Prince George, B.C – The construction of a new sawmill on the Lakeland Mill site  has officially started.

 

With  Mayor Shari Green,  V.P of the  Steelworkers  Local 1-424 Brian O’Rourke and Sinclar Group President Greg Stewart among those on scene,  the ground has been turned  to mark the  construction start.

 

The new mill will be state of the art, and smaller than  the one which was destroyed by  an explosion and fire  April 23rd of 2012.  Two people, Glen Roche and Alan Little, lost their lives, 24 of their co workers were injured.

 

At the time of the blast, the mill employed 150 people, the new facility will employ about 100.  It will produce stud lumber and will have the flexibility to  produce  that lumber in metric lengths as the mill looks to expand its market.  The construction is expected to be complete by mid September of 2014. "Introducing that flexibility now will enable Lakeland to diversify its markets thereby securing a long term  future" says Stewart.  The mill will be  integrated with the existing planer mill and the  City’s district  energy system.   When at full capacity, the new mill  will produce about 200 million board feet per year.  To put that into perspective, Stewart says if  you laid the lumber down end to end, it would be enough to  circle the globe 1 1/2 times,  or  be enough to   build 12,500 homes in North America.

 

 "It is a great day for the people of Prince George, " said Mayor Shari Green, "More important though it’s a great day for the Lakeland employees and their families.  It is time to rebuild and I look forward to seeing  Lakeland thrive again."  In congratulating  Greg Stewart, Mayor Green said " For every resident of this City  whose heart broke for you, today it really does beat strong and proud  for everyone  at Lakeland in reflective celebration."

 

It was  Ed Langan who  was given the honour of   breaking the ground  as the symbolic  start of construction.  He  has been  working for Lakeland for 40 years,  and  manned the front end loader that  made the first "dig" for today’s event.

 

In addition to the committment to rebuild the mill,  Stewart made another promise "Standing on  this level ground, I want to make a clear committment to our employees.  When you walk through the doors  of the mill, in a little  over a year’s time, you will be safe.  This mill will encorporate the most  appropriate safety protocols available in all areas  of  its operation in order to ensure a safe work environment. That is our  priority and that is my promise to you."

 

Although WorkSafe BC has not  released its full final report on the explosion,  evidence had pointed to wood dust combined with the issues of a confined space and ignition source. There has yet to be a decision by Provincial Crown on whether charges should be laid in connection with the  blast.