Mill's closure expected to trample forestry industry

The closure of a Fredericton sawmillis expected to have a far-reaching impact on the province's forestry industry.

M.L. Wilkins and Son Ltd. shut its door indefinitely Thursday, leaving 70 people out of work.

But for every job lost at the mill there will be two more indirectly affected, said David Palmer, manager of the York-Sunbury-Charlotte Forest Products Marketing Board.

"It just means a lot of our people, wood lot owners and wood lot producers, more will go out of business,"Palmer said.

Many private wood lot owners in New Brunswick have depended on the Wilkins mill to buy their products, he said.

Mills around the province in Juniper, Petitcodiac, Blackville and Miramichi have been shutting down in recent months,andabout one-third of them are operating on reduced hours. There are63 sawmills in New Brunswick.

It's reached a point where it is going to take more than new markets to save New Brunswick's forest industry, said Natural Resources Minister Donald Arseneault.

"They have to change the way they do things," Arseneault said. "They have to not only find new markets but also look at more value-added products."

Wilkins was one of the only lumber businesses producing spruce and fir lumber in metric sizes, asrequired by the British and European markets, and that gave the company an edge over other mills selling entirely to the U.S. market.

Its ability to sell overseas in light of the glut of softwood lumber in the United Stateskept the business going while other mills shut down.

But the Canadian dollar is rising against the American dollar and European currencies, making life difficult for many exporters.

"At this point in time we have to stop and assess what the currency is doing to our business and look that over," said Brent Wilkins, vice-president of the company.

"We are hoping it's only a temporary shut down of two or three weeks and that we can get things back up and running, but not knowing the exact answer I am calling it indefinite at this time."