Goat Lake Manufacturing Process

Goat Lake Forest Products (Powell River, BC) produces shakes and shingles from two different sources: log salvages and log purchases.

The company salvages logs, which involves selecting leftover logs from logging sites. The logs are cut into small chunks and stacked in blocks that can be flown out by helicopter to be transported to the mill. This is both an environmentally friendly and an economically sound choice.

Since salvaging is a seasonal activity, Goat Lake also buys logs from logging companies. With the additional supply Goat Lake can produce year-round!

Goat Lake purchases logs from logging companies that have been sorted at the Stillwater sort, south of Powell River. The sort is a hive of activity. Logs are trucked or boomed in, after which they are sorted, scaled and graded. The Stillwater sort has approximately 58 sorts, of which one is Goat Lake's.

A large onsite crane is used to lift bundles of logs from the water or off the logging trucks. A log loader does preliminary sorting. Scalers and graders follow with precise measurement of each log. The logs are bundled, based on grade and volume into specific sorts. Bundles are distributed via booms or trucks.

The products are sorted by grade, type and size. Then specially-trained individuals pack the shakes and shingles into bundles. The bundles are packaged into pallettes and, if appropriate, shrink-wrapped.

The inventory sits well-protected in a covered storage building at the mill until needed.

As orders come in, the bundles are loaded onto trucks and distributed. Goat Lake's shakes and shingles can be seen on buildings around the world!

The Mill

The next stop for the wood is the shake and shingle mill just South of Powell River in Lang Bay.

Salvaged blocks and log purchases are transported to the mill and become inventory. Log purchases need to be cut into blocks to be combined with the salvaged blocks.

Log purchases are loaded by forklift onto the mill's deck. They are cut into 18" or 24" blocks and split with a hydraulic splitter, if necessary. The blocks are loaded onto conveyors and passed through to the sawmill.

The blocks pass through a saw which cuts them to the correct dimensions to produce shingles, which are sawn on both sides. The sides are then squared up using another saw that cleans each edge.

Blocks are also made into handsplit shakes. An operator uses a hydraulic splitter that allows the block to split with the natural grain of the wood.

The season, quality of wood and demand dictate which of Goat Lake's many types of shakes and shingles it is producing.

The products are sorted by grade, type and size. Highly trained and experienced employees then pack the shakes and shingles into bundles. The bundles are packaged into palettes and, if appropriate, shrink-wrapped. The inventory sits well-protected in a covered storage building at the mill until needed.

As orders come in the bundles are loaded onto trucks and distributed. Goat Lake's shakes and shingles can be seen on buildings around the world!

Red cedar shakes and shingles ready for shipping