° Local 1

ment.

Kootenay Wood Preservers plant adds value
to lumber with line of specialty products

members in large and medium size
sawmills and plywood operations,
industries
around that feed off the main padus-
try. In the south eastern B.C. comm
nity of Cranbrook, where IWA. -
CANADA Local 1-405 has its head-
quarters, the union represents a
medium-sized, praiesdded ‘wood pre-
serving operatio
That. Becetiont known as Kootenay
Wood Preservers Ltd., employs up to

ber then adds chemical wood preserv-
er and sometimes a stain to the

“T’s the kind di

union and we wish, we ras ae es

the TWA, has long called for the full

The company buys up both rough
awn and planed lumber, kiln dries it,
and then pressure treats the wood
with chemical wood preservative.

from the bush as is because the com-
any supplies woodlands conte actrs
witty portal rtable le peeling and | Hane 20

seen the consumer turn down pur-
chasing because of the price,” com-
men
Two popular colours are gray and
brown. Gray goes better with the pas-
tel colour pny elders that are aU
. Brown i:

After being pressure treated the
lumber goes into a horiz ontal roll

er. The stain works fast and is ah to

ast the stain applicat
General Manager Roger Crossley
says that the company only stains

ed.

Th s F
out of service and stored on the prop-
ery. Then in February of ee Hoots
wy Wood Preservers set u]

tes “Ltd., , registered under the names
Kooote-
ood eee in a building on

ocal 1-404 filed a
common employer application with
the Labour Relations Board and was
granted a atten in January of this
see

During discussions with the em-
ployers during this process the com-
pany threatened to close down the
Sain plant and move it to another
mpany berta.

gr.
mon employer declaration. Then the
company, issued lay-off notices to the
mployees of the staining plant and
immediately p ut its staining
up for sale.
dn early March ihe local entered

of 3”7 7” inch clameters and aE in
dength com 3 to 7 feet

the company,
malane the ataining ine an impor-

ith colour dye:
ket tat

Upon purchasing the wood the
company ensures that it is kiln dried
to about a 19% moisture content. Then

Most of the operation’s production
is sold in western Canada, through a

fore ‘it heads off the pressure vessels.
‘he co: mpany has two giant meio

system which
supplies. pouch) marker chains as

ssle ley, the wide

80 foot in length, which prt acu to

nuetaations in sees prices in the

the lumber and then pressure iret
and saturate the wood wii

(Copper, Chromium,

cal pomagn. (The copper acts as a

company gets
into specialty markets, the eration

The company is
shuiting down and
moving the staining
plant despite flexibi-
ity and cooperation
from the union to
keep it operating

is pop aing from seasonal work into

3 catalyst hie the arsenate as an in-
secticide.

uring the wood preserving pro-
goss the ee, metals sping to mood

goumounds do not leach o1

ago chemical ieee and
Prercichlowis were used. Today the
coh almost exclusively uses a

easy ‘prefers a different colour finish,
especially when the wood is seen vi-

sually.
The mill faces stiff competition
fi pecifical-

‘Traitio mpany emplo) ys
most of its RE arars i in the spring to
fall season. . The past couple of years } it

ly in the prairie provinces.

has depended on developing innova-
ie products,” says Mr. Crossley. In

the competitive wood preserving in-
dustry. It’s main important categories
of ts poles, and are treated lumber,
posts, poles, and timbers.

Ne mill m buys locally, from.
other WA operations, and ands the the
most value it can,” says Brother
ters. “For i

the
and treats them for landscape ties.
thecore FOB yy chipping

he p)
A could see a slowdown for some
Brodnet, t deman

The rding to Cro:

its. The posts have a emer pen-

pee when it is installed by power
drive’

cern for the industry but it has been
able to pas the changes. In the

fall of 1992 ces were aroun

$250.00/1000 ba. ft. Then they shot yy

to ries ay Na in Nie Re

mt far its seems ae the “demand

“We were successful in keeping the
equipment from being moved ou sold
and t]

staining is done in the ¢ quscwn, it
will be done under terms of the col-
lective agreement with a few m modifi
says Financial Secretary
Oons singer:
Unfortunately the company is going
I ini until the
end of March, in order to fulfill some
eentcacist Then it will be closed and
dismantle
We can 't believe they are doing
this,” says Brother Singer. prspecielly
when they got some modifications to
the agreement that they wanted a
along. It boggles the mind why,
are shutting it down at this tim

the
Local 1.