Midway Mill Shuts Down

Vaagen Fibre Canada, a small, family-run mill in the rural community of Midway, BC, that processes small diameter logs into dimensional lumber, is shutting down operations indefinitely. The business is a non-tenured mill and has been operating in Midway without forest tenure for the 10 years. As a non-tenured mill, it does not have forest licences to manage Crown forests, which means it must purchase all its logs on the open market, including the procurement of logs from local private landowners and woodlot owners. “Although our team has been creative for years in finding logs to run our mill, there are a few challenges that have compounded for us, and without resolution, the future of our operation is uncertain. This is an access to wood fibre at market price issue,” says Duane Vaagen, president. He adds that the company is actively seeking opportunities to reopen.