By Tommy Osborne

Forestry Manufacturing

New manufacturing facility to bring dozens of jobs, millions of dollars to Prince George

Sep 17, 2024 | 1:47 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – DC Equipment, a manufacturer of logging and forestry equipment, is relaunching production of Madill logging equipment. The new facility, located off of Otway Road in Prince George, is expected to provide a large economic boost to the community.

“At the moment we’re kicking off between 12 and 15 (jobs) here at the moment, we’re looking at doubling our production over the next 12 months, and then over the next two years hopefully tripling the production,” Managing Director of DC Equipment Dale Ewers said.

“What it would probably add to the economy here is somewhere between $25 and $50 million per annum,” he continued.

The Madill brand is known globally, but production of Madill products was stopped until DC Equipment came in and purchased the brand to revive it. Madill’s roots are from B.C., and Ewers said revitalizing the brand where it all started was a large factor in why the company chose to bring the manufacturing facility to Prince George.

“Madill was started over 100 years ago in British Columbia. So we came up here once we purchased Madill, which was in 2023, we came to the regions and talked to owners of Madill and they wanted it built in Canada. So it’s really important for the local people in British Columbia that the products built in their home region, so that’s important to us,” Ewers said.

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In its first year of operation the new facility plans to deliver twelve state of the art machines, with plans to ramp up production and potentially double production over the next twelve months. Ewers explained this is part of a larger plan to expand operations even further.

“We’re looking at exporting out of here into other countries like the U.S and further afield, so who knows how big it can get? But we don’t want to grow too fast, we want to have sustainable growth so we’re not building up and then all of a sudden falling off again as well,” Ewers said.

The first machines to be produced will be the Madill 3000 log loader, which the company says will mark “a new chapter in Madill’s rich history and strong heritage in British Columbia.”

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