There's long been a bit of healthy tension between the primary manufacturers, which I represent, and the secondary manufacturers. They say, “I'm not getting the sticks I need, the quality I need, the size I need and the dryness I need.” The prefab modular sector is in the single digits. Sweden is 85% modular. There's an advanced industry there. There's a bit of a chicken-and-egg thing happening here. Why would I sell four sticks over here when I can sell 400 over there?
As I said, it's not going to solve all our problems, but it's going to mean incremental opportunity and growth. Plus, it's going to address a social and economic challenge in this country.
I think the key here is what we're working on. FPAC will be working with the Canadian Wood Council, in collaboration with government, to bring the value chain together at a meeting in Toronto in a few weeks to talk about how we make connection points a bit better. Does an innovation need to happen at maybe a dozen or two dozen sawmills that might be in close proximity to an emerging modular factory?
I was at the Element5 opening in St. Thomas, Ontario. This mass timber manufacturer invested over $100 million to expand their operations. It's not something we can do carte blanche across the country, but I do think we can look at hub models and where facilities are located. We have over 500 sawmills across this country. If we can find 20 of them that can be retooled to support an emerging sector and, in collaboration with government, can get some guaranteed sales or some commitments to give those businesses assurances, that's an opportunity.
I'm very careful when talking about it. That's not going to fix the problem, but it's one of the tools we have in the tool box to blunt the blow.