Chastin Martel
Lakeside Leader

Slave Lake Veneer, a forest products mill near Slave Lake, is expecting some new equipment.

“A green veneer press will be installed later this year,” says Jed Begin, the mill’s General Manager.

Slave Lake Veneer is a division of West Fraser Mills Ltd.

According to Begin, the green press will pre-press the veneer and squeeze out all the water, making it more efficient to dry.

In the past two years, the company has installed two veneer lines. “Two pieces of new equipment that help West Fraser improve the flow of work,” says Begin.

Slave Lake Veneer is located in the Mitsue Industrial Park, approximately 15 km east of Slave Lake. The company produces veneer for plywood.

“We are the green end of the plywood process”, says Begin.

The veneer process begins with logs that are brought in by the company. The logs range from 17 feet to 60 feet in length.

They are then debarked, cut into 100” ‘blocks,’ as Begin calls them, and then showered for 20 hours in hot water in conditioning chambers.

Once that process is done, the blocks are peeled into sheets an eighth of an inch thick, which are then cut into rectangular pieces measuring 52 by 100 inches.

The veneer is then moisture-sorted, stacked, strapped and shipped to Edmonton to be turned into plywood.

Slave Lake Veneer is proud to be a part of the community, Begin says, calling Slave Lake, “a welcoming community and a great place to do business.”

Begin says Slave Lake is supportive of the forestry sector and has a skilled labour force that the company can draw from.

“The Slave Lake area offers beautiful scenery,” Begin adds. “Slave Lake Veneer uses this to their advantage to attract more employees for their mill.”

A transport truck all loaded with the finished veneer. It will bring its load to Edmonton to be processed into plywood.
The rectangular sheets of veneer are sorted for moisture, stacked and strapped. A Slave Lake Veneer worker (Enrique Barrios), stacks the cut and peeled wood on September 23, 2024.
After the conditioning process, the logs are peeled into 1/8 inch sheets, and cut into rectangular pieces. Here is a sheet of veneer on the conveyor, about to be cut.
The large logs are then cut into 100” ‘blocks’. This is the second step to the veneer making process.
Logs are hauled in and placed on this conveyor belt to begin the veneer process. These logs range from 17 feet to 60 feet. This is the first step.
Logs heading up to the peeling lathe. It cuts thin strips off them as they spin, resulting a long sheet of veneer.