logs near the company’s shop to ensure it will function the way it was designed. The yarder is scheduled to be placed on a barge in September and transported to their customer near the head of Toba Inlet on the B.C. Coast, close to where the contractor is performing an offshore, steep slope logging operation.
Since announcing the creation of the hybrid yarder, T-MAR Industries has received a great deal of interest from contractors, local and abroad.
The yarder offers a feel-good story for the 40 people who work for T-MAR Industries, as well as the 37,000-plus residents of Campbell River, B.C.
T-MAR Industries has received a great deal of interest from contractors, local and abroad, about its new yarder. Photos courtesy of T-MAR Industries.
“Our first customer is very local and we’re proud of that. But also, some customers from the U.S. and New Zealand are very interested. They’re coming here to have a look at the machine once it gets running,” Lambert says.
The fuel economy and potential for emissions reductions are both of great interest to companies and landowners.
“A lot of forest landowners, particularly industrial forest owners, are starting to look at the net emissions of their operations,” Lambert says. “There’s also the ease of operation, less maintenance, higher reliability, and the performance. The machine is more powerful than any before it.”
“THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE WAS THE VOLUME OF INVENTING AND LEARNING THAT WE HAD TO DO TO GET FROM START TO FINISH.”
The yarder’s available power is also impressive. Due to the speeds at which the yarder will need to operate, the drives have a significant amount of available horsepower.
“If you go around and add up all the drives to the winches, there’s about 2,500 horsepower worth of power there. Each drive can pull close to 150,000-footpounds of torque,” Lambert explains. “Obviously, we won’t use all that, because that wouldn’t be too good for the cables or the logs, but it’s there. So, the power behind these new electric motors and drives is really compelling and eye opening.”
The new control scheme is also far less complicated than a traditional yarder, which means finding qualified operators and training new operators becomes an easier task.
“If you are familiar with a backhoe or an excavator, you can run this machine,” Lambert says. “You don’t have to be particularly skilled in cable equipment to get in this thing and start bringing in logs. It’s a lot more intuitive and forgiving. If you let go of the controls, everything just stops. Traditional machines aren’t necessarily like that. So, it’s easier to learn on.”
ALWAYS EVOLVING
As a manufacturer, Lambert says it’s important that the company continues to innovate and move their technologies forward.
“We need to keep moving the craft forward, so the machines get continuously better and easier to use; or somebody else will,” he notes. “For our customers, the fuel savings and the reliability might be important to them. For us, we see the powertrain industry generally moving forward in that direction. So, as some of these older components that we traditionally would use in our machines become less common in other industries, they’ll become more expensive, and eventually, unavailable to us.”
Lambert and his team see the evolving market as a challenge for his business to adapt to and overcome. After going through the process of developing the hybrid yarder over the past five years, T-MAR Industries has gained a great deal of knowledge it will be able to use to help grow its business in the future.
we’re now experts at electric powertrain
and electric motor control, and gear reductions, to use in these applications,” Lambert says. “We’ve learned a lot along the way. There are probably some other industries that could benefit from this. So as a business, we now have this competency in the general area of large industrial electric powertrain that will serve us well in the traditional logging equipment business, which is good enough for us, but there might be some other opportunities as well.”
In addition to being an impressive piece of innovation, the 7280E Hybrid Electric Drive Yarder offers a feel-good, homegrown story and proud accomplishment for the 40 people who work for T-MAR Industries, as well as the 37,000plus residents that call Campbell River home.
“We’re quite proud that the first machine is not only going to be run by good friends of ours, but it’s going to be here in British Columbia, in a coastal more of a home-team project if you tried,”
FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEMS
TOP 10 UNDER 40
Showcasing future forestry leaders
BY STAFF REPORT
The Top 10 Under 40 contest offers a spotlight for some of the best and brightest within Canada’s forest products sector. From a husband-and-wife team running a logging operation to mill management; site supervisors; woodlands and operations controllers; an international wood products distributor; and more. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners!
KIT BURKE
Planning Superintendent, West Fraser Mills
Chetwynd, B.C.
Kit Burke’s parents took him hiking on Vancouver Island almost before he could walk, and as a result,
he has been fascinated by trees and the natural world ever since.
“My interest in forestry started around the same time,” he recalls. “According to my mother, I was captivated by the BC Forest Discovery Centre in Duncan, and after visiting, I asked for a chainsaw for my third birthday!”
Kit sees forestry as a social endeavor and vital to the communities where companies operate and beyond.
“It is the backbone of many rural communities, including where I live, and the products we make contribute immensely to the wellbeing of people around the world,” he says. “I know of no
KIT BURKE
Now
“The HewSaw team has been extremely helpful, accommodating and supportive throughout the install, start-up and into steady state operations. The Hampton FSJFP team has been extremely pleased with HewSaw’s ability to adapt and meet our company and project goals, key metrics and manufacturing philosophies.”
-
Ian Gray Regional Manager, Hampton Affiliates
With their HewSaw SL200 3.3 stud line in Fort St. James, British Columbia, Hampton Lumber has transformed their older multi-line mill into an efficient and modern one line facility.
Flexibility in saw patterns, including asymmetrical patterns for the highest LRF
• High feed speed and high LRF
• Edged sideboards produced in-line -no downstream edging required
• Low operating costs with reduced staffing
• Fast and easy saw and knife changes
• Optimized log gap control
other industry that contributes so much to so many, while utilizing a renewable, sustainable resource. I can literally walk around my town and point to things like the library and health centre, which were partially funded from our Community Forest Partnership with our sawmill. It’s very remarkable to see such tangible benefits of your work every day.”
Kit is motivated by the opportunities he has to continuously learn in his role.
“I’m always learning something new,” he says. “Bringing a positive attitude and an open mind to work are the greatest tools to stay motivated in what can be an unpredictable sector.”
The young foresters that Kit has had the opportunity to train and mentored over the years are his proudest accomplishments within his career.
“They never cease to impress me with their drive and enthusiasm. Helping folks who started out as summer students become fully fledged, competent foresters is the greatest achievement in my work,” he says.
Kit’s overarching goal is to improve the credibility of the industry by continuing to advance and improve forest practices.
“We’ve got a lot of challenges around expectations and access to fibre, but innovative practices like enhanced retention harvesting, strip cutting and incorporating deciduous trees into prescriptions can create stands which are resilient, diverse and still produce economical, high-value fibre,” he says.
Kit says the instability facing the forest products sector presents a significant challenge to companies’ recruitment and retention efforts.
“If the sector is going to retain people long term, we need to ensure they’ve got that stability,” he says. “Logging operations that are only going to work a few months a year, and mills taking frequent downtime both drive people to other industries. It’s not a simple solution, but it’s the biggest factor I’ve seen that reduces recruitment and retention.”
