Local wood product manufacturer sets sights on expansion

May 27, 2010

Business is business.   

Ryan Connolly spent more than 20 years working his farm north of the Sault. Little did he know that the entrepreneurial skills he learned there would also allow him to excel as the owner of a wood products manufacturing facility.
   
Four years ago, Connolly purchased Fibrestick Manufacturing Ltd., which then produced only packing and bracing materials for the lumber industry. Also at that time, the mill manufactured one product, employed three staff and did business with just two customers — one in the Sault, the other in Wawa.
   
When the latter, Weyerhaeuser, shut its doors, Connolly knew he’d have to adapt quickly or risk shutting his own.
   
“It was a wake-up call,” he said evenly.
   
To survive and prosper, Connolly would have to increase his client base.
   
“It’s important to identify growing markets,” he said.
   
For Fibrestick, that market proved to be the housing sector, including high-rise apartments, in southern Ontario and certain parts of the U.S. Today, the firm has nine staff, more product offerings and a client base that stretches across North America.
   
“For a Northern Ontario business, that’s a significant increase,” said John Febbraro, Acting Executive Director of Development Sault Ste. Marie, a division of the SSMEDC. “Often, businesses in the region operate on a smaller scale, but when grouped together, they have a huge economic impact. That’s why we support them.” 
   
Meanwhile, Fibrestick’s ongoing expansion is being aided with an investment from the province’s Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation. The $100,000 loan will help the firm purchase equipment for the production of medium density fibreboard door jambs and mouldings.
   
“By supporting the expansion of Fibrestick's product lines, we are helping it compete in the global marketplace while also investing in job creation in Sault Ste. Marie,” said MPP David Orazietti.
   
For the future, Connolly would like to ramp up production even further, which may include establishing a complete second shift.
   
As it has in the past, the SSMEDC will help the company along the way with business consulting and other aid.

                            PHOTO: Fibrestick owner Ryan Connolly (right) gives a mill tour to MPP David Orazietti (centre) and Development Sault Ste. Marie's John Febbraro.

                              PHOTO: Loaded with medium-density fibreboard door jams, a Fibrestick Manufactiring truck prepares to deliver the wood product.

                           PHOTO: John Febbraro (right), Acting Executive Director of Development Sault Ste. Marie, discusses business expansion with Ryan Connolly, owner of the local company Fibrestick Manufacturing Ltd.