The mill expansion at Ben Hokum & Son Limited (Hokums) was officially opened on April 25 2019. John Yakabuski, Minister of Natural Resources and Foresty, participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new state-of-the-art 3D sawmill line at Hokums in Killaloe. Fourth-generation mill owner Dean Felhaber said the technology “bodes well for a bright future for all those communities who rely directly or indirectly on forestry for their livelihood.” (Above from left: Mike Bozak, Tanya Felhaber, Dean Felhaber, John Yakabuski, Marcel Belair. Scroll down for ribbon-cutting video.)
The upgrade to 3D log scanning makes Hokums, the province’s largest mill operator for red and white pine, the most technologically-advanced sawmill in the region. Felhaber described the improvements. “Overall, production between the two mills has increased by 20 percent. With the old mill [a 2D line] with one shift, we cut 19 million feet a year, all small logs. The other mill [larger logs] with two shifts was cutting 14 million feet a year. Now this [3D] mill with one shift is cutting 33 million feet.” The 3D line is just the first phase of a five-year expansion program undertaken by Hokums and work is already under way to replace the grading shed with an automated sorter. This will be in an enclosed facility so that staff can work protected from the elements.
Felhaber’s vision is growth and sustainability for a wide-ranging community of staff, contractors and allied businesses. Far from the 3D technology putting people out of work, the mill has been able to maintain the same labour force. Felhaber said, “We have the same staff as we had before because we have more volume.” With an eye to the future, Hokums has also invested in training and upgrading existing employees’ skills.
Felhaber said that when the line was closed from Labour Day to early November 2018 to build the mill, more than 70 tradespeople worked on site, day and night, seven days a week to install the 3D tech and related equipment. Luloff Contracting of Eganville did all the building additions to the small log mill and now is working together with Zuracon Inc. from Barry’s Bay who are taking the lead on the sorting shed. Other local contractors who were heavily involved in the project include Tru-Way Machinery Manufacturing of Combermere and Welk Electric Limited of Killaloe. The electrical needs for the new sawmill line were more than doubled. The significant economic spin-off in the Valley from just this two-month period impacted a wide range of local businesses which included not just contractors but also motel accommodation, gas, restaurants, groceries, etc.
To finance the five-year expansion program, Hokums has invested heavily and used $5.5 million support from the province under the Jobs and Prosperity Fund to leverage bank financing on the project.
Dean and Tanya Felhaber, John Yakabuski
Yakabuski said he was proud to attend the ceremony both as Nipissing-Renfrew-Pembroke MPP and as MNRF Minister. He and his family had known the Hokum family for decades. He said, “When an independent sawmill is succeeding, so do the harvesters it buys from and the manufacturers it sells by-products to. This was not just an investment in Ben Hokum & Son Ltd., but an investment in this community and the forestry sector as a whole.”
Click BELOW for a brief video of the official ribbon-cutting ceremony. From left: Arnold Pecarski, Mike Bozak, Tanya Felhaber, Dean Felhaber, John Yakabuski, Marcel Belair.
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