Kit’s short-term goal is to help shine a spotlight on the good work being done at West Fraser’s Chetwynd mill operations.
“My short-term goal is to showcase what we’re doing here to show what can be done with an open mind and a positive attitude. There is so much interesting
work that is happening today around crafting ecologically relevant prescriptions for sites, improving outcomes for wildlife and fire resiliency, all while still getting wood to the mill,” he says. “In the long term, I’d like to work to a place where I’m able to influence good forest practices at a provincial level, creating a stable, profitable industry that meets the expectations of the public, First Nations, and over time, improves the provincial forest resource.”
COURTNEY
AND SPENCER PAWLOFF Owners, SC Logging Ltd.
Barrière, B.C.
Courtney and Spencer Pawloff are a unique husband-and-wife duo operating SC Logging in Barrière, B.C. The couple has grown their operation from running a single harvester to a full stump-to-dump operation in the span of only three years.
The couple stated that they were primarily inspired to work in the forest
AND SPENCER PAWLOFF
products sector by the thought of carrying on their family’s traditions in the cattle ranching and forestry sectors.
“Additionally, we saw an opportunity to create a niche market for customers through selective logging, allowing us to meet specific needs that large corporations in the forest industry were unable to fulfill,” Spencer says.
Courtney and Spencer both find performing high-quality work operating equipment in the logging sector, while contributing to fire prevention efforts in their region, highly fulfilling.
“It’s a significant honour to achieve these goals with the help of friends and family working alongside us,” Courtney says.
The couple says building a generational business to pass down to their children, and to see their friends and family prosper as a team within SC Logging Ltd., keeps them highly motivated. Their proudest achievement to date is building a private
COURTNEY
logging company in under two years and being able to do what they love every day. The couple’s goals are to continue to find ways to optimize efficiencies in their operations through adopting new technologies, while doing their part to reduce the environmental impact of the logging industry.
“We aim to show new generations that logging isn’t solely about clear-cutting, and that it can be beneficial to the environment,” Spencer says.
“Furthermore, we want to provide better tools and access to improved pay to allow companies and new employees to thrive with success,” Courtney adds.
In the short-term, the couple plans to continue building the company and expand into larger-scale operations while still making the company’s services accessible to people that larger corporations find difficult to reach.
“We hope to broaden our spectrum to fulfill the needs and jobs of our customers,” Spencer says.
The long-term goal is to be able to change industry standards.
“We believe the benefits of selective logging are generational and share the same results for fire prevention. We want to establish industry standards that provide healthy, thriving forests for generations without the impact of clear-cutting,” Courtney says.
DEMPSEY GOEDBLOED
Vice-President of Sales and Marketing, Canusa Wood Vancouver, B.C.
For Dempsey Goedbloed, there wasn’t one specific thing that inspired her to pursue a career in the forest products sector.
“What first drew me in was the opportunity to work internationally right after graduation, which a Belgian manufacturer of composite panels – like MDF and particleboard – was offering at the time. Looking back, I feel fortunate that my career began here, because I’ve come to see how dynamic the sector is and how many opportunities it provides,” Dempsey says.
Dempsey’s favourite thing about working in the sector are the people she gets to interact with every day.
“Most are very down-to-earth, and over the past 10 years I’ve built connections and relationships that go beyond
DEMPSEY GOEDBLOED
business, many of these people I consider friends,” she says. “Tradeshows and travel are always a highlight because they give you the chance to keep building those connections while meeting new people entering the industry.”
Dempsey’s also enjoys the international aspect of this business.
“Every country has its own species of wood or type of products they specialize in, which means you get to work with people from all over the world and travel to some incredible places,” she says.
What keeps Dempsey motivated in her current role? The challenge.
“The past years have been nothing short of challenging, and that’s exactly what drives me. I also see tremendous potential for growth at Canusa, and being part of uncovering and developing those opportunities is incredibly rewarding. And finally, it comes back to the people. I am fortunate to work with a great team, and it’s inspiring to see us aligned on the same mission,” she says.
When asked what she considered her best achievements working within the forest products sector, Dempsey noted assisting a European manufacturer with growing its presence in North America.
“When I first started, the company had very little business in the region. By the time I left, we had customers in nearly every state in the U.S. and across Canada,” she says. “More recently, in my twoand-a-half years at Canusa, I’m proud of how we’ve developed new territories and
introduced new products. Our growth has consistently outpaced the industry standard, which shows that the strategy and plan we’ve put in place are delivering results. Additionally, attracting young talent to the industry and seeing them thrive has been very rewarding.”
One of Dempsey’s goals is to support and highlight women in the forest products sector, which is a traditionally male-dominated industry.
“Together with several influential women, we started a subgroup that provides a space for networking, sharing experiences and know-how, and challenging each other on topics like leadership,” she says. “Tradeshows and conventions often have only five- to 10-per-cent female attendees, so creating this community has been a great way to connect and empower women in the sector.”
Another one of her goals is to make the industry more appealing to the next generation.
“It can be challenging to attract young, ambitious talent when competing with fields like finance, tech, and social media. Yet, the wood industry offers incredible opportunities,” she says. “People will always use wood, and with many experienced professionals now retiring, it’s the perfect time for younger generations to step in and help drive the sector forward.”
To encourage better recruitment and retention within the industry, Dempsey suggests companies highlight the opportunities and career paths available.
“Many people don’t realize how diverse the roles are, from sales and logistics to engineering and manufacturing,” she says. “Show the industry as modern and innovative, not ‘traditional’ or ‘old-fashioned.’ Partner with schools, colleges, and universities to create awareness early.”
Dempsey’s short-term goal is to focus on helping Canusa reach the next level.
“We have an ambitious growth plan that includes both organic and strategic non-organic growth initiatives, and I’m excited to contribute to that,” she says. “Beyond that, my goal is to continue growing in my role and the company, taking on new challenges, and exploring opportunities for Canusa in perhaps other regions around the world. There are some exciting ideas in the works, and I look forward to seeing where they take us.”
Willow Ellsworth’s journey into the forest products sector started as a summer student with BC Timber Sales (BCTS).
“The time I spent as a summer student with BCTS really showed me that I had a love for forestry. I was introduced to scaling, silviculture, planning and harvest conformance,” she says.
Willow’s favourite aspect of working in the forest products sector is the opportunity to keep developing her skills, broadening her learnings and understanding of different fields within the sector.
“There are always options to develop your career further if you are motivated and want to challenge yourself,” she says.
A desire to do the best possible job she can motivates Willow on a daily basis.
“I pride myself on my organization, work ethic and ability to continually take on more responsibilities,” she says. “I do wish to advance to a higher level in the company in the coming years, and I want my departments to continue to flourish.”
