MacMillan Bloedel

In April 1965, MacMillan Bloedel and Powell River (Saskatchewan) Ltd., which later became MacMillan Bloedel, purchased Canada's first waferboard plant, which had been started by Wizewood Products Ltd. in September 1961. The wood used was aspen, then an under-utilized species. A $4 million expansion in 1968-69 added a second line, more than doubling the output and making it the largest particle board complex in Canada. A further investment of $14.8 million took place in 1983. In 1995, Macmillan Bloedel partnered with Saskatchewan Forest Products Corporation (SFPC) to form SaskFor, which provided one coordinated organization for planning, harvest and delivery to its major mills in the area. When SaskFor built a new mill in Hudson Bay to produce Oriented Strand Board for use in engineered beams, joists and flooring, the old waferboard mill was closed. In 1999, MacMillan Bloedel purchased SFPC's 50% ownership in SaskFor; this made it one of Canada's largest forest products companies. Later in 1999, MacMillan Bloedel was itself acquired by Weyerhaeuser. Jamie Benson and

Jamie Benson, Murray Little