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BC entrepreneur and Simpcw First Nation purchase Canfor mill

An entrepreneur with a history of transforming closed mills has bought part of the shuttered Canfor operations in Vavenby, B.C.

Brian Fehr, founder of BID Group and also chair of the board for SmartLam North America, purchased 75 per cent of the property. The remaining 25 per cent has been sold to Simpcw First Nation, according to the Clearwater Times.

Fehr’s previous purchases include Canfor’s mill in Canal Flats, B.C. and Galloway Lumber. He transformed the Canal Flats property into the Columbia Lake Technology Centre (CLTC) which houses operations from BID Group and Podtech.

Canfor’s Vavenby mill has been closed since the third quarter of 2019.

“It’s good,” said Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell to the Clearwater Times. “Having seen Brian Fehr’s previous projects elsewhere, he does something with every one of these mill properties that he buys and these multi-company, multi-use industrial parks are exactly what we want to do.”

Read the full story here.