Canadian sawmilling and lumber distribution business EACOM Timber has vowed its commitment to operations at the fire-hit Timmins mill, Ontario.
The Timmins mill, which EACOM acquired in 2010 from Domtar, suffered a major fire on January 23, damaging the sawmill line, although the planer mill, kilns and lumber inventories were undamaged.
“EACOM continues to be committed to its operations in Timmins and is undertaking an assessment of the current situation and its options around rebuilding,” it said in a statement.
“The sawmill produces approximately 12 million board feet of lumber per month. The immediate impact on the company will be determined once the situation is fully assessed.”
About 120 employees of the 500-strong Timmins operation will be affected by downtime. Planing and kiln drying operations will resume early next week to process existing rough lumber inventories.
EACOM operates eight sawmills, one remanufacturing facility and is involved in an engineered wood products joint venture which produces the Power-Joist brand of I-joists.
Last October, the company’s Gogama mill site experienced a fire, resulting in substantial losses to log and lumber inventories. However, it resumed operations in the fourth quarter.