Her proudest achievement in the sector to date was obtaining her Registered Forest Technologist (RFT) designation and Log Scaling License in 2022.
“I am also very proud of how well
managed Poirier Log Yard, and our rail operations are under my supervision. It’s a demanding position that requires a lot of organization to keep the moving parts of multiple contractors, customers and operations moving seamlessly,” Willow adds.
In her current roles at NorthPac Forestry Group, Willow’s future goals include maintaining and expanding the company’s partnerships with First Nations and domestic customers.
“Innovative, complex, exciting projects are what I hope to continue managing for NorthPac,” she says. “We are always open to exploring opportunities and expanding our client base.”
To aid the forest products sector’s ability to recruit and retain workers, Willow suggests that the industry perform more outreach at high schools, job fairs, and have engaging social media presences.
“Proper mentorship, recognizing and appreciating people’s skills in this sector can help retain and keep people loving their role in forestry,” she adds.
Willow’s short-term goals revolve around the NorthPac’s rail program.
“I hope to facilitate the shipment of as many rail cars to domestic customers as we possibly can before 2025 ends,” she says.
Her long-term goals include expanding operations at the Poirier Log Yard.
“The collaborations and opportunities are possible. I hope that within the next few years, we can see some of these projects become a reality,” she says.
JAMES HENDERSON
Operations Controller, Mosaic Forest Management
Nanaimo, B.C.
Like many other people in the industry, James Henderson’s pathway into the forest products sector started at a young age.
“I began my career as a summer student in the accounting department of a pulp mill on Vancouver Island. From the start, I was inspired by the interconnectedness of the global forestry supply chain and the hardworking, community-driven people in the sector,” James recalls. “What continues to inspire me is the industry’s dynamic nature — it’s always evolving, with new challenges and opportunities to tackle.”
James’ favourite aspect of working in
the forest products sector is that there is never a dull moment.
“The industry is constantly changing, and as operations controller, I’m right in the middle of it — collaborating, problem-solving, and finding ways to improve how we operate. I thrive on the pace of change and the chance to refine processes in such a complex sector,” he says.
The constant change in the sector also keep him motivated in his role.
“No two days are the same. I’m always learning, solving problems, and improving the information I provide to support the business,” he says. “My role keeps me connected across the company and I’m inspired daily by the talented and knowledgeable people I get to collaborate with.”
James’ proudest achievements are shared successes with colleagues, as collaboration drives this industry, he notes.
“A highlight for me was supporting the affiliation of two long-standing forestry companies on Vancouver Island, where I helped align systems, processes, and financial reporting. That work has strengthened our ability to make quicker, more informed decisions today and be flexible to changing business conditions,” he says.
James says his goals to help advance the industry and his company into a better future include embracing technology, automation, and AI, to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and strengthen financial controls and decision making, while also supporting new revenue streams to make the business more resilient.
“Beyond that, I want to help inspire the next generation to see how exciting
JAMES HENDERSON
and rewarding a career in forestry can be by attending recruiting events and telling anyone I know how cool it is to work in forestry,” he adds.
When it comes to recruitment and retention in the industry, James says it should begin at an early age.
“Recruitment should start early, showing students of all ages how rewarding a career in forestry can be — whether through hands-on roles or professional paths,” he says. “Many companies also support ongoing education, which is a powerful draw. For retention, the industry already does well — at my company, employees often stay decades — but continuing to value, challenge, and support staff is key.”
In the short term, James wants to deepen his knowledge of the sector and leverage AI and new technologies to add value, strengthen financial reporting, and support growth beyond logging.
“Long term, I aim to continue contributing to the industry in greater leadership roles, with the goal of one day stepping into a director or executive position,” he says.
TALON FLATEN
Woodlands Controller Gorman Group Canoe, B.C.
For Talon Flaten, working in the forest products sector has always been much more than just a career choice.
“My dad and grandfather each held long-lasting roles in the industry. It has ultimately provided the foundation for my family’s livelihood, and given me so many opportunities, for which I am so thankful,” Talon says. “I was inspired not only by the opportunity to continue my family’s legacy, but also by the values the sector represents: hard work, sustainability, and resilience. Watching how the industry has evolved – balancing tradition with innovation – has motivated me to play a role in shaping its future.”
Talon’s favourite part of working in the sector is how closely the industry is tied to the communities it serves.
“These companies don’t just operate in a region – they are part of its fabric, providing jobs, supporting local families, and contributing to the long-term wellbeing of the area,” he says. “I find it rewarding to
be part of an industry where the success of the business and the strength of the community are so deeply connected, and where our work has a direct and lasting impact on the people around us.”
Talon says his employer, the Gorman Group, leads by example in this area.
“There have been so many times I have been out at local events in the Salmon Arm and the Interior B.C. area, where I see our company giving back – donations of plywood to the Fair Grounds, sponsorship of a playground at Canoe Beach, for example. It makes me very proud to play
TALON FLATEN
a small part in the success of an organization that recognizes its social responsibility,” he says.
The challenges currently facing the forest products sector, such as softwood lumber disputes, fibre supply constraints, and a complex operational footprint, are plenty to keep Talon motivated in his role.
“All these significant pressures require a well-executed strategy, including investment in technology and innovation. My role requires a high degree of strategic planning and forecasting to ensure that we minimize the risk associated with these challenges. This requires constant research, analysis, utilization of technology, and standardization of business processes,” he says.
In his day-to-day, Talon works with senior leaders to set direction and strategic plans, which rely heavily on the operations team to execute.
“I am very privileged to work with a great team that delivers results. It is very motivating to see the success that comes from working together and navigating complex situations,” he says.
In his role overseeing the finance function of Gorman Group’s Woodlands department, Talon has been able to work on many cross-functional projects.
“We are all focused on our ‘One Woodlands’ strategy to consolidated operational execution under one umbrella to deliver operational excellence. I feel that my biggest achievement is seeing the impacts of our strategic decision-making turn into financial results, which has led to delivering top-quartile industry performance,” he says. “I am extremely proud of our team who are accountable, not only for their individual departments and success, but look out for what is in the best interest of the group as a whole. This financial footing has enabled our organization to execute our growth strategy, and I am excited to see the opportunities that are to come.”
The Gorman Group has many different accounting systems, which make reporting and analysis challenging, Talon notes. In addition to his role as Woodlands Controller, he is also the internal project manager on the company’s ERP implementation project.
“The primary objectives of this project are to deliver a standardized chart-of-
accounts structure, enable real-time inventory management, and leverage technology and AI to enable better decision-making. This is just a start for our organization, but I truly believe that we can be on the leading edge of digital transformation,” Talon says. “There is a high degree of open communication between organizations in the sector, and many have helped us on our journey. My goal is to be in a position where we can help other organizations look for opportunities to leverage technology in a similar way.”
