Red Tape, Poor Markets Stifling La Ronge Sawmill

Red Tape, Poor Markets Stifling La Ronge Sawmill

Wednesday, August 24, 2005 at 13:42

 

 

A sawmill owners in the North says a huge volume of paperwork hounds operators these days.

 

Brian Zelensky of Zelensky Brothers in La Ronge says new guidelines related to harvesting and personnel pop up regularly for all producers.

 

He says his company has worked hard at adapting to the ever-changing times, but admits things can be tough when an operation is sometimes only harvesting 80 cubic metres per hectare.

 

Zelensky says smaller operators like himself have been forced to turn to very specific niche markets in order to survive. He expects that to continue.

 

However, he feels the future looks bright for his company as a new mill is still in the works.

 

Zelensky says they’ve already purchased the new mill with the help of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band. He says it’s waiting to be assembled, because his company is still struggling with a business plan due to the ongoing softwood lumber dispute.

 

He maintains the project is slowly coming together — it’s just taking a lot more time than he thought it would.

 

Zelensky is participating in the annual conference of the Canadian Forestry Institute in Prince Albert this week.