Harvester Profile On Steady Ground Biomass opportunities provide stability for northern Ontario logger By Andrew Macklin northern Ontario, forestry is a way of life. Surrounded by trees as far as the eye can see, much of the province that lies above the 49th parallel is surrounded by lush forests full of jack pine, white spruce and black spruce. Many children are exposed to the forest industry at a very young age, through school field trips, weekend hikes through the woods and the tales of family members who have toiled their way through the industry. For Jason Rouillard, it was working the family’s woodlot with his dad that hooked him on working in the forest from a young age. Rouillard’s family owned a private woodlot, and father and son would log the land using a chainsaw and cable skidder. The elder Rouillard was also a staple of the forest industry, working in management with Resolute for 32 years. For Rouillard to find his way into the forest for his career, In with that much sawdust already running through his veins, was a surprise to absolutely no one. Formally, Rouillard started his career as Jason Rouillard Log-ging in 2003, working as a subcontractor for a contractor who was logging for Abitibi in Thunder Bay. When he first started, Rouillard owned a single piece of equipment, a harvester. As he became more aware of the needs of the operation, he added a forwarder, then a road machine to start building resource roads, and the business grew from there. “One machine led to another machine, which led to us tak-ing on the whole job from the stump right to the mill gate,” Rouillard says. In 12 years, Rouillard has managed to grow his one-man show to a crew of eight in the forest, plus four truckers (all brokers) for hauling the wood. For logging contractors in northern Ontario, the emergence of the wood pellet industry means a home for wood not fit for the sawmill. Canadian BIOMASS 21
Canadian Biomass November/December 2015: Page 21