To encourage better recruitment and retention in the forest products sector, Talon believes the sector needs to reshape and promote its true value.
“Through my work with our Woodlands operations team, I see firsthand the commitment they show every day to maintaining and supporting forest health. While the industry is often portrayed negatively in the media, presenting ourselves as a key partner in sustainable forest stewardship could go a long way in changing perceptions and attracting new talent,” he explains. “Another opportunity is to expand recruitment channels. If we can collaborate with schools, universities, and trade programs sooner with the same positioning, I believe that this will translate to a stronger desire to be part of the solution; and ultimately the sector.”
Talon’s current goals include successfully delivering the company’s ERP project and achieving the strategic objectives tied to it.
“Doing so will strengthen our organization’s standing as a top-quartile company, while unlocking new synergies and growth opportunities,” he says. “Longer term, I aspire to advance into a senior leadership role – such as CFO or vice-president of finance – continuing along the career path I’ve been fortunate to have envisioned prior to beginning my post-secondary education.”
BRYAN REID III
Site Supervisor, Pioneer Log Homes of BC Ltd. Williams Lake, B.C.
For Bryan Reid, the forest products sector has always been a family affair.
“I grew up surrounded by it. My grandpa, Bryan Reid Sr., founded Pioneer Log Homes of BC in 1973, and my father, Bryan Reid Jr., is carrying his vision forward. Watching them work so hard at transforming the logs into incredible structures sparked my interest at a young age,” he says. “To me, it’s not just about building homes, it’s about continuing on a legacy that involves craftsmanship, forestry, and community. The connection to family and forestry inspired me to follow in their footsteps.”
BRYAN REID
Bryan enjoys the sense of purpose that comes from creating something so lasting.
“Taking a natural resource and turning it into a home that will stand for generations to come is incredibly rewarding. Everything we build tells a story of our forests, and the people who will live on and enjoy these structures after we’re gone,” he says.
Bryan’s motivations are fuelled by the responsibility of carrying on a family legacy while building a future for his son, Bryan Reid IV.
“The work we do showcases Canadian forestry on a global level and sets a strong foundation for the next generation,” he says.
Bryan’s proudest achievement to date is managing the 150 Mile Log Yard, growing and developing a strong team.
“I have also been lucky enough to be involved in multiple international projects, which I am pretty proud of,” he says. “I value the opportunity to teach young tradespeople and help them succeed.”
A continued focus on sustainable practices is Bryan’s current goal to help move the industry and his company towards a brighter future.
“I want to continue sourcing our timber responsibly and blazing a trail for young people to thrive in the industry,” he says.
Attracting young people to the industry is vital. Bryan says the industry can attract young talent by investing in apprenticeships, mentor programs, and educating and highlighting the pride and purpose of this work.
“Often times, people think forestry is just cutting down trees, when really it carriers a great responsibility and builds futures,” he says.
When it comes to better retention of staff, Bryan says this comes when people feel a part of something bigger and more meaningful, which is something the forest products sector can offer.
Bryan wants to continue growing as a leader, learning from his grandpa and father, and make sure his team has the opportunity to succeed.
“My long-term goal is to carry Pioneer Log Homes into the next generation. Keeping it a global leader in handcrafted log homes while staying true to our roots in B.C.,” he says.
GLEN PREVOST
Executive Director, Ontario Woodlot Association Kemptville, Ont.
As a child, Glen Prevost’s father would take him out to “muck about” in streams and forests and go camping. Who knew that would inspire Glen to pursue a career in forestry.
“Through that, I developed a love for the outdoors. My grandfather was a woodworker and showed me the joy of building with your hands. Combine that with my innate need to design and create, and working with forests, and wood products made sense,” he says.
While Glen did eventually find his way into forestry, it wasn’t his first career choice.
“I made a detour and became a mechanical engineer first and discovered that was not for me. Engineering did impart some very keen critical thinking and analytical skills, which have served me very well in my current career,” he says. “And if I am being honest, I held a dim view of the forest sector for many years. Fortunately, those critical thinking skills
kicked in when I started my Masters of Forest Conservation at UofT. I was able to see the benefits of sustainable forest management and now couldn’t be prouder to work in forestry; and I am a huge supporter of the industry.”
For many who work in the sector, Glen believes forestry is a calling. He has never seen such a sustained passion in a sector by so many people anywhere else.
“For many, this line of work is a way of life. In my current position as the executive director of the Ontario Woodlot Association (OWA), I work with woodlot owners who want to be the best stewards they can be. Again, these folks are a pleasure to work with. Top this off with the fact that I get to work alongside these wonderful people on pressing societal issues like climate change, local economic development, and biodiversity conservation. I couldn’t ask for much more.”
The progress made by the OWA team in improving the conditions for success in private woodlots in Ontario motivates Glen to continue the good work being performed by the association.
“These forests are critical to millions
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of people and the environment for many reasons. While we have been successful, there is so much more to do, and I am excited to continue this work in the future,” he says. “I know we will continue to improve forest health, local communities, create economic opportunities, and have a great time while doing so.”
Glen has been sharing his passion for the forest with his two young sons, who he spends a great deal of time with outdoors.
“Being able to show them things in the forest and also know that I am working on meaningful problems that will affect them is a big motivator,” he says.
Glen’s proudest achievement to date is supporting and mentoring others, helping them find success.
“I have always loved to teach and help, and so, my greatest achievement is being identified within the OWA and my local professional circles as someone to call on when you need help making decision, charting a path, learning new skills, or hashing out ideas,” he says.
Glen says private woodlot owners and the forests they steward are critical for many reasons, but their potential has been overlooked for a long time, and the past management of private woodlots is checkered. For this reason, he wants to work with others in the industry to find uses for low-quality fibre that can be used to drive forest health and timber improvements on private lands.
“We also need improved access to resources such as talented professionals,
peer-to-peer support, and just plain old cash for work on private land. The benefits of these actions will improve conditions for the entire sector,” he says.
To improve recruitment and retention efforts, Glen stresses the need to connect people in the industry with people who are looking for a career or a career change.
“When you connect people who love what they do with others, their passion is infectious and can have a significant influence over career choices,” he says.
In his role as executive director, Glen wants to significantly improve supports and general conditions for the private land forest industry, including woodlot owners, professionals, and local communities that benefit from healthy forests.
“My long-term goals are to be a champion of sustainable forestry in all its forms, and to find ways to use more local wood for local purposes,” he adds.
KHRISTIAN KOULEV
Controller Gorman Group Canoe, B.C.
Khristian Koulev has always had a strong relationship with the forests, and that has had an impact on him his entire life.
“I grew up camping, hunting, and fishing, which taught me to respect the land. Forestry lets me turn that respect into action – stewarding forests while building renewable products future generations can enjoy,” he says.
