Although work on the re-building and upgrades at the 100 Mile Lumber sawmill officially ended last October, general manager Sandor Buchi admits the last 18 months have had their frustrating moments.
“It was a slow startup, but we’re coming around in terms of production,” he says of the work, which took almost a year to complete.
“There are a few odds and ends left to do, a few production issues, but most of the major stuff is complete. Things are levelling out now and we’re running better.”
Now that work on the sawmill has finished, upgrades to the planer are currently being made.
This is partly due to increased pressure on the facility because of the sawmill upgrades, Buchi says, adding better equipment and technology means the mill is now able to work more efficiently and produce more lumber from each log.
Another focus of the planer upgrades is reducing dust in the air.
“It’s a fairly major project, updating the dust suction system,” Buchi says, adding this work is even more crucial in light of the explosions in Burns Lake and Prince George in 2012 that were determined to have been caused by dangerous levels of accumulated dust.
“We’re focusing on making sure the plants are clean, for the safety of the employees and the site. Research into how to extract fine dust from the air has come a long way and so has the technology for capturing the dust, and we’re implementing that.”
Work in the planer is expected to be completed by Christmas 2015.
Buchi thanks all the employees for their patience.
“It’s been a long, tough year-and-a-half, but it’s the people who make the place run, not the equipment. The crew is focused on the job and on keeping safe. That’s all I can ask.”
