Summary

• BC Timber Sales expands its Value-Added Manufacturing Program again to include a wider variety of value-added businesses in British Columbia
• British Columbia’s growing custom cutters and processors sector, which totals nearly 40 businesses, is eligible for the program’s dedicated timber supply
• The value-added wood manufacturing sector generated more than $1.3 billion in gross domestic product in 2024

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British Columbia is taking action to secure more fibre for value-added businesses, creating local jobs by making more in B.C.

The Province is expanding the BC Timber Sales Value-Added Manufacturing Program by creating a new dedicated category that will secure fibre for custom cutters and processors.

B.C.’s action builds on Canada’s Forest Sector Transformation Task Force, which was commissioned in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s new duties and tariffs on Canadian wood products. The task force recommends strong support for value-added operators so Canada can build high-quality products at home.

“British Columbia’s path forward for forestry can’t just be providing dimensional lumber to Americans. We have to make more in B.C.,” said Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests. “Our government is continuing to take real action to get local logs processed in local communities, creating local jobs. By expanding the value-added manufacturing program to include custom cutters and processors, we’re supplying fibre to the businesses who are ready to create world-class wood products; the same products that are going to help B.C. compete globally and win.”

The changes are being introduced because government heard, through public engagement, that these businesses should receive the same level of support as the broader value-added sector.

B.C.’s custom cutter and processor sector

Custom cutters and processors are a group within the value-added wood-manufacturing sector without their own sawmilling facilities. Through partnering with companies in the value-added sector, custom cutters and processors are able to use multiple manufacturing facilities to produce speciality products to meet their customers’ needs. Custom cutters and processors make value-added manufactured wood products, as well as specialize in making products such as:

• specialty customer-specific lumber products
• Japanese temple components
• windows and doors

The custom cutter and processor sector directly employs an estimated 250 people, while also playing an important role in the economy of the Lower Mainland. Using marine towing companies for the movement of logs, trucking and rail companies for shipment and Vancouver ports for export overseas. This indirectly supports hundreds of additional jobs.

Sundher Group is one of the key custom cutters in the Lower Mainland. It creates various products from coastal species such as hemlock, douglas fir and western red and yellow cedars, depending on the needs of the customer. These help strengthen B.C.’s position in competing to get more wood products to the global market, including the growing Indian market.

“I am very pleased that this announcement finally recognizes the contributions made to our province from the custom cut group of companies,” said Tom Sundher, president, Sundher Group. “This is good news for the stability of small businesses in the forest industry, especially at the local level. It supports our ability to adapt much faster to changing markets or operating conditions than a national company or large sawmill can. It keeps the industry operating.”

Securing wood supply for value-added manufacturers

The Value-Added Manufacturing Program was announced in January 2023, dedicating 10% of BC Timber Sales timber supply to small and medium-sized secondary manufacturers producing high-value products, such as mass timber, plywood, veneer, panelling and flooring.

The program’s available timber supply was doubled to 20% in 2025 by the minister of forests to build upon its early success. The program is restricted to value-added wood manufacturers who have limited or no forest tenure and who own or lease their own facility, and a new category is being developed for custom cutters and processors to join the program to access valuable timber.

Value-added wood products, such as mass timber, are increasingly in demand for their structural performance, quick construction times and architectural and design appeal. The growing demand has resulted in steady job growth and market expansion. The sector’s growth is sped up by providing greater certainty of long-term timber supply through the Value-Added Manufacturing Program.

Making more in B.C.

In recent years, B.C.’s value-added sector has:

• grown to use nearly 1.5 million cubic metres of wood through the Value-Added Manufacturing program since its launch in 2023
• grown its contribution to B.C.’s total gross domestic product (GDP) to more than $1.3 billion in 2024

Expanding the Value-Added Manufacturing Program supports B.C.’s plan to grow a stronger, more diversified economy by attracting investment, advancing major projects, expanding value-added wood manufacturing, strengthening global trade relationships and creating good-paying jobs in communities throughout the province. Expanding the program supports actions to improve fibre access, predictability and stability, support local manufacturing and ensure more B.C. logs are processed into high-value products in the province. The expansion is also a positive development for the Make More in BC Program, creating stability for businesses and workers in the value-added space.

Quotes:

John McCarter, president, Triad Forest Products –

“We at Triad are very pleased the B.C. government heard what we had to say and is expanding the BCTS Value-Added Manufacturing Program to include custom processors. This expansion will allow Triad to grow its business and extend its markets outside the U.S.A. As a result, the B.C. value-added sector will continue to grow through the provision of long-term, quality employment.”

Kelly Marciniw, chair, BC Wood Specialties Group Association –

“BC Wood Specialties Group Association and our custom cutting and processing members were part of the task force’s public consultation, so we are pleased to see this inclusive change. Custom cutters and processors are an integral part of value-added as they co-ordinate, at times, technically challenging specialty wood orders to exact grades, dimensions and finishing to meet buyers’ needs, including for further processing in B.C. – keeping more value and jobs in our province.”

Quick Facts:

• The custom cutter and processor sector emerged in B.C.’s coastal forestry sector due to its unique location and wide variety of wood species.
• Each year, custom cutters and processors use approximately 800,000 cubic metres of wood, or about 17,700 logging truck loads, to make value-added wood products.
• There are 82 registered participants in BC Timber Sales Value-Added Manufacturing Program.
• There are around 30 to 40 custom cutters and processors in B.C. who would qualify for the new category in the Value-Added Manufacturing Program.

Learn More:

• To learn more about the Value-Added Manufacturing Program, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content?id=DF86D543CEDC481A9C3C9279984030DC
• To learn more about BC Timber Sales, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/forestry/bc-timber-sales
• To learn more about B.C.’s key industries, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/employment-business/strong-economy