An old plywood plant in Port Alberni, British Columbia, has supplied Trestlewood with close to 300,000 board feet of Douglas Fir timbers, which Trestlewood is turning into a variety of flooring, timber and accessory products. |
The MacMillan Bloedel Plywood Plant was built during World War II at a cost of $1,000,000. A strong wartime plywood market helped justify the construction of this state-of-the-art plant, a heavy timber truss and frame building, half of which was built on pilings over water. |
Weak market conditions in the early 1980s contributed to the decision to discontinue the use of the Port Alberni facility as a plywood mill in the mid-1980s. The 200,000 square foot building was used as a warehouse for a few years before MacMillan Bloedel sold the building and the nine acre site on which it is located to the City of Port Alberni for $1 in 1992. |
After almost five years of unsuccessfully trying to lease the facility, the City of Port Alberni decided to remove the building's superstructure (leaving the deck and pilings in place) in late 1996. |
Trestlewood was able to purchase large quantities of Douglas Fir 4x9 and similar timbers (some well over 30' in length) that were salvaged from this superstructure. The products Trestlewood is manufacturing from these timbers are giving these timbers a second life, while helping to preserve the memory of their first life. |
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Information sources: 8/26/96 Alberni Valley Times article; Alberni Valley Times article ("Empty plywoods passed over as MB moves into frame market"); 1996 City of Port Alberni advertisement for salvage contractors; HR MacMillan biography. |
