When it comes to the future of the forest industry in Newfoundland and Labrador, the struggling newsprint mill in Corner Brook usually steals all the headlines.
But some key players in the lumber manufacturing business say they’re framing up a solid future.
And they have very different opinions when it comes to Kruger-owned Corner Brook Pulp and Paper, and that company’s $700-million strategy to modernize its paper making operations, and become a long-term electricity provider to the provincial power grid.
“We’re confident in [Kruger’s] plans … for the future, and and we’re confident in the direction the forest industry is going to take in Newfoundland,” says Kyle Osmond, operations manager at the family-owned Burton’s Cove Lumber and Logging mill in Hampden, White Bay.
Meanwhile, Kevin Sexton, owner of Sexton Lumber in the Bonavista Bay community of Bloomfield, would not be unhappy if Corner Brook Pulp and Paper ceased to exist.
“We always hear in the news that Corner Brook Pulp and Paper is the cornerstone of the industry. That’s all so wrong. Sexton Lumber is the cornerstone of the forest industry,” says Sexton, who’s never been shy about offering a blunt opinion on the forest industry.
Sawmillers often overshadowed by newsprint sector
So as the forest industry navigates yet another crucial period in its long history, the often-overshadowed sawmill sector is keen to emerge from the shadows, but their business approach is markedly different.
On the west coast, the Hampden sawmill is deeply integrated with the newsprint mill. Burton’s Cove Logging and Lumber buys most of its saw logs from Corner Brook Pulp and Paper.
And the byproducts from making lumber in Hampden are sold to the newsprint mill, located about an hour away. The wood chips are a key ingredient in paper, while bark is used as fuel to generate steam and energy at the mill.
When asked if his sawmill could survive if the newsprint mill closed, Osmond is candid.
“We could not exist,” he says.
The Hampden mill employs dozens of workers, and is the economic heartbeat of White Bay South.
“Every every person here knows that when they get up in the morning, they have a job and they don’t have any fear that their job is going to be gone,” says Osmond.
Sexton’s is blazing an independent path
But the largest sawmill in the province is located in Bloomfield, hours away from Corner Brook. And with that distance, it’s out-of-sight, out-of-mind for Sexton, who doesn’t believe taxpayers should continue to support the struggling newsprint mill.
“If the taxpayers in the province are the ones that got to keep that mill running, by all means no,” he says.
Unlike Burton’s Cove in Hampden, Sexton Lumber has completely decoupled from the newsprint mill in Corner Brook.
Sexton crews harvest logs from the forest in Central Newfoundland under an annual permit issued by the provincial government, and these logs are trucked to Bloomfield. Sexton also buys logs from other independent logging companies in the province.
“We’re the only company that that keeps all the small contractors going,” says Sexton.
And in a further example of the frosty relationship between Sexton and Corner Brook Pulp and Paper, Sexton recently stopped selling wood chips to the newsprint mill.
“They want it, but they don’t want to pay anything for it,” Sexton explains.
With no current use for the chips, the stockpile is growing, and Sexton is exploring other uses for this valuable byproduct. He would like to use the wood chips to generate power for his mill, and sell excess power to the provincial power grid.
The future of the newsprint mill in Corner Brook is about as murky as the slurry used to make paper. As Terry Roberts reports, all that uncertainty is also being felt by the saw milling sector.
But he admits talks with N.L. Hydro have not been fruitful.
“As of now, we’re miles apart,” he says.
He’s also exploring the possibility of manufacturing wood pellets.
“We’re trying different things, but there’s no magic formula,” he adds.
Modern sawmills are all about precision, speed
A visit to the Sexton mill is an eye-opener for a first-time visitor. The operation is highly automated, relying on lasers and sensors and high speed to process logs into lumber of various dimensions and types.
About 150 boards are produced every minute.
Every day, enough lumber is manufactured in Bloomfield to frame up more than two dozen average sized Canadian homes, and Sexton is eager to expand what he describes as the second-biggest employer in the forest industry.
“Once you stop growing is the beginning of the end,” he says.
Back in Hampden, owner Fred Osmond started clearing the land for Burton’s Cove Logging and Lumber when he was a young boy. Now his son, Kyle, is managing the operation.
“It’s our life. My family’s life,” Kyle says.
But these are delicate times for the forest sector, and the newsprint mill in Corner Brook is ground zero for all that uncertainty.
Newsprint markets are sluggish and not so profitable anymore. So owner Kruger is keen to expand its role as an energy provider to the provincial power grid, and is in talks with the province for a long-term power purchase agreement.
Kruger would like to upgrade its hydroelectric power station in Deer Lake, and develop a large wind energy farm outside of Corner Brook.
Kruger has not been clear what this will mean for newsprint production in Corner Brook, or for the workforce at the century-old mill.
Forestry Minister Pleaman Forsey chooses his words very carefully when asked.
“I can’t speak of the diversification plan. That’s commercially sensitive right now,” says Forsey. “We’re still looking at ways that Corner Brook Pulp and Paper can survive.”
While those secret talks continue, lumber continues to be produced in large volumes in Hampden and Bloomfield.
About 70 per cent of Sexton lumber is exported to the United States, where it faces President Donald Trump’s tariffs and escalating transportation costs.
“There will be better times,” an optimistic Sexton says.
Kyle Osmond adds that “quality will help carry you through.”
The market is thirsty for Newfoundland lumber because the trees grow slowly, which means they’re sturdy and produce a high quality timber.
So the mood inside the gates of this province’s two biggest sawmills, where precision and quality is never sacrificed, is a mix of optimism and determination.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that this will exist for generations to come,” says Osmond as he inspects some freshly bundled lumber.
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