On March 11, 1938, Adolph Hitler's Nazi army marched across the Austrian border to effect the forced annexation of that country. Among the thousands of families whose lives were thrown into turmoil were those of two young Austria businessmen, John Prentic and L.L.G. "Poldi" Bentley.
The families eventually settled in Canada, where John and Poldi formed a furniture veneer company called Pacific Veneer, and built a small mill on the banks of the Fraser River in New Westminster, B.C.
The company expanded rapidly in the next few years, and it's work force grew to nearly 1,000 as the mill devoted its production toward the famous Mosquito fighter-bomber.
The wings of the fighter plane were manufactured with spruce plywood and formed at the New Westminster mill. In 1947, Pacific Veneer became Canadian Forest Products Ltd. from which the name Canfor was derived.
Throughout its history, Canfor has maintained a keen sense of responsibility in its roles as a forest manager, as an employer responsive to the communities in which it operates, and as a supplier of high-quality forest products.
Protection of the environment continues to be a high priority.
The company has progressed through many changes but its adherence to these basis values remain.
Canfor is a major Canadian integrated forest products company headquartered in Vancouver. Canfor is a public company whose common shares are traded on the Toronto and Vancouver Stock Exchanges.