Skip to content

Forest products chair ‘cautiously optimistic’

The job of heading the Alberta Forest Products Association board might not have been the most desirable in recent years.

The job of heading the Alberta Forest Products Association board might not have been the most desirable in recent years.

But Jim LeLacheur is hopeful that the worst of the forest industry’s woes are behind it as he begins his term as chair.

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.’s chief forester for Alberta, LeLacheur was named to the position last week during the AFPA’s annual conference.

“We’re cautiously optimistic about the future,” said the Hinton resident, who splits his time between Slave Lake, Whitecourt, Hinton, Sundre and Rocky Mountain House. “We think we’re through the worst of it.

“We’re seeing some encouraging signs out of the U.S. market. It’s still very fragile and it’s still going to be a long time before we get back to anything you could call prosperous.”

After a couple disastrous years in which a number of Alberta mills closed, strong numbers to start 2010 supported beliefs that the forestry industry is on the rebound — although returns have slumped somewhat since, said LeLacheur. Still, he’s positive about the future, including for West Fraser’s plants at Sundre and Rocky.

The mountain pine beetle remains one of the Alberta forest industry’s biggest concerns.

“We received a lucky break with weather this year,” said LeLacheur, adding that the provincial government has been aggressively attacking the pest and has worked with industry to develop a good control strategy.

“The spread hasn’t been great and the population has been declining in most areas of the province. But there’s still a lot of beetles out there.”

Among the emerging opportunities for the forestry sector are bioproducts and bioenergy, said LeLacheur.

“That’s gong to play an increasingly important role in our industry moving ahead.

“It’s dependent on market development, energy prices — it’s an energy alternative in many cases — so it’s a fine balance,” he said. “But certainly moving ahead, we see it being a bigger and bigger part of our business.”

The forestry industry may not be top of mind for many Albertans, particularly those in areas dependent on the energy and agricultural sectors. But it’s still the province’s third biggest economic contributor, said LeLacheur.

“There are at least 50 communities in the province wholly or partially dependent on the forestry industry. We employ many, many thousands of people and contribute billions to the economy.”

The Alberta Forest Products Association is a non-profit industry organization that represents lumber, panelboard, pulp and paper, and secondary manufacturing wood products companies operating in the province.

hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com