Canadian Manufacturer Expanding Operations

River's Bend Wood Flooring and Staircases (St. Andrews, Nova Scotia) is in the midst of a multi-million-dollar expansion, according to The Chronicle Herald. In 2006 the company was nearly wiped out after a fire swept through its facilities, and since then it has been rebuilding. Today the family-owned company is re-established; the expansion will allow the manufacturer to prefinish its flooring on-site instead of shipping it to Quebec and should add six jobs to its payroll. River's Bend currently sells its flooring and staircases to specialty stores in Canada's maritime provinces; however, with the expansion, the company plans to enter new markets. Also, once the new line is running smoothly, the company will begin compressing sawdust into bricks that can be burned in fireplaces. "I suppose it's everyone's dream to do their own thing," Johnvan de Wiel, a co-owner, told the Chronicle. "Things have gone well for us and business is looking good into the future."