A northwestern Ontario value-added forest products company that attracted national media attention has quietly closed its doors and laid off staff only months after starting production.
According to news reports in Thunder Bay, Global Sticks has discontinued operations. The novelty wood products firm only began producing ice cream sticks in late May after struggling with engineering, government regulatory and financing obstacles that delayed its startup by three years.
Global Sticks and its partner, Stormax International, a packing machinery company, were located in a two factory buildings in the rural municipality of Oliver Paipoonge on the outskirts of Thunder Bay.
Although the company received $5.23 million from the provincial government in grants and loans, it was unable to secure fibre through the province's Crown wood supply competition and was forced to buy wood privately.
Reggie Nukovic, the company's British Columbia-based president, did not respond to an email request for an interview.
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