Forestry

The intention is to leave everything as is for now at the Grant Forest Products' (GFP) mills in Ontario.

Atlanta, Ga.-based Georgia Pacific (GP) has signed an agreement to acquire several of Grant Forest Oriented Strand Board (OSB) facilities. The $400-million deal will see GP take over Grant’s Englehart, Ont.

A provincial plan to open up Ontario’s Crown forests to new and more diversified industry players should help John Hockenhull cut down on his freight bills.

Harvesting Crown biomass from Ontario forests remains a speculative market. With no price regime in place, few people know what volumes are available for use and how far this material can be trucked before it becomes too costly for operators.

  Thunder Bay's push to become a leading edge bio-economy research and innovation hub in value-added forestry received an early Christmas gift from government.

The battle over forestry tenure has long raged through Northern Ontario, but rarely has it become more heated than in 2009 as government, municipalities and private industry struggle to create real change.

  The McGuinty government is launching a second leg of a process to give forestry companies and community organizations access to millions of cubic metres of unused Crown wood.

Thunder Bay businessman Ed Fukushima is hoping for a spring launch of a wood pellet manufacturing operation in Atikokan.

There are few forestry companies in Northern Ontario that have not changed hands, said Bob Fleet, vice-president of woodland operations for Earlton-based Grant Forest Products.

Correction: The original story posted stated Domtar had a mill in Red Rock, Ont. However, the mill is no longer in the company's possession. Northern Ontario Business apologizes for the error.