FPInnovations : The Forest Products Laboratories of Canada were first established in 1913 at McGill University in Montreal under the jurisdiction of the Forestry branch of the Department of the Interior. This was based on similar initiatives in the UK, Europe, and, in particular, the USA. Its purpose was to advance scientific research on the wood products in order to ensure the competitiveness of the Canadian industry.
Federally sponsored forest research in British Columbia began in 1918 with the establishment of the Forest Products Research Laboratory on the campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. The need for Sitka spruce for aircraft development in WWI spurred initial interest in researching western forests. However, with the growth of the western industry to meet post-war consumer demands, the western laboratory would perform an increasingly broad array of functions.
In 1978-1979, the eastern and western Forest Products Laboratories were privatized and ForIntek Canada Corporation was created to take over their operations. In 2007, ForIntek merged with the Forest Engineering Research Research Institute of Canada (FERIC), and the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada (PAPRICAN) to create FPInnovations. Each of these previous institutions had focused on different areas of the Canadian industry.
FPInnovations is a private not-for-profit research and development organization that supports the Canadian forest sector's global competitiveness and fosters partnerships between government, academia and the private sector industry. Their head office is located in Pointe-Claire, Québec, and they have three divisions : forest operations; wood products; and pulp, paper and bio-sourced products. FPInnovations' main research centres are located in Vancouver, Québec City, and Pointe-Claire, and they also have regional offices in Edmonton and Thunder Bay.
