Recent History – 2004-2006
DAWSON CREEK – A deal to transform the Louisiana Pacific plant in the east end of the city into a modular home manufacturing plant is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Greg Hammond, a partner in the Calgary-based Greensmart modular home company, said he hoped to have the official deal done in a matter of days.
“We should be putting out a release rather soon,” he said.
The six-year-old business is looking to make the LP plant, which was constructed in 1999 but has never been in operation, its second manufacturing facility. The deal could mean up to 150 new jobs for the city when production begins, which is expected in the fall. Late last year, then Greensmart president Michael Readwin said his company was looking forward to investing in Dawson Creek.
“The market for the oil industry up there is large,” he told the Peace River Block Daily News in October. “And it’s close to the materials we use which is OSB (oriented strand board). So, rather than everything getting shipped up there, we will be shipping from the north to the south. We are really looking forward to getting going up there.”
The Greensmart deal has been in the works for months. The transfer of the facility involves detailed negotiations between the two businesses and the provincial Ministry of Forests. Both Peace River South MLA Blair Lekstrom and Dawson Creek Mayor Wayne Dahlen have said they are anxious to announce the deal publicly.