HHP Inc.

6 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 7 as most other mills grapple with limited supply. Carrier explains why HHP is in this unique position, noting, “Our current stock levels are a bit of a head-scratcher because it’s surely not the norm in the industry right now. Part of it is because we are going through parts of our inventory that have been sitting around for a while. The other part is aggressively sourcing and procuring in anticipation for this upgrade to ensure we had enough. Our raw material levels are okay, but we always watch them closely because a lot can change very quickly.” Looking outward at the market, HHP faces tremendous demand, especially for pallet products, which Carrier admits the company simply cannot meet. “We can’t satisfy every customer that comes our way,” he adds. “We’re doing our best to work with our core customer group, and any extra capacity we have, we take on what we can. We just can’t say yes to everybody right now.” Supporting HHP in meeting this demand are MES Forest Products and Abenaki Timber, two long- term partners the company works with to meet more aggressive production quotas for its core customers. As demand rises downstream, demand is also heating up upstream, as more companies scramble for limited resources amidst supply chain issues and a possible economic slowdown. For HHP, this means dealing with higher prices for machinery, fuel, transport, and labor, all critical inputs for the timber business. “Higher core input prices have a domino effect on smaller items,” says Carrier. “For example, the price of nails has risen significantly, even though there’s no shortage of nails.” He also sees an impending crisis precipitating, one related to the shipping industry. “Supply chain bottlenecks have caused an accumulation of containers on one side of the ocean, meaning there will be a challenge bringing them all back to the other side, which may result in a severe shortage of containers, whether here or in China.” As HHP positions itself for growth over the near term, Carrier’s top priority is to add more production capacity to the plant alongside more value-added processes and expanded forestry operations. “Offering more value-added products would open our customer base further, allowing us to upsell a range of finished products,” he says. “The other aspect we are very keen on is building a sustainable company with our team as the foundation, which Christine has been helping a lot with.” Pefine agrees that corporate culture is at the heart of the company’s next chapter as it transitions into a new generation of leadership. “We are working at building succession structures that combine the older generation with the newer one for knowledge transfer,” she says. “We are also going big on cross-training to ensure all our employees remain valuable. Our long-term goal is to help people make forestry their livelihood and our company a place they enjoy coming to for work, friendship, and family-oriented culture.” MORE THAN 35 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE DRYING AND DISTRIBUTION OF HARDWOOD 590, Sagard street, Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville Québec, CANADA, J3V 6C2 450 461-1767 www.pfmes.ca Congratulations to HHP Inc. HHP INC .