The conceptual idea of some kind of a business venture began while the two initial principals, Tony and Arnold Zwiers, were on a European holiday. On their return to Canada, the topic of a business opportunity in manufacturing was discussed with Tony Sr. who was then semi-retired.
With the support of Tony Sr., Canadian Woodworks began as a wholesale distribution company with some attention to the manufacture of windows in the fall of 1979.
The economic climate of the time allowed for a very rapid growth and ready acceptance within the marketplace of the products that were being offered. The majority of these products were manufactured in the US, with a small percentage being built in-house primarily for the upscale home and renovation market.
Everything was going well. That is, until the unforeseeable happened in 1981.
1981 brought with it record high interest rates and a change in federal policy which combined together collapsed the residential building industry.
The decline in overall business combined with the closure of three major accounts that constituted over 40% of Canadian Woodwork's business resulted in the company sustaining unrecoverable losses.
In late November of 1982, the lending institute placed the company in "soft receivership". A dramatic liquidating of assets and other restructuring resulted in a leaner version of Canadian Woodworks doing business by December 17th of that same year.
Because the cash was not available to carry wholesale inventory as in prior years, the focus became much more weighted to the manufacture of product. Through the dedication of a core group of employees, Canadian Woodworks continued to develop through the early 1980s.
In 1985, the purchase of a small specialty sawmill, producing selected Douglas Fir raw material for the operation, was completed.
With this latest development, the company began looking for a variety
of market bases that would assist in the consistency of production that is not possible with the seasonal nature of the building industry.
Europe was the first targeted market, mostly because the principals of Canadian Woodworks were first generation immigrants from The Netherlands.
Initial trials into the European market began in 1986 and over the next 10 years sales grew by over 700%.
Canadian Woodworks currently ships virtually 100% of production into export markets and has staff in
Europe and Asia offering fine grain interior spruce to an ever expanding market place.