Hampton Affiliates is restructuring the management of its Canadian operations and, as a result, is eliminating the position of Canadian regional manager, currently held by David Garcia.
"We are grateful to Dave for the transition oversight he gave the Babine and Decker Lake operations," said Steve Zeka chief executive officer for Hampton Affiliates.
Garcia's position will not be filled as Ken Petteplace will continue to be manager of Babine Forest Products and Ian Gray will continue as manager of Decker Lake Forest Products with Richard Vossen continuing his role for both mills as woods manager, according to a company press release.
Zeka went on to say: "Dave is a U.S. citizen and would have to drive up so it was never meant to be a forever position although a specific date was never set for when he would be done, but somewhat, in our minds, it was a temporary position. There was no time table ever established on how long a U.S. Hampton presence was required in Burns Lake to manage our new Canadian operations, but we now feel confident the local leaders Ken, Richard, and Ian are ready to lead. The reporting structure in Burns Lake will now be similar to our other U.S. sawmill sites where we have no regional managers. Dave Garcia accomplished much in integrating the Babine and Decker Lake sawmills into the Hampton structure and worked hard to enhance business and community relations. We wish him well."
When asked more information about the recent fire at Babine Forest Product Zeka was unable at this time to give a dollar amount in damages.
"We don't have a dollar amount as of yet but it will be very expensive. We have to do a lot of rewiring plus the mill is down so production is down. It is significant and we are hoping to start up next week."
Zeka commented on an overview for both mills: "Both mills are doing pretty good, Babine is running normal hours and Decker should start running at full capacity soon. I feel good about both mills and with the Prince Rupert port opening to the CN, it will be huge benefit to both mills. We feel we will have enough wood in our yard for breakup given the cold weather so we are in good shape."