Content about British Columbia

May 10, 2013

London, Ontario-based Chalifour Canada will be relocating its Vancouver distribution center to a modern industrial park in nearby Delta, British Columbia. 

Construction is expected to be completed by mid-2014.

Chalifour is a hardware wholesaler owned by TIM-BR Marts. It also supports Ace dealers in Canada. 

November 29, 2012

Louisiana-Pacific Corp. has entered into an agreement with Canfor Corp. to acquire Canfor’s 50% share in the Peace Valley Oriented Strand Board (OSB) joint venture in Fort St. John, British Columbia. By completing this acquisition, LP will become the sole owner of the Peace Valley OSB mill.

November 7, 2012

Canadian Mounties have arrested a woman who allegedly used a flare gun in an attempt to steal more than $1,000 worth of merchandise from a Canadian Tire store in Courtenay, British Columbia.

June 21, 2012

Weiser, a home security products manufacturer, drove its 56-ft. demonstration trailer into Montreal this month as part of its summer-long tour of Canadian home-improvement stores, according to an article in the Montreal Gazette. 

May 4, 2012

Luxor Industrial Corp., a Canadian engineered wood products manufacturer, is working on developing a heavy timber line for specialty wood products, the company said in its financial filings. The Vancouver B.C.-based firm has completed initial engineering and is meeting with interested North American customers. Luxor currently focuses on sales in the industrial and commercial markets for wood products, a market it focused on in 2008 after the residential downturn.

February 15, 2012

According to an article in The Globe and Mail, sales of British Columbia lumber to China have declined dramatically -- a major reversal from the strong sales of 2011. 

Analysts continue to expect more growth in 2012, but Statistics Canada estimated a mere $67 million in B.C.-to-China lumber sales in December, down 36% from the same month in the previous year.

November 11, 2011

Building permits in Canada decreased 4.9% in September 2011 compared with August, marking the third consecutive monthly decline, according to Statistics Canada, the government’s national database. Permit activity fell in six provinces, led by British Columbia and Alberta.

The decline nationally was mainly attributable to both the residential and non-residential sectors in British Columbia and the non-residential sector in Alberta. Building permits increased in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia.

November 11, 2011

Building permits in Canada decreased 4.9% in September 2011 compared with August, marking the third consecutive monthly decline, according to Statistics Canada, the government’s national database. Permit activity fell in six provinces, led by British Columbia and Alberta.

The decline nationally was mainly attributable to both the residential and non-residential sectors in British Columbia and the non-residential sector in Alberta. Building permits increased in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia.

September 22, 2011

Parallam parallel strand lumber (PSL) came on the scene at the Expo 86 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and quickly left a mark on the building industry, according to Carlos Guilherme, VP engineered lumber products for Weyerhaeuser.

"The invention of Parallam was one of those building material breakthroughs that happen maybe once or twice in a generation," Guilherme said. "Engineers and scientists invented a new product that took a great building material -- wood -- and made it even better."

September 1, 2011

The City of Hope has received a three-year, $535,000 grant from The Home Depot Foundation that will enable it to remodel the main facilities office of Hope Village, a housing complex located on the cancer center’s campus.

Hope Village provides residential units for 40 patients and their caregivers while they are undergoing cancer treatment. The grant will help upgrade electricity and plumbing and bathroom fixtures in the office, which provides shared facilities for those staying at Hope Village.

August 31, 2011

The damage done by the mountain pine beetle to the forests in British Columbia has received much attention, given the billions of dollars already lost to this pernicious pest. But Dendroctonus ponderosae knows no borders, and now the western United States is grappling with the same epidemic. The pine beetle has spread to Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Colorado. 


August 24, 2011

Louisiana-Pacific Corp. has announced that its Dawson Creek, B.C., mill will curtail production of oriented strand board (OSB) beginning Aug. 25. The mill will continue to manufacture LP TechShield Radiant Barrier Sheathing to support its customers' needs in West Coast markets. 

The Dawson Creek OSB mill was constructed in 1987 and currently employs 114 people. After winterization and preparations for press shutdown are completed, about 26 employees will be retained to operate the TechShield Radiant Barrier line, and maintain the plant and equipment. 

August 4, 2011

Contech Enterprises, a pet products supplier based in Victoria, B.C., Canada, has announced the acquisition of G&B Marketing of Vista, Calif. Terms of the deal, brokered by the Lawn and Garden Performance Group, were not disclosed.

July 20, 2011

Canadian-based wood products company West Fraser has announced it will sell its Eurocan site in Kitimat, B.C., and related assets to KM LNG Operating General Partnership. The completion of the sale is expected later in 2011.

“Further to the earlier agreement to sell the wharf to Rio Tinto Alcan Inc., we are pleased to announce the sale of the site to KM LNG, an industrial consortium led by Apache Canada Ltd,” said Hank Ketcham, West Fraser’s chairman, president and CEO.

July 6, 2011

RONA, the largest Canadian retailer of hardware, renovation, and gardening products, has expanded their in-store paint recovery and recycling program to British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. RONA says it's now the first retailer to collect and recycle old and unused household paints from consumers in Western Canada.

May 4, 2011

Wood products producer West Fraser reported C$687 million in first-quarter sales, a very slight dip from sales of C$688 million in the same quarter a year ago. Net earning were C$19 million, compared with C$29 million in the corresponding quarter of 2010. 

In the lumber division, sales were reported as C$411 million, compared with C$409 million a year ago. Shipments were down 6%, the Vancouver, B.C.-based company said, although production rose by 9%. West Fraser’s Canadian mills operated at capacity, while its U.S. mills operated at approximately 75% of capacity.

December 9, 2010

Hardlines, the Toronto-based information service for the retail home improvement industry, presented its 2010 Newsmaker Award, and Hardware Merchandising magazine handed out seven Outstanding Retailer awards to Canadian hardware/home improvement retailers during the annual Hardlines Conference in Toronto.

December 9, 2010

Hardlines, the Toronto-based information service for the retail home improvement industry, presented its 2010 Newsmaker Award, and Hardware Merchandising magazine handed out seven Outstanding Retailer awards to Canadian hardware/home improvement retailers during the annual Hardlines Conference in Toronto.

October 31, 2010

Having lumber orders to fill and not enough inventory on the ground may sound like...

Having lumber orders to fill and not enough inventory on the ground may sound like a dream to LBM dealers right now. But that day may arrive sometime in 2015, according to a forecast by Henry Spelter, an economist with Forest Economic Advisors. Reduced capacity, increased demand from China, the pine beetle infestation in Western Canada and other factors will combine to raise the prices of softwood lumber as supplies tighten.

October 3, 2010

The UBS Global Paper and Forest Products Conference, held Sept. 14-15 in New York City,...

September 19, 2010

British Columbia and Russia are considered to be the two biggest winners as China’s ongoing...

December 28, 2008

British Columbia-based Contech Inc. sold its ScatMat product line to Radio Systems Corporation of Knoxville,...

December 11, 2008

Ainsworth’s temporary shut-down of its OSB mills in Bemidji and Cook, Minn. has been extended...

November 16, 2008

Sales for the quarter stood at C$115.3 million (US$93.5 million), down 24 percent from C$150.8...