Local forest harvesting company receives nearly $770K in funding

Meakin Contracting Ltd., a local company that provides logging and road construction services to the Sault area forestry sector, has been given $769,000 in Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation funding.

The money is earmarked for the company to expand business operations, increase employment, and create a stable wood supply for local mills.

“We greatly appreciate the financial support the NOHFC has provided to our company to assist with the purchase of new equipment,” said Ian Frazier, controller, Meakin Contracting Ltd. in a prepared statement “This equipment provides the ability to haul more wood each load and has resolved a bottleneck in the operation. With this resolved, we have focused on increased wood production, which leads to further road building opportunities. By having this equipment, we have increased employment by one part-time position with the anticipation of being able to run a second shift with another full-time position.”

Sault MPP Ross Romano announced the funding late Friday morning.

Romano called the forestry sector "an important pilar of the northern economy."

Minister of Northern Development Greg Rickford called the province's investments into the forestry sector "targeted investments that make real improvements to operations."

Rickford added that the Meakin Contracting Ltd. funding will help "increase the capacity for log shipments to local mills that depend on stable and predictable wood supplies."