When it comes to working in the forest products sector, Khristian’s favourite aspect has always been the people.
“I work with skilled, hardworking teams who take pride in making renewable products and caring for the forests that sustain them,” he says.
Continuous learning keeps him highly motivated in his role as controller.
“I’m motivated by using technology and innovation to modernize a traditional industry, turning data into safer, more efficient and sustainable operations,” he says.
Khristian’s proudest achievement to date is helping deliver some of the Gorman Group’s largest transformations, including major acquisitions and systems modernization.
“These initiatives will bring operations on to a single platform, improve transparency, and accelerate deci-
sion-making,” he says.
Moving forward, Khristian wants to help position the Gorman Group companies to thrive amid tougher regulations, market volatility, and climate pressures by investing in efficiency, fibre security, and people; so “the industry remains strong in Canada for generations.”
Showcasing the forest products sector’s story would aid in the recruitment and retention of employees, he notes.
“Tell the real story: forestry is innovative, sustainable, and full of diverse career paths,” he says. “Back it up by investing in people – training, modern workplaces, and technology that improves safety, efficiency, and stewardship.”
Khristian’s short-term goal is to keep leading transformation projects that strengthen safety, performance, and sustainability. In the long term, he would like to step into broader leadership roles that shape the company’s strategy and contribute to a more resilient industry.
KODY MESSENGER
President
Ox Resources
Stewiacke, N.S.
Kody Messenger’s passion for the forests drove his interest in entering the forest products sector and starting up Ox Resources in Stewiacke, N.S.
“I was inspired to enter the forestry sector by an appreciation for the woods and the knowledge that forests are living systems with both ecological and community value,” Kody says. “Early in my career, I saw how conventional practices often overlooked sustainability, which inspired me to create solutions that balance economic viability with ecological stewardship helping forests thrive while
GLEN PREVOST
KHRISTIAN KOULEV
also supporting the people and industries that depend on them.”
Kody’s favourite aspect of working in the forest products sector is spending his days in the bush, connecting with people.
“I primarily enjoy being out in the woods, connecting with landowners, and knowing that the work we do today directly shapes healthier forests for the next
generation,” he says.
Kody says he is motivated by the opportunity to prove that forestry can be both innovative and responsible.
“From our thinning practices and equipment to exploring new forest product segments, I love seeing the results when new approaches succeed,” he says.
To date, Kody’s proudest achievements include building Ox Resources into a respected ecological forestry company serving private landowners across Nova Scotia; securing multi-year, large-scale cleanup and restoration projects that demonstrate trust in his company’s expertise; and expanding services beyond logging to shoreline restoration and habitat development.
In the future, Kody would like to assist the industry with embracing practices that go beyond short-term extraction.
“My goals include scaling up ecological forestry services and advancing the use of low-grade to create new markets for it,” he says. “I also see shoreline and erosion control as a natural extension of forestry skills, helping communities adapt to climate change while expanding the sector’s value.”
2025 TOP 10 UNDER 40
CONGRATULATIONS
KHRISTIAN & TALON
We’re proud to share that two of our very own, Khristian Koulev and Talon Flaten, have been recognized as part of Canadian Forest Industries’ Top 10 Under 40. This award celebrates young leaders making a big impact in Canada’s forest sector, and it makes us even prouder to have them on our team!
To help improve retention and recruitment, Kody says the industry needs to present forestry not only as a viable career but as a viable business.
“At least locally, to me, the forestry sector is continuing to lose contractors and businesses in the sector. This creates – even in my business – very little incentive to complete the work. With razor-thin margins, it’s too easy either stop the work altogether or to treat it simply as a loss leader to keep crews busy between higher-margin projects.”
In the short-term, Kody’s main goal is to strengthen Ox Resources’ position as a leader in ecological forestry, continuing to expand into shoreline restoration, and to demonstrate how carbon credits can fund sustainable practices. In the long-term, he wants to build a legacy of forestry that leaves Nova Scotia’s forests healthier and more resilient than when he started.
“I aspire to be a technical authority and advocate – bridging the gap between industry, landowners, and policymakers – so that ecological forestry becomes the standard, not the exception,” Kody says.
KODY MESSENGER
WOODPRODUCTS
THE STATE OF AI IN SCANNING
BY ANDREW SNOOK
AI is finding its way into almost every aspect of our lives. From the media we consume to just about every business sector, these technologies are playing a revolutionary role across the globe. The forest products sector is no exception to this rule. In fact, the introduction of AI into the sector’s scanning technologies happened long before the creation and mass adoption of popular technologies like Chat GPT.
One of the first companies to begin implementing AI into its scanning technologies was Lucidyne in the early 2010s, which was acquired by MiCROTEC in 2020. Norvin Laudon, head of sales for MiCROTEC North America, who has been in the scanning industry since the early 2000s, recalls the introduction of AI and the impact it had on scanning operations almost 15 years ago.
“Since the early 2000s, scanners generally took photographic-like images and tried to figure out what it’s looking at – what defects are there,
what features of the wood – and we used to write those using traditional image processing methods like thresholding and filtering,” Laudon says. “It required a lot of work and it was often frustrating, because even though your own eye could see the defect in the image, it was really tricky to write some code and try to extract the information that you wanted – the size of the knot, or even the fact that the knots were there, for example.”
Lucidyne started testing out funneling scanner images into AI programs around 2012-13 because the company saw that Google, Nvidia and other companies were having a lot of success in the use of deep learning and AI to extract information from images.
“We realized that even the simplest AI back in those days was better than anything we could write with traditional methods and that was more than 10 years ago,” Laudon recalls. “The general rule is: if your eye can see it in the image, if you can
discern what you’re looking at with your brain, AI is a lot better at extracting that same information than traditional methods. So, it’s really been a huge step change in the industry.”
For MiCROTEC specifically, their introduction into the use of AI in scanning also took place in the early 2010s. While the company has had AI integrated into all of its board grading scanners and lumber grading scanners for many years, their first adoption of the technology was for its fruit scanners.
“The very first use of AI for us was way back in the early 2010s to grade dates for quality – things like bruising and the general look of a date, for sorting purposes,” Laudon says, adding that application of this technology for fruits was similar to the process used for lumber grading scanners for identifying defects for grading purposes.
Another company that has been active in lumber grading scanners for decades is Comact, which started introducing AI into its technologies about nine years ago.
“The first application we did was a species identification, which was a really difficult task,” recalls Francis Clément, optimization product development manager and R&D senior software developer for Comact.
Clément, who has worked at Comact in scanner optimization for 25 years, says species identification was near impossible using classical algorithms, so they started using AI for the application, as well as for identifying defects in boards for the company’s GradExpert, a grader-free board optimizer.
