The weather up until last week was helping the rebuild of Lakeland Mills.
The ground on the new mill was broken on July 22 and so far no major hiccups have occurred, as the first quarter is coming to a close on construction.
“The rebuild is going well,” said Greg Stewart, president and CEO of Sinclar Forest Products, principal owners of the Lakeland operation.
The Lakeland sawmill facility was destroyed by a massive explosion and fire on April 23, 2012. The planer mill, company offices, district energy system and other company infrastructure survived the blast but Sinclar had a decision to make over rebuilding another lumber factory.
The provincial government and various investigational agencies have yet to disclose their conclusions as to the cause of the 2012 disaster, which killed two and injured more than 20, but the company chose to move ahead with a rebuild.
“From a weather perspective we have been fortunate with such a mild fall,” Stewart said. “We had a little bit of an issue with preparing the ground for foundations but we are still on track and optimistic that fall 2014 will be our startup date.”
He said the long gap between the fatal blast and the first day of construction gave Sinclar officials time to research the construction process. “We feel comfortable around the availability of materials and labour.”
What isn’t understood yet, however, is who will be on staff when the mill reopens. Stewart said many from the previous crew are still involved in therapy and other recovery processes that might keep them off the new crew, so considerations are already underway to deal with those eventualities.
More certain is the demand for Lakeland lumber. “We think there will be a very receptive market for the products that will come out of Lakeland,” Steward said.
Anyone wanting to see the progress of construction can do so by watching the on-site webcam.
