Forest Resource Processing Facilities (Mills) in Ontario

Mills in Ontario consume in excess of 20,000,000 cubic metres of Crown wood (both softwood and hardwood species) on an annual basis. A brief description of each forest sector category is provided.

Forest Sector Categories:

Saw Mills

Mills are sorted into three categories based on the amount of fibre consumed by the facility.

1. Large sawmills process more than 50,000 cubic metres per year. Products at large sawmills include lumber, specialty solid wood products, and by-products such as chips, shavings, sawdust, bark & hog fuel, etc.
2. Medium sawmills typically process between 5,000 and 50,000 cubic metres per year. Products at medium sawmills include lumber, specialty solid wood products, and by-products such as chips, shavings, sawdust, bark & hog fuel, etc.
3. Small sawmills typically process less than 5,000 cubic metres per year. Products at small sawmills include lumber, specialty solid wood products, and by-products such as chips, shavings, sawdust, bark & hog fuel, etc. 

Veneer Mills

Veneer is used in the manufacture of plywood and as an overlay on other board products. To make veneer, logs are de-barked and then turned on a lathe and a long knife blade peels the veneer. The veneers are clipped to a suitable width, dried, graded, and repaired if necessary.

To make plywood, the veneers are laid up in cross-laminated layers. Adhesive is applied to the veneers and then placed in a hot press where they are bonded to form plywood.

Pulp, Paper and Paperboard

Pulp is the raw material that is used to produce paper and a host of other products. Wood is reduced to fibre by mechanical means or by cooking in chemicals. The fibres are then mixed with water, adhering to one another as the water is removed by pressure and heat. Conifers have longer fibres than deciduous trees and thus produce paper with greater tear and tensile strength required for the manufacture of fine paper.

Paper and paperboard manufacturing is a large industry where high-speed machines are used in the production of a variety of paper products.

Composite Solids and Panels

There are four main types of composite solids and panels manufactured in Ontario:

1. Oriented Strand board (OSB) is made primarily from poplar or mixed hardwoods. Logs are cut to length, debarked, and processed into precise strands ranging from 8 to 16 cm long and approximately 3 cm wide. The strands are dried, sorted, mixed with wax and a waterproof exterior-type glue and formed into large continuous mats. These mats are oriented in cross directional layers for increased strength, then pressed at a high temperature and pressure to form OSB.
2. Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) is a composite board or sheet product made from wood fibres (rather than particles or veneers). It is also used in mouldings and there is increasing use as a structural product (beams).
3. Particle Board, also called chipboard, is made from wood particles such as wood chips, sawmill shavings, or saw dust, combined with glues/resins. It is then pressed into panel products. Particle board is similar to fiberboard but it is made with larger pieces of wood than medium-density fibreboard.
4. Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) is made of layered wood veneers and glues. In LVL, the grain of each layer of veneer runs in the same (long) direction providing increased strength when edge loaded as a beam or face loaded as a plank. LVL is a solid, highly predictable, uniform lumber product because knots and splits have been dispersed throughout the material or have been removed altogether. LVL can be used for headers and beams, flanges for prefabricated wood I-joists, or for other specific uses where strength is required.

Whole Tree Chipper Mills

Whole tree chippers are large, mobile or stationary machines that produce wood chips from whole trees (excluding tree stumps and roots). Whole tree chippers typically de-bark the tree as it is processed, and usually provide the chips to pulp & paper mills.

Fuelwood Mills

Low quality logs are used for firewood production; while sawdust, bark and hog fuel are used for wood pellets.

Biomass Cogeneration

Tree limbs, tops and low quatlity logs are used (usually chipped or ground) for energy.