Owning a sawmill is no career choice for the faint-hearted. Just ask Roger Lecours of Hearst, president of Lecours Lumber. In addition to dealing with the volatile nature of the lumber market and protectionist duties imposed by the U.S. government, Lecours Lumber is unable to take advantage of bank financing because of its location on the Constance Lake First Nation in Calstock, 37 kilometres west of Hearst.
It was Roger Lecours’ grandfather, Arthur, who built the mill in 1943, but two years later, the property was included in the newly created Constance Lake reserve. The family received a letter telling them that the only consequence of the change was that, instead of sending cheques for their land use permit to Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources, they would have to remit payment to a different address.
Denied bank financing when lumber prices hit rock bottom in the most recent downturn, Roger Lecours had to inject his own money into the business to remain in operation, putting up his home and personal vehicle as collateral. “If I was an accountant, I would have shut the whole thing down,” he tells us in this video, describing the experience of trying to keep the business afloat as “nerve-wracking.”
Shutting down the operation during periods of rock bottom prices isn’t a solution, he tells us, because that would sacrifice relationships with customers and result in the potential loss of key employees.
When prices recover, he must contend with a labour shortage which prevents him from taking full advantage of increased demand. Instead of bumping up production to 100 million board feet per year or more by adding shifts, annual production is limited to 80 million board feet, 85 per cent of which is exported to the United States.
Because of its location on reserve land, Lecours Lumber is required to give preference to employing First Nation employees. Currently, 75 per cent of the company’s workforce is from the Constance Lake First Nation.
In good years, Lecours has to put money aside to invest in new technology, improve productivity and cut costs to survive the next inevitable downturn.