Sudbury-area lumber company establishing plant: Lahaie Lumber building sawmill, creating jobs.

The expansion of sawmilling activities south of Sudbury will create new jobs and increase productivity, following a funding announcement from FedNor.

Lahaie Lumber, which is located in French River about an hour south of Sudbury, is receiving a $775,000 repayable contribution from the federal funding agency.

According to a Sept. 3 news release, the funds will be used to purchase equipment for a new sawmill currently under construction.

With this expansion, Lahaie Lumber expects to double its current production capacity, enabling it to expand into new markets. Local and regional transportation and logging industries will also benefit from a higher volume of products produced and shipped from the mill, the release said.

"We would like to thank the Government of Canada and FedNor for this investment. Our community and the region will certainly benefit from the growth of Lahaie Lumber Ltd.," said Mike Lahaie, owner and president at Lahaie Lumber, in the news release.

"We are proud to be expanding our mill right here in Northern Ontario while helping to create...