Fonds 0615 - Canadian Forest Products, Grande Prairie Division fonds

North Canadian's plywood plant, the first in Alberta, was established in 1953 by enterprising Grande Prairie people as Northern Plywoods Limited. In 1956, a close relationship began with Canadian Forest Products Ltd., first through marketing support and subsequently through technical assistance and the provision of capital funds for expansion. The Company became a wholly owned member of the Canfor Group in 1961 along with the Grande Prairie Lumber Company. The two companies were amalgamated as North Canadian Forest Industries Limited as the first step in a program of expansion and integration.

In 1964, a Forest Management Agreement between the Company and the Alberta Government provided for the Company's continuing timber supply based upon sustained yield forestry practices and the regeneration of cutover lands.

In 1965, the Company embarked upon a pioneering venture with the centralization of log conversion facilities in Grande Prairie. This permitted a high level of integration for the Company facilities, processing of sawmill waste into saleable pulp chips, and thereby a much higher utilization of the forest resource.

By 1967, the Plywood Division plant had expanded production to twice 1961 capacity. Equipment modifications and additions increased plant output a further 50 per cent by 1971. Improvements in utilization of waste wood took place in 1971 and 1972, with the installation of a veneer chipper to produce pulp chips and a core mill to produce studs and chips from peeler cores.

In 1969, a lumber division was established 90 miles north of Grande Prairie at Hines Creek, Alberta. This new mill was constructed to produce precision-end-trimmed studs and peeler logs for the Grande Prairie plywood plant. Facilities were expanded with the addition of a new planer mill in 1971, a new dry kiln in 1972, and the addition of a plant to process sawmill waste into pulp chips in 1979.

North Canadian continues its plan for the future to make full use of the resource under its control and provide employment for its people while manufacturing forest products of the highest quality.