By IAN ROSS
Northwestern Ontario's primary forest industry has experienced a wave of mill closures and job losses, but some small value-added wood producers in the Fort Frances area are expanding.
Kish-Gon-Dug, a First Nation-run wood furniture maker has physically expanded to handle increased orders for its red cedar garden-patio furniture. The 10-employee company recently erected a 7,500-square foot building, an investment of $560,000, adjacent to their current factory located on the Naicatchewenin First Nation reserve, north of Devlin.
In September, the company was running full-out handling a large order for 300 of their garden benches, says director of operations Dean Councillor.
He estimates 98 per cent of their sales are to the U.S. with occasion small sales in Canada. The company is working with a Kansas distributor to sell its product over the internet.
Despite a flat U.S. home-building market, home renovations are still going strong for the former NOBA winner.
"Business is doing well. We hope to get another (second) shift going," says Councillor. The focus for the expansion building will be to build their furniture line.
They've moved in some new equipment and outfitted the new shop with a CNC machine to make rails and slats for their garden benches and swings. As well, they've added new sanders and drills, table saws and planners.
The main building will be the site to make saunas and gazebos.
Building saunas is a future area of growth that the company has not done to any great extent. Company officials believe there's a lucrative market for handcrafted saunas for clients in Thunder Bay, the Muskokas, southern Ontario, California and Florida.
The company sources cedar and pine from British Columbia, but it's expensive and in short supply these days, says Councillor.
They also intend to capitalize on the European market having exported two container-loads to customers last year through a connection in Ireland.
"But we've been so busy with this main order that we've haven't tried to contact them yet to see if they need more furniture,:" says Councillor. "Supply and demand is just too great right now."
"Value-added wood products has been good for us," says Geoff Gillon, executive director of the Rainy River Future Development Corporation, who's been active in promoting these opportunities.
Together with Forintek, a national wood products research institute, Gillon was planning a value-added symposium in Fort Frances inviting 20 to 30 potential local investors and wood products people to take part.
"We believe we can do more with value-added and expand it but you need the private sector to aware of it."
Gingrich Wood Craft, a Devlin-based manufacturer of drawers and solid wood panels for the furniture and cabinet industry is doubling the size of its plant to add more machinery.
The provincial export award-winning company in 2005 has expanded its sales into the U.S. since relocating in 2003 from Mine Centre to the Fort Frances area to be closer to the international border.
At Manitou Forest Products, the company received a $250,000 provincial loan through the Northern Ontario Grow Bonds to expand and modernize its sawmill with new equipment.
The Emo-based company manufactures product for the home building industry such as log siding, pine exterior siding and solid wood wall paneling.
Manitou has a partnership with Ainsworth Lumber Company has enabled the company to diversify with the development of dunnage, rimboard and oriented strand-board products.
In Fort Frances, the town's largest private employer, made a major investment recently to address its energy issues.
Abitibi-Consolidated is spending $83.4 million to build a biomass energy generator at the pulp and paper mill. The boiler will use waste wood from Abitibi's woodland operations to generate steam and 45.5 megawatts of electricity for the mill.