“Around 2017 to 2019, we started with the most difficult defects that we had to face on boards, like rot, white specks,
honeycomb, and even knots,” Clément recalls. “When AI came it was a huge revolution for us, even at the beginning. Our AI was still basic, but we saw all the potential that the AI had.”
Over time, Comact built a large database of examples for each defect, and then gradually replaced all the traditional classical vision algorithms in the software.
“We moved them to AI. There was a transition period where we had half of the defects done the classical way, and the other half was made with AI, and we saw the big potential. It was a huge step forward,” Clément says.
Within two to three years, the AI began performing better than the classical algorithms that Comact has developed for around 15 years. Comact now uses AI for all of its board and log detection and scanning.
By adopting AI, Comact was able to introduce its line of SmartVision products. The SmartVision system uses cameras to monitor processes in real time while AI identifies objects such as boards, logs and cants, in live video frames. The algorithm calculates variables such as dimensions, angle and position, and then identifies any production anomalies and notifies the operator.
“It was not possible with classical computations because it’s very computing intensive, and now that we have GPUs combined with AI, it made it possible. So, we can live monitor a line stop, if there’s a jam or any anomalies, and we can also measure log’s sizes during transportation for more accurate log singulation,” Clément says.
Francis Paquin, senior director of technology and innovation at Carbotech, says AI has changed the way that the brain of an optimization system works across all brands when it comes to
Carbotech’s ProGrader using classic detection methods (top boards) versus AI enhanced detection (bottom boards). Photo: Carbotech.
detecting defects on boards and logs.
“When your system needs to mimic the human being, being able to see all those defects, geometric deformations, visual defects, and process that into an optimal solution, it’s a lot of data. So, before AI, you needed to have good programmers that were hand-tailoring algorithms for those specific defects that the system needs to see. And the way that the AI works is that once you’ve got a good pipeline of how to go from acquiring data to delivering AI solutions, it standardizes the way that you can work on a specific defect detection problem.”
RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Historically, mill owners are sometimes hesitant to be at the forefront or “bleeding edge” of the latest technologies and prefer to wait to see how they function in other mills. But when it comes to the adoption of AI in areas such as lumber grading, it’s all about the results.
“The customers don’t care, necessarily, that AI is inside the scanner and that’s what is finding the defects. They just know that it works better, and is more accurate,” Laudon says.
The argument for the return on investment (ROI) for purchasing new scanning equipment with the latest AI technologies is related to identifying above-grade boards that are being sold under their true value.
“When you’re talking about grading performance, you’re talking about above and below grade. So, if you have a pack of No. 2 graded lumber, you’re permitted by the grading agencies to have no more
than five per cent of those pieces be worse than that grade, that’s just the law. You don’t want to have weak boards in a No. 2 pack that’s being used to build a house. But what’s really important to their bottom line is the above grade, not the below grade,” Laudon explains.
For example, by identifying the Select Structural and No. 1-graded lumber being incorrectly placed in the No. 2 graded packs, large-scale producers can generate significant sources of revenue from their existing production, making the ROI on upgrading a grade scanner with the latest AI technologies very appealing.
“It’s a very easy ROI calculation. It’s really a matter of performance. If I spend $1 million, how long does it take to make that $1 million back? It’s all about performance with AI,” Laudon says.
LABOUR DEMANDS
Upgrading a grade scanner with AI can also further reduce the number of check graders required on a production line.
“You can go from a lot of manual graders to a check grader with a normal grade scanner, but by adding AI, you can take away the need. Lumber graders are very hard to come by these days, and not many people want to stand out there and do that job for 10 hours a day,” Laudon says.
While there are some cost savings with reducing manual grading, those labour savings often pale in comparison to the value recouped from the increased number of above-grade boards recovered, and the consistency in grade.
“That can be millions of dollars a year.
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Comact’s Smart Tool for trimmers offers AI-powered board analysis to identify which cutting tool produced each board and detect issues with cutting tools. Photo: Comact.
And so, when you talk about labour, it’s less about the cost and more about the fact that they just can’t get those people to do that job anymore,” Laudon says.
The reality is that every mill will still need the human expertise of at least one grader on site for each shift.
“You always need to have lumber grading expertise in house, to check the scanner to make sure that it is working. There always has to be a manual check in the end,but you don’t necessarily have to have people standing there for 10 hours a day next to the scanner with a crayon in their hand,” Laudon says.
Every week, Comact receives requests for quotes for its AI-driven technologies from mills looking to automate various areas to combat employee shortages.
“Right now, most of the projects we sell include AI so we can limit, as much as possible, needs for people on the lines. Whereas a few years ago, there was a lot of people on the mill floor,” Clément says. “Mills face many challenges getting sufficient employees to run operations. People don’t like to do repetitive work like grading boards, or simply watch the line. It’s very boring. Sometimes, they have a lack of attention, and some problem goes by, they don’t see them, and it turns into quality issues, or major downtimes.”
TRAINING FOR THE FUTURE
Paquin says that once companies can acquire data from all the machines and transformation processes of a mill, it’s going to be able to paint a much clearer picture of what’s going on to quality control teams.
“You want to understand how your entire transformation process is running. Sometimes you can have a fairly good idea
of where the issues arise when you see discrepancies in numbers, but sometimes it’s well hidden within the data. I think with the state of AI nowadays, it definitely has the computing power to do such work,” he says.
One of the biggest challenges related to AI has been training the AI networks, Laudon adds.
IN THE LONG-TERM, MANY MILLS WILL RELY ON AI FOR ENTIRE OVERVIEWS OF THEIR OPERATIONS.
“The challenge lies in having the AI network be reactive enough to handle changes in wood baskets for seasons or for different suppliers as different wood comes in that the AI has never seen before. It has to make a decision on it, but if it hasn’t been trained properly, there can be potential for error,” he notes as an example.
Clément says one of the challenges is that sometimes the AI will generate errors because it was fed inaccurate data.
“Sometimes a customer will separate boards or logs by species, and then we put that data in AI. Then you make the system work, and you see the performance is not that good. So you go back to the training, and you see that they made mistakes. They made misidentifications of log species, and then the AI learned from it, and now the AI does the same mistake,” he explains. “That is why we believe model training should always be conducted under the supervision of a professionals.”
Laudon says that in the future, existing scanners at mills will have the ability to train new scanners as they are added to operations.
“That’s a huge part of it, potentially putting in a scanner that’s completely untrained and just having it train itself with other scanners’ data, that’s pretty amazing. It will make installations easier, for sure,” Laudon says.
In the long-term, many mills will rely on AI for entire overviews of their operations instead of using it to optimize one specific area.
