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FPInnovations, Groupements forestiers Québec to accelerate digital transformation

Groupements forestiers Québec, a powerful force in Québec forestry with its more than 26,000 private forest landowners, and FPInnovations, a private not-for-profit organization that specializes in the creation of solutions in support of the Canadian forest sector’s global competitiveness, have been awarded $6,678,540 as part of the Digital Transformation Offensive (DTO), a strategic initiative led by the Québec Ministry of the Economy and Innovation (MEI), in order to accelerate the digital transformation of companies in all sectors of activity and regions of Québec.

The MEI’s investment in digital transformation supports efforts by Groupements forestiers Québec to modernize and optimize logging operations in private forests and will enable FPInnovations to continue to develop and implement solutions and technologies that create economic value and improve the forest sector’s competitiveness and efficiency. The digital transformation will also significantly reduce energy consumption and, consequently, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

“Funding provided by the Québec Ministry of the Economy and Innovation for the forest sector’s digital transformation reflects the government’s commitment to this fast-changing sector that is a pillar of Québec’s current and future economy. FPInnovations is proud to be a major player in this digital shift that will further propel the industry, making it more economically and energy efficient and resulting in lower carbon emissions,” Stéphane Renou, resident and CEO of FPInnovations, said.

Two separate components will receive MEI funding – data valorization and industrial forestry operations optimization:

1. Digital transition of logging operations

This component will enable FPInnovations and Groupements forestiers Québec to educate and guide loggers as they implement a remote performance monitoring and troubleshooting solution. This solution will generate a continuous stream of data to help loggers improve equipment efficiency and profitability.

Groupements forestiers Québec, in collaboration with FPInnovations, will guide forestry producers in private forests through their digital transition.

2. Optimization of industrial drying equipment

This component will enable FPInnovations to make Québec sawmillers aware of digital transformation’s potential and to demonstrate that potential by creating a new pilot drying process monitoring system that will be introduced at Clermond Hamel – a Québec sawmilling, drying, and planing company – and used to showcase the technology. The system – developed in partnership with SPN Consultants that is providing proven digital technology – will boost productivity and quality in order to increase process efficiency and consequently reduce energy consumption and, therefore, the carbon footprint.

FPInnovations welcomes efforts by the Québec Ministry of the Economy and Innovation to better support forest industry companies that want to develop their business strategies and digital transformation initiatives to accelerate their growth and increase their competitiveness.