The top companies in Alberta’s forest industry

The common thread running through Alberta’s logging community at present is that they are busy and there is more volume being made available to them from forest companies. However, there seems to be no great rush to take on that extra volume without first taking a long, hard look at such key issues as return on investment, rising fuel costs and staffing.

Contractors say that there have been little, if any, increases in the amount that forest companies have been willing to pay their contractors since the industry downturn in 2008.

Most have made do with their equipment fleets through the downturn, but are now upgrading their equipment or moving on to other opportunities. Competition from the oil patch and mining industry remains brisk and some forest industry veterans are responding to the call from these other industries, in search of bigger paycheques and a change in scenery.

However, there still seem to be enough owner operators interested in growing their businesses and willing to take on additional volume, by working as efficiently as possible or diversifying their businesses beyond the forest sector.

All logging contractors on this list were contacted and participation was voluntary. While we do our best to identify contractors working in the industry, it is possible that we may have inadvertently missed someone. If you know of someone who should be on the next list, please contact our office at (604) 990-9970.

Alberta’s Top Logging Contractors

1. Pineridge Logging/Peace Country Ventures Owners: Jake Froese and Peter Peters Head office: LaCrete, Alberta Area of operations: Peace River, Whitecourt, Grande Prairie Hardwood and softwood, tree length and cut-to-length Volume: 1.8 million cubic metres

2. D & J Isley and Sons Contracting Ltd. Owner: Roy Isley Head office: Grande Prairie, Alberta Area of operations: Grande Prairie, Fox Creek, Whitecourt, (Alberta), Fort St. John (B.C.) Hardwood and softwood, tree length and cut-to-length Volume: 1.5 million cubic metres

3. Lydell Group Inc. Owner: Dwayne Lyda Head office: Drayton Valley, Alberta Area of operations: Drayton Valley, Edson, Sundre Hardwood and softwood, tree length and cut-to-length Volume: 1.05 million cubic metres

All contents of this article are copyright© 2009 by Logging and Sawmilling Journal and may not be rerpoduced in any form without express written consent 4. Timber Pro Logging Ltd. Owners: Art Thiessen, Murray Head, Art Head Head office: Grande Prairie, Alberta Area of operations: Southeast and southwest of Grande Prairie Hardwood and softwood, tree length and cut-to-length Volume: 500,000 cubic metres

5. SAN Forestry Ltd Owner: Nikita Kuznetsov Head office: Plamondon, Alberta Area of operations: Northern Alberta Hardwood, cut-to-length Volume: 500,000 cubic metres

6. Promise Contracting Ltd. Owner: Wade Fournier Head office: Hinton, Alberta Area of operations: Hinton Hardwood and softwood, cut-to-length Volume: 400,000 cubic metres

7. Paradis Bros. Logging Ltd. Owners: John and Will Paradis Head office: Caroline, Alberta Area of operations: Central Alberta Softwood, tree length and cut-to-length Volume: 370,000 cubic metres

8. TJ Logging Inc. Owners: Tim White and MaryAnn White Head office: Whitecourt, Alberta Area of operations: Whitecourt Softwood and hardwood, tree length and cut-to-length Volume: 335,000 cubic metres

9. Bigstone Forestry Inc. Owners: Bigstone Cree Nation Head Office: Wabasca, Alberta Area of operations: Northeastern Alberta Hardwood and softwood, cut-to-length Volume: 320,000 cubic metres

All contents of this article are copyright© 2009 by Logging and Sawmilling Journal and may not be rerpoduced in any form without express written consent 10. Double B Logging Owner: Leo Berube Head office: Whitecourt Area of operations: Whitecourt Hardwood and softwood, tree length and cut-to-length Volume: 300,000 cubic metres

11. JHL Forestry Ltd. Owners: Heart Lake First Nation/Chipewyan Prairie First Nation Head office: Heart Lake, Alberta Area of operations: Northeastern Alberta, Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries’ Forest Management Agreement area Hardwood and softwood, cut-to-length Volume: 220,000 cubic metres

12. Echo Logging Ltd. Owners: Ken and Cody Baker Head office: Hinton, Alberta Area of operations: Hinton Softwood, cut-to-length Volume: 215,000 cubic metres

13. R. Bruce Erickson Construction Ltd. Owners: Murray and Allan Erickson Head office: Innisfail, Alberta Area of operations: Sundre and Rocky Mountain House Softwood, cut-to-length Volume: 200,000 cubic metres

14. Stellas Logging Ltd. Owner: Stephane Berube Head office: Whitecourt Area of operations: Whitecourt Hardwood and softwood, tree length and cut-to-length Volume: 200,000 cubic metres

All contents of this article are copyright© 2009 by Logging and Sawmilling Journal and may not be rerpoduced in any form without express written consent