“A lumber grader at the very end of the process, or a grading machine, is not able to fix upstream problems, it simply has to deal with the board that arrives. It’s not necessarily understanding what could have been done upstream to avoid a lowgrade board,” Laudon says. “Having all of the scanners’ data in a large network above the whole mill, and understanding what’s going wrong, where it’s going wrong, and at what machine centre are you losing the value based on all of the scanners’ data, that’s really where it’s going next. Systems like MiCROTEC Connect are at the forefront in addressing this wider view of the mill.”
“In the short term, we will continue adding AI modules everywhere in the mill. But when all this is in place, we’re planning to run the whole mill with AI,” Clément adds. “In the long term, we will interconnect all that like a mill manager –one brain overseeing all – that will manage the input of the mill to have a good output. We’re aiming at a fully automated mill with AI. But right now, we’re developing all the pieces of the puzzle at each step of the transformation.”
Comact’s Wave Feeder is another one of the company’s AI-driven solutions.
Photo: Comact.
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SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE SYSTEM AVAILABILITY MONITOR PERFORMANCE DATA
REDEFINING WOOD PRODUCTS
BY SARAH STOTLER
Forget everything you think you know about value-added wood products. A small operation in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, B.C. is defying convention with Timber Tiles. The company manufactures architectural wood wall tiles that are durable, biophilic, eco-friendly, and simply beautiful.
Timber Tiles can replace traditional ceramic or glass tiles in any application. Mark Anson, cofounder and CEO of HFN Timber Tiles LP, notes that the tiles have been used everywhere from bathrooms and kitchens, to feature walls and even in saunas.
“Using natural materials in the places where we live and work provides innate natural benefits,” Mark explains. “This includes lower blood pressure, greater productivity, fewer sick days, and better retention of information.”
He shared a compelling example from a recent installation at the entrance of a Montessori school.
“A year after we completed it, the school called us and requested that we do the rest of the halls
with Timber Tiles,” Mark says. “They explained that not only was the wall performing better than any of the drywall in the school, but that the kids love it. When they run down the hall, they reach out and touch the tile as they go, and they don’t do that with any of the other walls.”
THE PIECES COME TOGETHER
Timber Tiles got its start while Mark was working at FPInnovations, a not-for-profit R&D organization with a goal of accelerating the growth of the Canadian forest industry. Western Forest Products in Port Alberni approached FPInnovations, asking for a value proposition for Hemlock 4x4s, which were emerging from their kiln too wet for export.
Mark recounts, “FPInnovations was critical in providing space and expertise as an incubator, so we could experiment with building new products.” He adds, “We went through many iterations of product design and ideas, and eventually came
across Timber Tiles. The more we played with the idea, the more we were excited by the opportunities.”
While the idea was well-received, it ended up on the back burner for a few years. However, when COVID-19 hit, everything changed. Mark started a new company, ReaplyWOOD Design and Research Inc. With a couple of other business partners onboard, ReaplyWOOD took a huge leap and invested in a warehouse in Port Alberni to become the pilot plant for Timber Tiles.
In 2022, the Western Forest Products mill Timber Tiles relied on for fibre, announced its curtailment. Left with no fibre supply and dwindling funds, Mark approached the Huu-ay-aht First
Nations as potential owners.
The Huu-ay-aht First Nations operates the HFN group of businesses, which consists of 13 limited partnerships on the First Nations’ traditional territories, located in or near the towns of Bamfield, Anacla, and Port Alberni on the west coast of Vancouver Island. HFN Forestry LP is the largest business within the group. It manages four forest tenures, including private lands, the Huuay-aht First Nations’ First Nations Woodland licence, Community Forest Agreement, and Treaty Settlement lands, plus a log sorting yard. Additionally, the Huu-ay-aht are majority partners alongside Western Forest Products in C̕awak ʔqin Forestry. Together, they
40+ YEARS MAKING THE GRADE
SCAN TO EXPLORE ›
Timber Tiles got its start while co-founder and CEO Mark Anson was working at FPInnovations. Photos: HFN Forestry LP.
Timber Tiles has been a part of numerous large-scale projects.
manage TFL 44, a vast section of Crown land south of Port Alberni and Great Central Lake.
With abundant access to second-growth hemlock and a focus on businesses aligning with the Huu-ay-aht’s three sacred principles, the partnership was a logical fit. As Evan Cook, the Huu-ay-aht Councillor responsible for Economic Development, explains, “One of Huu-ay-aht First Nation’s sacred principles is ʔuuʔałuk, which means to take care of present and future generations, plus the sources by the land and natural world. Manufacturing Timber Tiles from underutilized species, western hemlock represents this principle well because it can increase the well-being of our people, reinvigorate the local traditional forest industry through creating new values in our multifunctional forests.”
The other two guiding principles are ʔiisaak and Hišuk ma c̕awak ʔiisaak encompasses personal and collective respect for the community and its people, traditional knowledge, the natural world, the metaphysical world, and other peoples and communities. Hišuk ma c̕awak, meaning everything is one, represents the interconnected, interdependent, and reciprocal relationship between the people, the land, and the wider worlds in a physical, spiritual, and social sense.
A NEW FIT FOR WOOD
But why tiles? Mark clarifies, “One of the challenges that the value-added wood industry faces is that it’s a fairly saturated marketplace with a lot of competition. By instead targeting the ceramic tile industry, we have the opportunity to introduce wood into a completely new global market.”
SIMPLY BETTER
The ceramic tile industry is also plagued by carbon challenges. Manufacturing is intensive, and ceramic tiles typically cannot be reused.
“We’re hoping that our environmental story will help us launch into that market,” Mark emphasizes. He adds, “our product is stable, lightweight, very novel, exceptionally environmentally friendly because of the carbon it stores. It has a simple installation process, and can be removed from a wall and reused.”
Patrick Schmidt, CEO of the HFN Group of Businesses, says, “When Mark first approached the Huu-ay-aht with Timber Tiles, I started researching the tile industry. I came to understand that Timber Tiles can be a tile, but it’s also a very small wood panel. We are sitting between the two industries.”
Today, Timber Tiles continues to expand its product offerings. The tiles come in four core colours. The most popular has a warm finish that highlights the wood’s natural grain, aptly named, “Mountain Cougar.” The tiles also come in a variety of shapes and sizes inspired by the ceramic tile industry, including chevron, tetrahedron, and parallelogram. Colours, sizes, and shapes can be mixed and matched to create a mosaic.
“We are seeing our tiles used a lot in feature walls,” Mark shares. He explains, “We recently did an installation in a modern West Coast home that projects out over the ocean. In addition to an installation in the entryway, Timber Tiles were also installed in the primary bedroom. During construction, the bedroom consisted of three drywall walls, and the fourth was 100-per-cent glass, looking out over the spectacular B.C. coastline. When you were in the space, you felt pulled out of the window. But when we installed Timber Tiles on the wall opposite the glass, it brought all this warmth and texture to the space, which grounded it. The homeowners told us they are now far more comfortable in that space because of the balance that Timber Tiles brought. It really shows the value of bringing a natural product and element into interior spaces.”
