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Cedar Production Facilities

PowerWood Facilities are located in Agassiz, British Columbia on 12.2 acres with 110,000 square feet of dry space.

PowerWood facilities find their home in Agassiz, British Columbia, Canada spanning 12.2 acres in the enchanting Fraser Valley, situated on the ancestral lands of the Cheam, Sts’ailes, Sq’éwlets, and Seabird Island people.

Spread across 110,000 square feet of dry space, our Agassiz facilities are meticulously designed to efficiently produce a diverse array of specialty and commodity products, overseeing the entire journey from raw material to the final, finished product.

Boasting full re-manufacturing capabilities, our on-site offices and operations contribute to a level of control over inventory and production systems that is truly exceptional. The cleanliness and organization of our facilities ensure that everything is within arm’s reach, flexible, and continually open to improvement and monitoring.

We’ve implemented a precise cataloging system in our computer records, detailing the exact location of each piece of lumber. Regular inventory checks are conducted to maintain accuracy and uphold our commitment to quality control.

Primarily working with Western red cedar and Alaskan yellow cedar, PowerWood strategically sources dimensional lumber from various mills, both major and family-owned, spanning across British Columbia. This material encompasses woodlots, recovery operations dealing with blow-down lumber or salvaged logs, custom-cutters in the open market, as well as products from publicly traded large companies.

Although the majority of PowerWood products from the Agassiz facility find their way to the U.S., this constitutes a significantly lower proportion of the company’s output compared to its earlier years. Presently, PowerWood’s clientele extends far beyond borders, reaching customers in Canada, the UK, Europe, China, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and other regions.

At PowerWood, our hands-on approach stands out as we strive to extract maximum value from our wood. This approach allows us to balance costs seamlessly, whether dealing with high-recovery runs or low-recovery runs. Consequently, this strategy enables us to maintain consistent prices for our esteemed customers.

PowerWood offers a full range of remanufacturing equipment

Our Process

Our operations are built around flexibility and consistency.

PowerWood provides an extensive array of products in Western red cedar and Alaskan yellow cedar. Our production yard is strategically organized to facilitate quick access to our inventory and seamless changeovers between different runs. Specifically, we have efficient systems for splitting out pieces, custom sorting, grading, surfacing, and running various custom patterns.

Operating with a just-in-time inventory system, we stock all our inventory in the rough state and initiate production once orders are received. This approach keeps our equipment agile, avoiding lengthy production runs, and allows us to adapt swiftly. Every product is manufactured slightly surpassing the grade rule, a testament to our commitment to excellence. Our adept Quality Control team ensures that we consistently uphold this high standard.

As the raw material arrives on-site, our quality control staff conducts a thorough inspection. The lumber then proceeds through a rough breakout line on a green chain with double-end trim and sort, facilitated by our yard equipment, which includes five Hyster forklifts and a truck scale.

Following this initial processing stage, the lumber is sticker-stacked and placed in one of our four kilns. Among them, two dehumidification dry kilns were purpose-built for PowerWood in 2016, each boasting a 40 MBF capacity. Additionally, we recently acquired two custom side-load kilns with an impressive 80 MBF capacity each, with plans to potentially add two more in the future.

Once the drying process is complete, the lumber is stored in a sizable storage tent until a specific order is received. The manufacturing process doesn’t commence until a customer initiates the action. Upon receiving an order, the lumber is directed to one of our two Weinig moulders, a Pinheiro planer matcher, a Baker double band resaw, a Cantek resaw, and/or a chop saw. Subsequently, the finished products are carefully packaged and prepared for shipment.

Enhanced Shipment Security

Experience unparalleled protection with our Power Pallets, designed to safeguard your shipment with:

Reinforced bottoms and sides for extra durability.
Doubled dunnage for added support.
Extra strapping for secure containment.
Full wrapping for complete coverage.
Four-sided protection with hardboard shields.
Handmade pallets to prevent sagging and drooping.
Strapping boards expertly grooved to securely hold the strapping.

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Cutting-Edge Additions: Elevating Efficiency

Embracing state-of-the-art advancements, PowerWood’s Agassiz facilities have integrated cutting-edge equipment to enhance operational efficiency. Among the notable additions is the fully automated Stetson-Ross 612 planer, a pivotal asset for our commodity-focused line of products. This technology plays a crucial role in maintaining competitive prices by streamlining processing steps.

In addition to the Stetson-Ross 612 planer, the introduction of our Weinig Hydromat 23 with infeed and outfeed further contributes to accelerated production rates. The inclusion of smaller machinery, such as the Weinig and the Pinheiro planer (the latter boasting a 16 x 34-inch capacity), opens up possibilities for handling more custom orders.

Moreover, our Agassiz facilities enable us to efficiently cater to sauna and hot-tub manufacturing companies, along with high-end greenhouse manufacturers with stringent specifications. We supply a range of standard cedar products, from 4x4s suitable for architectural or landscape applications to tongue-and-groove-patterned 1×6 and various specialty products. This includes our contribution to prominent projects like providing cedar for the London 2012 Olympics Velodrome and louvers for the exterior of a New York University building.

WE KNOW CEDAR!

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Cedar Production Facilities

Pinheiro Planer

Cantek Resaw

LeaderMac LMC630 SPEEDMAC

Weinig Hydromat 23

Weinig Unimat

Stetson Ross

Baker Resaw

Green Chain

Kilns

Wireless Barcode Scanning

Truck Scale

Our Process

Enhanced Shipment Security

Cutting-Edge Additions: Elevating Efficiency

WE KNOW CEDAR!