The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Saskatchewan's forest industry is looking stronger with a new sawmill and planer mill to open northwest of Prince Albert. Carrier Forest Products Ltd. announced last week that it will re-establish a mill complex near the community of Big River. The sawmill and planer mill development is expected to employ up to 110 people directly when running at capacity and create many more jobs in harvesting, hauling and reforestation. The mill start-up is expected to coincide with the highly anticipated re-opening of the Prince Albert Pulp Mill next year. "The Saskatchewan forest industry has a bright future ahead, and Carrier looks forward to being an integral part of it," said Carrier President and CEO Bill Kordyban. Premier Brad Wall welcomed the announcement with open arms. "Carrier is one of the most respected and well established companies in Saskatchewan's forest industry," he said. "We're delighted that it is bringing a sawmill operation back to Big River and providing jobs and economic opportunities to the community once again. This announcement builds on the forestry momentum we've seen over the last 20 months with new owners for the mills in Carrot River and Hudson Bay and, more recently, a new owner for the Prince Albert Pulp Mill. "Our forest industry went through some challenging times, but businesses and investors are clearly upbeat now about the industry's future." Carrier's operation is expected to create a major forest products processing centre near Big River as well as act as a major supplier of wood chip feedstock to the Prince Albert Pulp Mill once it reopens. Energy and Resources Minister Bill Boyd praised the work of civic leaders in Big River for helping to encourage the development. "Their commitment certainly played a role in Carrier's investment decision, a decision that speaks to the new confidence our industry has as it competes in new global markets with new value-added products," he said. A Weyerhaeuser-run sawmill operated in Big River until 2006, when a number of mills in Saskatchewan and across North America shut down. Big River is about 110 kilometres northwest of Prince Albert. Ð Compiled from a Government of Saskatchewan news release.
