Press Release
Two sawmills in Ear Falls and Kenora have started ramping up lumber production in 2016 due to the ongoing recovery in the sawmill sector.
“We are extremely pleased to see EACOM’s Ear Falls sawmill start full production . . . with the addition of a second shift starting Monday, Jan. 4,” said Unifor national representative Stephen Boon.
The Ear Falls mill now employs 110 Unifor members, with another 150 Unifor members throughout its woodlands operations, Boon noted.
“The good news for the region’s forest sector continues as Kenora Forest Products is also making final preparations for a long-awaited sawmill start-up by early February,” Boon added.
“The Kenora operation has gone through a major expansion and upgrade over the last six months, and a trial lumber production run will take place in mid-January to start testing and fine-tuning equipment for its first production shift,” he remarked.
Kenora Forest Products will employ almost 110 Unifor members and top rates of pay will be at the top of eastern Canada’s sawmill industry, reaching just under $42 per hour by 2020.
“After a near collapse of the sawmill industry in 2008, we are extremely pleased to see the Kenora and Ear Falls sawmills gearing up production with hundreds of high-paying, middle-class jobs for Northwestern Ontario,” Boon said.
