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TRAPA partners with Steel River Group to build Indigenous capacity in wood products sector

Trans-Pacific Trading Ltd. (TRAPA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hampton Lumber, is teaming up with Calgary’s Steel River Group to boost Indigenous employment, education, and ownership in Canada’s wood products industry.

The partnership, announced yesterday, will lead to economic opportunities within the wood products sector for Indigenous communities and companies, including ownership in forestry-related assets.

Based in Richmond, B.C., TRAPA is a full-service log and lumber company with a global customer base, distributing products from Hampton’s 10 sawmills – including those in Burns Lake and Fort St. James, B.C. – coastal custom cuts, partner sawmills and remanufacturing plants, and partner loggers.

“We’re thrilled to join Steel River Group in this important work,” said TRAPA president Jim Tyrer. “This alliance is a natural fit for our company and an example of our long-term commitment to partnering with Indigenous communities in both business and workforce development.”

Steel River Group is an Indigenous-owned diversified management, development and construction consortium.

Trent Fequet, founder and CEO of Steel River Group, said the partnership has “incredible economic potential” for Indigenous groups.

“There is a deep alignment between Steel River Group and TRAPA. Together, we see an immediate opportunity to create equitable relationships with Indigenous Nations and groups that will build capacity and strengthen competency, supporting these communities to achieve sustainable growth,” Fequet said in a news release.