Kalesnikoff is a family-owned fourth-generation Canadian company that has practiced sustainable forest management for more than 80 years. Their beautiful region in the southeast corner of British Columbia is a unique slow growth environment for producing some of the world’s best softwood timber. So when it came time to begin a new evolution of their leading and long-respected lumber company, mass timber was the next logical step.
From Kalesnikoff’s perspective, it’s been a challenging journey to get the mass timber industry from its pioneer stage in Europe. But now there is a lot of excitement on adopting their principles and using them in North America. “There are a lot of great companies out there who believe in it, and who are on board,” he said, “so the market will continue to grow. A big focus of ours is to be a good reliable supply that can be integral to helping the growth of the entire marketplace.”
As Kalesnikoff moves into mass timber, they are expanding their customer base and working with a different type of clientele, but their corporate values remain the same. “Our people and our customers are our focus. By being such a specialized group, we can help support what our customers are trying to accomplish. By utilizing a variety of species, we can offer our customers a wide variety of products to fit any type of building.”
Kalesnikoff has had long-standing relationship with Biesse Group, and saw their technology and equipment as definitely leading the market. But beyond finding technology with the right capabilities, Kalesnikoff wanted to partner with a group that could help them in the areas where they needed to gain experience. “A lot of a partnership comes down to trust,” he said. “In the relationships we have built with Biesse Group and Uniteam, the trust is there. They believe in us as much as we believe in them. The way they supported us and treated us was what really set them apart. We are really excited to be working with them.”
The whole process of working with Uniteam has been very professional. We’ve built strong relationships with the whole group. They have been very supportive of our company and have delivered what they promised.