Norbord operates a hardwood overlay plywood mill in Cochrane Ontario. The company utilizes 150,000 cubic metres of aspen poplar from Crown Lands on an annual basis, employ 225 people directly, and another 50 on a contractual basis (primarily forest contractors).

The mill in Cochrane was the brainchild of Mr. Albert Boisvert, a citizen of Cochrane. After approaching the Perron Brothers for financing and forest industry expertise, in 1963 the plant commenced operations in the former CN roundhouse. In the fall of 1963 the plant burned to the ground, however the partners believed in the project, so in 1964 the plant was resurrected on the old foundation and recommenced producing aspen plywood for the construction industry.

At the time, the wood requirements were met from suppliers in the Cochrane District. In 1973, the Perrons built a sawmill in Cochrane, and acquired harvest rights on the Moose River Management Unit. This also provided additional poplar volume and the mill continued to expand its capacity.

In 1988 the mill received a timber supply agreement from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to supply the facility's expanded capacity. This was the first official recognition of a portion of the mill's wood supply coming from the Timiskaming Forest. In 1994, many changes were underway in Ontario's forests. The Crown Forest Sustainability Act (CFSA) was passed into legislation, and the North Eastern Hardwood Project regional supply initiative was underway.

The CFSA legislation allowed for the creation of the Sustainable Forest License (SFL) as a form of forest tenure in Ontario. Norbord was involved in both the initiation and subsequent development of the cooperative-model licence that is now held by Timiskaming Forest Alliance Inc. Concurrently, Norbord participated in the North East Hardwood Project. This initiative evaluated sustainable harvest volume levels and resulted in revised projections for all of the Crown-managed forests in the North east region, including the Timiskaming Forest. At that time the Timiskaming Forest SFL provided approximately 17% of the Crown wood that kept the Cochrane mill functioning.

In 2001 the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources undertook the Northern Aspen Veneer Initiative (NAVI). Using updated information, this initiative re-examined the volumes associated with the previous North East Hardwood Project and adjusted them where necessary. As well, the wood volumes that supplied all of the veneer mills from the North-east region forests was rationalized to address economic factors including the wood hauling distance and associated cost.. The final result was a new Timber Supply Agreement that now has TFAI managing almost 23% of the Cochrane mill's wood supply from Crown Lands.

Norbord has been involved with TFAI from the outset, and are extremely pleased to be associated with its accomplishments. They feel that TFAI it is most certainly a provincial, and perhaps a national leader in the forest management field.

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