Wabauskang man expanding core tray business with grant

Makoose Wood Innovations is expanding into mining core tray manufacturing thanks to $241,256 in funding from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation.
“I was approached by Goldcorp (about) a year and a half ago and they asked if I was interested in making core trays,” said Doug Riffel, owner of Makoose Wood Innovations, a wood products company based in Perrault Falls near Wabauskang First Nation. “I had pursued them in the past because I was always looking for something that could create jobs in the community.”
Although Riffel first looked at producing core trays using the small planer at his sawmill, he found they could only produce a limited quantity using that equipment.
“For the size of core tray Goldcorp uses, we had to get a fairly large planer,” said Riffel, noting he purchased a Weinig planer with part of the NOHFC funding to manufacture the core trays. “The planer is fairly high quality and (from) a decent company so we can have engineered knives made to whatever specifications you would like.”
Riffel initially purchased timber from the open market to produce the core trays while wood prices were low, but he is now beginning to harvest his own wood from the forest.
“We can produce 2,000 (core trays) a day with five guys running,” Riffel said. “We produce up to 10,000 a month depending on the market.”
Riffel currently has about 10 Aboriginal employees including himself: five working on the core trays, two working in the sawmill and two working on road building in the bush.
“We’re a victim of our own success in that we do the process so well that we can easily satisfy the local market,” Riffel said. “I would assume we are somewhere between 60 and 75 per cent of the local market.”
Riffel is looking to diversify to keep all his employees working, noting that the Weinig planer can produce a variety of wood products, including log home siding, tongue and groove siding, dimensional lumber and double tongue and groove material for cabin kits.
“We’ve built a couple of cabin kits,” Riffel said. “We’re fairly comfortable with the design but it’s a matter of getting into the market and getting the exposure.”
In addition to purchasing the Weinig planer, Riffel also bought some additional industrial equipment, built a 40 by 30-foot building to house the planer and provided training for employees with the NOHFC funding.
“In 2005, we refocused the NOHFC to support job creation in northern Ontario,” said Rick Bartolucci, minister of Northern Development and Mines and chair of the NOHFC. “Today’s investments are creating employment opportunities, growing businesses and further diversifying the northern economy. Supporting these entrepreneurs as they expand their businesses is helping ensure future prosperity for our region.”
Makoose Wood Innovations was one of 17 northern Ontario businesses that received about $5.9 million in funding from NOHFC to expand their operations by constructing new facilities, purchasing new equipment and adding new product lines.
Riffel is currently looking at moving into the poplar veneer industry, noting he is aiming to obtain a poplar harvesting allocation.
“We have a very high-grade poplar in northwestern Ontario,” Riffel said. “We’re going to peel the logs and ship the veneer out to B.C.”
Riffel said the veneer would be shipped in stacks of 16 by 40-inch sheets.
“I want to keep my workforce, which is why I’m pretty anxious to find new opportunities,” Riffel said. “I’ve spent a lot training them and we have a really good crew here. They’re really efficient; it’s just a matter of finding those opportunities that are out there.”