This week, Langley-based forest company San Group was rewarded when the province unveiled plans to make the value-added sector a priority by improving access to timber.

On Thursday, the company reciprocated by promising to sink another $15 million into Port Alberni as it partners with the Port Alberni Port Authority to improve and take control of one of its deep-water berths.

The deal will see San Group, which has already established three lumber manufacturing facilities in the region, operate shipping activities at the authority’s Berth 3, where it will invest in new facilities and equipment like storage silos and dockside cranes.  San Group has said the added investment will benefit all its operations and mean a more efficient operation for anyone using the berth to ship goods.

The San Group has invested more than $100 million over the last four years to establish three new facilities in Port Alberni that currently employ 425 people. This investment includes a 300,000-square-foot value-added plant, made up of seven inter-connected buildings that produce more than 30 products.

The latest investment fits with the company philosophy of bringing all processes in-house and keeping fibre supply close to the mills. The company is also building a biomass plant to process waste wood generated from its operations.

Read the full story: Times Colonist