Business View Magazine | March 2021

49 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE MARCH 2021 ATCO WOOD PRODUCTS the current company is building, as it hopes to continue growing in the years ahead. At the company’s helm is CEO Scott Weatherford, who, together with his wife, Rebecca, a third- generation founder and granddaughter of the founder, owns ATCO Wood Products. “The business today has several components,” says Weatherford, “softwood veneer manufacturing and our forest management business that controls the different crown forest tenures that we own.” ATCO also has several private land management contracts and is involved in the merchandising and buying and selling of timber in southern British Columbia and northern Washington State. Besides manufacturing softwood veneer, the company also manufacturers additional products like wood chips, biomass, and landscape supply products, a strategy that helps maximize the utilization of the entire tree. “About ten years ago, we acquired a short line railroad that connects our mill to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) network in the United States,” notes Weatherford. The short line he refers to is the Nelson and Fort Sheppard Railroad, a recently shortened line that was first laid in the late 1800s. Today, the line serves as a vital link to the main US railway networks while providing value-added services to businesses along the line, including reload, maintenance of way, car switching, and railroad management. In commemoration of the line’s rich history, ATCO hopes to one day create a museum that takes visitors down the line’s 130-year memory lane. “We are involved in a local effort with the community, mayor, and regional district to make that happen,” says Weatherford. ATCO’s story begins in 1923, when Atle Nelson immigrated to Canada from Sweden. Coming from a timber milling background, the senior Atle settled in Fruitvale, immediately joining the local timber industry. Through a series of partnerships and strategic business decisions over the next 36 years, Atle and his sons would