About us
The history of Sundance dates back to 1931 when Arthur Corser and his brothers purchased a small sawmill at the junction of the Erith and Embarras Rivers, approximately 22 kilometers south of the present mill site. They moved the operation into the forest to cut lumber and railroad ties. Later, the sawmill was moved to the Erith site where they set up a steam-powered sawmill. The mill was sold and the operation was incorporated as Erith Tie Co. Ltd on May 29, 1949. The steam plant was replaced by an electrically operated mill and continued operation for another 30 years.
In 1978, a new site on a hill overlooking the Sundance valley was selected and purchased. Construction of the sawmill started in mid 1979 but was halted when lumber prices and timber availability became unstable. Once an adequate timber supply was secured, efforts were returned to developing a new sawmill facility. On October 1, 1988, Erith Tie Co. Ltd was renamed Sundance Forest Industries Ltd. Additional partners were then added - Mercurius Pacific from Sweden, Winstyle from Hong Kong, and the China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC). Financing was then secured to allow for the present development. In 1991, however, the Corser family and Mercurius Pacific sold their interests to the two other partners. In June of 1999, CITIC Canada became the sole shareholder of Sundance.
In 1996, Sundance opened SunPlus Specialty Wood Products Ltd. Located on the same site, SunPlus is an 80,000 square foot remanufacturing facility. Together Sundance and SunPlus produce 150 million board feet of specialty lumber, annually supporting 250 staff and hourly employees. An additional 90 contract positions operate in harvesting and log hauling jobs.
Having SunPlus and Sundance located on the same site has been very beneficial for both companies because of the cooperation that this kind of relationship can achieve.