(Submitted photo/Dean Christiansen)

By Josh Ryan

Clock's Ticking

Sawmills facing potential work shortage during COVID-19

Mar 26, 2020 | 9:00 AM

The threat of possible shutdown due to the coronavirus looms over sawmill workers, just as it does over other industries across the country. For those on the ground, the only focus is working within increased safety precautions.

Dean Christiansen owns Christiansen Lumber, a sawmill operation northeast of Big River just on the edge of the provincial forest. Despite the stress of further effects from the pandemic and maintaining social distance, the daily routine remains somewhat normal, for now.

“I still have orders so still working on them and keeping a good distance from anyone who comes in the yard,” Christiansen said.

That’s one benefit of Christiansen’s profession in living through this pandemic. Aside from general chit-chat during lunch breaks, he said employees have few changes to make.

“We all work in different areas of the yard,” he said. “So they have instructions to keep a couple of metres apart if they have to talk to one another, try to keep that to a minimum.”

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Christiansen said they’re also trying to do most of their business ahead of time by phone and limit interaction they have with customers on site.

Similar measures are being taken by L&M Wood Products in Glaslyn, where General Manager Terry Edwards said they’ve, “gone almost paperless.”

“We send text messages out to our loader man to tell him what to put on the truck and we carry the paper out to him,” Edwards said. “We have closed gates right now, so no public allowed, only commercial traffic. Wouldn’t have even thought of this three weeks ago.”

In response to the pandemic, NorSask Forestry Products is temporarily transitioning to single-shift production by early April, stating they are expecting the market impact of COVID-19 to be five months, as the U.S. lumber market “has dried up by as much as 50 per cent.”

Carrier Lumber, the parent company of Carrier Forest Products Ltd in Big River, told battlefordsNOW they were not prepared to comment on the future of their industry since the COVID-19 situation across the country is so fluid.

Edwards said L&M hasn’t seen a decline with U.S. customers yet, but they are monitoring the situation closely.

“Either our market falls apart or the U.S. border closing would affect us big time too.”

In addition to the uncertainty of where the market goes, several of the workers at L&M are quarantined on their reserve, putting more pressure on their workforce. Between that and several customers looking at shutting down, Edwards said they’ve slowed production down.

“So we don’t overproduce, just to see how far this goes and how far it’s going to go.”

For Christiansen, previous work orders are still in motion and he hopes the needs of farmers, ranchers and wood-workers may pull them through the downturn. Until an official shut down occurs, Christiansen Lumber will have some level of productivity.

“If I was forced to close and send my employees home, I’d probably continue to build inventory in my yard, closed to the public, in anticipation of opening again,” Christiansen said. “It’s about all I can do.”

Dean Christiansen plans to work for as long as he can amidst quarantine mesaures for COVID-19. (Submitted photo/Dean Christiansen)

And if the pandemic forces Christiansen to shut down completely even for a few months, he said he would likely have to close his business.

“Yeah, I can’t sustain the bills that come in, even after you’re closed, right.”

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josh.ryan@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JoshRyanSports