Canfor Corp. has announced it will roll out a $145 million capital spending plan in 2011, of which $120 million is earmarked for sawmill improvement projects.
The remaining $25 million will be spent on maintenance projects.
The company, which has significant operations in north-central B.C., said all its facilities are open for improvement, but it has made no decisions yet.
Canfor operates three remaining mills in the immediate Prince George area, and also has mills in Mackenzie, Chetwynd, Quesnel, Vanderhoof and Houston.
"This level of investment will secure our position in the top tier of competitiveness, and marks an exciting new chapter for Canfor," Canfor president and CEO Jim Shepard said in a statement.
The $145-million planned capital investment is a significant increase over the previous two years. Canfor spent $59 million in 2009 on capital projects and $80 million in 2008.
The increased spending is part of a three year strategic plan that calls for total investment in sawmill improvement projects of $300 million.
The increase in capital spending comes as Canfor returned to profitability this year. Canfor's losses totalled more than $1 billion from 2007-2009, after it penciled in a 2006 profit of $665 million in duties returned as part of a U.S. softwood lumber dispute settlement.
In the first nine months of this year, Canfor has a profit of $106 million.
Canfor spokesman Dave Lefebvre said the company expects to evaluate potential projects during the next couple of months. The idea is to focus on high-return projects that improve the efficiency of mills.
Asked if the company's shuttered mills would be included in the capital plan, Lefebvre would only say that no decisions have been made.
United Steelworkers local 1-424 president Frank Everitt didn't have any knowledge of where the money would be spent, but he said he hoped it includes the shuttered Rustad Bros. sawmill in Prince George.
Canfor recently opened a number of closed mills, including in Quesnel, Mackenzie and Chetwynd.
The mills, including Rustad Bros., were closed nearly 18 months ago. In Prince George, the Rustad shutdown put 205 workers off the job.
Canfor also recently announced the permanent shut down of its Clear Lake sawmill just west of Prince George.
The Conference Board of Canada unveiled a report this week that says the country's wood products industry should continue to benefit from the growing market in China, but that the U.S. market remains a concern.
