Title

"Cover Story" piece on New Brunswick, Canada-based Irving Forest Products, which

Authors

Phyllis Austin

Source

Maine Times

Date

5-25-2000

Pages

4-7, 1

Abstract

"Cover Story" piece on New Brunswick, Canada-based Irving Forest Products, which purchased a million acres of Great Northern Paper's Maine timberland in October 1998 to add to the 575,000 acres it already had. A year after becoming Maine's largest landowner, Irving's strategy for its contractors is clear. Its take-it-or-leave-it contracts, lower pay scale, long hours and aggressive presence in forestry forums threaten to shrink further the traditional core of Maine's loggers. Irving's goal, according to company spokesman and former Maine Forest Service chief Chuck Gadzik, is to have a lean, efficient and profitable forestry operation here, and that means cutting costs. Logging contractors say Irving controls the industry in Maine and is pressuring them to constantly upgrade their equipment, taking on debts of up to $1 million, and many are thinking seriously about getting out of the business. With special focus on the Paradis family of Ashland, owners of Paradis Tree Harvesting, an independent logging company whose owners have been in the business for three generations. Also with a related article about the deteriorating relationship between Irving Forest Products and some of Aroostook County's truckers.

Subjects

Irving Forest Products

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