The National Event for Canada's Wood Industry

HANOVER, Ontario — “AI, Cybersecurity & Economic Trends Shaping Wood Manufacturing in 2026,” is the title of the Wood Manufacturing Cluster of Ontario’s information-packed quarterly networking event slated for Wednesday, June 17 at Taurus Craco Machinery.The afternoon event will focus on the technologies, economic shifts, and operational strategies beginning to have an increasingly bigger impact on Canadian wood product manufacturers.

The Canadian Woodworking Machinery Distributors Association has opened registration for the seventh edition of edition of Woodworking Technology Days, the only industrial machinery event in Canada this year.

Kassandra Avila, a student at Cégep de Trois-Rivières in Quebec, took home the grand prize in Formica’s FORM Student Innovation Competition.

In a surprise announcement, RTA furniture manufacturer Bestar, which less than a month ago was thought to be moribund, plans to resume operations under the banner Bestar 2026.

WOOLWICH, ONT. — A significant dust explosion and fire occurred at a woodworking business in Woolwich Township, Ontario. The incident occurred in one of the machines near the dust collector, resulting in damage. One 16-year-old employee was hospitalized with minor injuries and has since been released. According to news reports, emergency crews responded around 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 13, to an industrial business on Arthur Street North near Sandy Hills Drive after employees reported a loud bang coming from machinery inside the building.

Bush Industries Inc. filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, informing the state that it closed its eSolutions Furniture Group facility in Summit Township, near Erie, and 51 people were laid off.

The project will support the increased production of Ontario-made wood products and protect more than 220 jobs and hundreds of indirect jobs in the region. As part of the government’s plan to protect Ontario, the province is making strategic investments to help forest sector businesses adapt, compete and grow to stay resilient in the face of U.S. tariffs.

KELOWNA, B.C. — Norelco Cabinets Ltd., a Kelowna, B.C.-based company has been fined more than $69 thousand for multiple deficiencies  with storage racks in use.WorkSafeBC said it inspected this firm's cabinet manufacturing plant and observed multiple deficiencies with storage racks in use, including damaged and twisted uprights and missing bolts and anchors. The firm failed to ensure storage racks were capable of safely supporting the items stored on them, a repeated violation.