Natural Resources
August 28, 2009Bonavista Peninsula
Sawmill Industry Boosted with $2.25 Million Investment
A significant multi-million dollar investment by the
Provincial Government towards the modernization of the
Sexton Lumber Company�s sawmill in Lethbridge, Bonavista
Bay will position the operation for expansion and
diversification.
"This investment demonstrates our confidence in the
recovery of the forest industry," said the Honourable
Kathy Dunderdale, Minister of Natural Resources and
Minister Responsible for the Forestry and Agrifoods
Agency. "
"This investment is making a local family-owned
business more competitive by acquiring state of the art
equipment that will provide maximum yields from every
log purchased," said the Honourable Roger Fitzgerald,
MHA for Bonavista South. "This will help Sexton Lumber
to sustain the existing workforce and provide new
employment opportunities."
"This is a tremendous day for our forest industry and
for our company," said Kevin Sexton, President of Sexton
Lumber Company. "Government�s commitment to this sector
provides us with an opportunity to modernize our
operation and to position it for expansion and
diversification."
This is the third funding announcement this month
under the Forest Industry Diversification Program. The
Provincial Government has invested $10 million in Holson
Forest Products on the Northern Peninsula for a wood
inventory yard, sawmill expansion and wood pellet
manufacturing plant, and $500,000 for plant
modernization at Burton�s Cove Logging and Lumber
Limited in White Bay.
The Forest Industry Diversification Program was
established in Budget 2008 to help the provincial
sawmill sector modernize and diversify, and to provide
sawmill operators with capital to acquire new
infrastructure, technology and equipment to support
innovation and modernization of the industry.
- 30 -
Media contacts: