Business View Magazine | Volume 8, Issue 7

72 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 8, ISSUE 7 acquired two hardwood lumber companies. Watters explains, “In 1984, the company invested in value-adding processes and started manufacturing pallets and later, in 1988, they started a pulp plant, further enhancing its vertical integration.” By 1992, the company had grown significantly, building a state-of-the-art pallet manufacturing plant, and within two years, in 1994, Groupe Savoie Inc. was incorporated. Further expansion came in 1997 with the construction of the Westville, Nova Scotia sawmill. Between 1997 and 2013, the company constructed two more plants, as well as incorporating a subsidiary company, Précitech Hardwood International that specializes in tonewood supplies to worldwide customers. “Today, we are still fully family-owned and remain true to our hardwood roots as we expand into more specialized hardwood products and seek to capture a bigger piece of the global hardwood market,” Watters adds. The Groupe Savoie Westville sawmill is an anomaly in the mainly softwood lumber industry of Nova Scotia. Since all of the wood it handles is hardwood, it processes differently from the more automated softwood plants in the area. “Our main processing plant is in Saint-Quentin,” says Hamper. “The hardwood that comes in from Westville and other mills is processed into pallets and pallet components, cabinet AT A GLANCE GROUPE SAVOIE INC. (WESTVILLE DIVISION) WHAT: An innovative supplier and manufacturer of hardwood products WHERE: Saint-Quentin, New Brunswick WEBSITE: www.groupesavoie.com