Kalesnikoff Lumber has announced a new $35-million mass timber facility in South Slocan. The project includes construction of a new 110,000 square foot building, and the purchase of state-of-the-art processing equipment and technology.
Chief Operating Officer, Chris Kalesnikoff, says the expansion doesn’t require harvesting more wood, but will create technology-centered employment opportunities.
“There’s going to be a whole new portion of our business that includes engineering and design and those aspects that aren’t usually, currently involved in your regular sawmill manufacturing.”
Cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glulam beams are the products the new facility will focus on. The products are well established and widely used in Europe, according to Kalesnikoff Lumber, where green building technology is much further evolved. The BC market continues to grow and Kalesnikoff feels they will be able to deliver and compete across North America and globally.
“Definitely very few suppliers or manufacturers of this product throughout North America and we’re very excited to be building this facility and we truly believe it’s going to be a world class, leading, technology-driven facility.”
An announcement yesterday by Province of British Columbia to invite eligible local governments to become early adopters of mass timber technology for construction of buildings up to 12 storeys was welcomed news.
“For us that was something that was really exciting to hear, the BC government get behind that and really support the wood initiative, and it’s great timing for our business as we expand into this new market as well.”
The announcement was made in advance of anticipated changes to Canada’s Building Code in 2020.
As for the facility’s timeline, shovels could be in the ground in less than a month.
“We should be breaking ground here beginning of April and construction of the building should be completed by September,” explains Kalesnikoff. “We’ll have our equipment arriving September/October and we should be offering our glulam product by the end of this year and our CLT line will be completed in Q2 of 2020.”
It’s a new chapter for the 80-year-old company which has also re-branded with a new logo and the tagline “Timber Inspires” that reflects the endless possibilities of wood, and the intersection of design, engineering and construction using Kalesnikoff Lumber mass timber products.
The company currently employs about 150 people and will be expanding their staff to over 200. It feels great to reinvest in the community, says Kalesnikoff.
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