Timber Tiles has also been a part of numerous large-scale projects. Currently, the tiles are in the spotlight on the world stage at this year’s World Expo in Osaka, Japan. They’re featured throughout the Canada pavilion, and have been designed to be removed as small panels and relocated after the Expo. Closer to home, Timber Tiles are being installed surrounding the elevator core as part of the UBC Gateway Project, a six-storey, 270,000-sq.ft. mass-timber hybrid building at the main entrance of the University of British Columbia’s Point Grey Campus.
“No wall is the same,” remarks Patrick. “And every tree has things happen to it that tell its own individual story.”
LAYING OUT THE PROCESS
Timber Tiles’ 8,000-square-foot facility has the capacity to run two shifts, with 15 employees on each. The factory has a cadence of one finished tile every four seconds, which equates to a maximum annual production capacity of 30 shipping containers per year.
Mark explains, “The entire factory was designed to be scalable and repeatable.”
Similar to how traditional ceramic tiles come from specific regions, Mark dreams of seeing a Timber Tiles factory for each of British Columbia’s fibre baskets. For example, western red cedar from Haida Gwaii, or Poplar from the B.C. Interior.
In total, the wood passes through 15 different stations at Timber Tiles’ factory, each one dedicated to repeating a task. Timber Tiles’ employees are trained on every station, which provides flexibility in staffing.
The process starts with cutting second-growth hemlock on a bias using a Wintersteiger Frame Saw. Once cut, the pieces are glued together to form a laminated 4x4 and dried in Wood-Mizer kilns. From there, the 4x4 is sliced into strips before being precisely trimmed to length, creating individual tiles. The tiles are planed with an SCM four-sided planer moulder and sanded. Next, they move to the Stanza Machinery finishing line where they are roll-coated with a premium hardwax oil that both protects the wood and highlights its grain and texture, before being cured in a UV drying oven. Finally, the finished tiles are inspected again
before being boxed and labelled with biodegradable packing materials.
As a zero-waste company, Timber Tiles meticulously tracks its inputs and outputs to ensure absolutely nothing goes to landfill. By far, the company’s biggest residual is sawdust; 100 per cent of which is compacted into briquets and donated to the Kuu-us Crisis and Care Society. They distribute it to elderly residents in the Alberni Valley, who rely on wood as a primary heat source. Any solid wood waste goes to the city, where it is ground up and added to the compost as a soil amendment. Even small items, like the plastic wrap that the incoming lumber is packaged in, are saved and repurposed to protect outgoing pallets of finished tiles.
Mark states, “One of the best things about Timber Tiles is the role it plays in the circular economy. It brings 20 times
more value to the wood, and 20 times more employment by the volume of the wood. One tree provides enough wood to make 250 boxes of tile. For every tree, we plant 250 seedlings and expect 100 mature trees. All of these things represent a positive movement that brings together innovation, social purpose, and local impact, fulfilling the needs of the Huu-ayaht sacred principles.”
Chief John Jack of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations sums it up. “Timber Tiles reflects the core values of the Huu-ay-aht people— strength, sustainability, and stewardship of the land. Every tile represents our commitment to environmental responsibility, zero waste, and economic resilience. Through this work, we are rebuilding our Nation to prosper—locally, nationally, and internationally—while staying true to who we are.”
Timber Tiles offers an alternative option to ceramic tiles, which can have significant carbon challenges.
Timber Tiles can replace traditional ceramic or glass tiles in any application.
COLUMN final cut
Wishful thinking
Housing targets are a pipe dream without more assistance
The Canadian government has pledged to build 500,000 new homes a year while the Ontario government has set a target of 1.5 million homes by 2031. But hitting those targets is a pipe dream.
The escalating costs of building new housing –driven in large part by out-of-control taxes, fees and levies – has made it nearly impossible for the industry to build homes people can afford. To boost the chances of success, the feds are touting factory-built construction – whether it be modular, panelized or mass timber – to make up the shortfall. They have pledged $26 billion to industry builders via the Build Canada Homes agency which goes into operation this fall.
The funds will be used to help boost Canadian prefabricated and modular homebuilders and create sustained demand. The question is whether such an investment by the feds will make a difference.
The answer? Yes, it will certainly help. However, considering the magnitude of our housing supply and affordability problem, more significant structural reform is needed. For starters, taxes, fees and levies, along with development charges are crippling the residential construction industry. The fees presently account for 36 per cent of the cost of buying a new home. To move the needle, there needs to be a significant drop in the tax burden on new housing.
Recently, the feds took a step forward by scrapping the five-per-cent GST on new homes up to $1 million for first-time buyers and reducing the sales tax for first-time buyers on a sliding scale for homes purchased between $1 and $1.5 million.
In Ontario, the province needs to follow suit by eliminating the eight-per-cent HST for first-time buyers. Both governments also need to go further and axe the sales taxes on all new homes.
Governments must also take aim at the development approvals process. Permitting timelines take far too long in many municipalities.
These issues are critical and must be addressed in order to reach the federal and provincial targets. However, the move to pump funds into a program to boost offsite construction is a step in the
right direction. Because modular and panelized units can be assembled in controlled factory settings, they have the potential to shorten construction timelines. Research suggests that modular construction can reduce build times by as much as 50 per cent and lower costs by 20 per cent.
Factory-built housing is commonplace in countries like Sweden. The country built one million homes between 1965 and 1974. Today, more than 80 per cent of the country’s single-family home construction market is prefabricated. However, I would caution that it is not a silver bullet for what ails Canada.
Offsite construction accounts for less than five per cent of residential construction. It will take years to increase such construction. Factories must be built based on markets and mandates that currently do not exist. To get the ball rolling on offsite construction, the industry needs big orders to justify companies launching or expanding factory-built housing plants. Companies also need to ensure they have a consistent flow of orders to ensure their investments pay off.
C.D. Howe Institute noted in a recent report that factory-built housing could allow workers to produce more within the same amount of work hours, but without a consistent flow of orders, large builders may struggle to maintain operations.
While factory-built housing likely will not replace conventional construction anytime soon, it can be an important part of the solution to the housing crisis. Over time, as manufacturers scale up, factory-built homes and mass timber options have the potential to evolve from niche solutions into a mainstream part of the Canadian housing system.
Offsite and factory-built housing can help with the recovery, but to emerge from the housing crisis, it is critical that we reduce the tax burden and cut red tape.
Richard Lyall is president of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario. He has represented the building industry in Ontario since 1991.
RICHARDlyall
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