Spruceland Millworks has been acquired by Millar Western Forest Products and will be auctioned off later this year.
The deal was made public with a press release issued Jan. 2 and Joshua Sawatzky, vice-president of Spruceland Millworks says all operations related to the company’s saw-mill in Fort Assiniboine have ceased. Spruceland Millworks acquired the mill, previously operated by Timeu Forest products, in 1991 and operated the facility until late 2017.
“The mill will be auctioned off in its entirety sometime in the spring and we’ll eventually sell all of the land and equipment there as well,” Sawatzky said, adding the approximately 30 employees impacted by the closure were all offered jobs at Spruceland Millworks Acheson location.
“A little over half accepted our offer and the remainder were severenced out according to their tenure. There are still a few [employees] taking care of the finer details at the Fort Assiniboine mill and some decided retirement was a better option.”
Sawatzky said it was a sad ending for the mill.
“Obviously it isn’t an ideal scenario but we [Spruceland Millworks] were in a situation where we could not expand anymore. There just wasn’t enough timber land available and the mill itself was getting old. We didn’t have enough supply to really invest the money required to update the mill, technically speaking,” he said, adding it is important to note the acquisition of Spruceland by Miller Western was not a sale per se.
Sawatzky explained Spruceland was never actually for sale.
“We were approached by [Millar Western] with the idea and over the course of a few months, the deal became a reality. Everyone involved was sworn to confidentiality,” he said.
With regards to what spurred on the deal, Sawatzky said it had a lot to do with timber lands and Millar Western’s desire to expand its footprint in the area.
“That’s the long and short of it and why they took us on,” Sawatzky added.
