The Coulson Group of Companies

By Susan Merivirta, Chief Financial OfficerCorporate News

With one of the Flying Tankers down south and the intensive media coverage that followed its arrival, it started me thinking about the diversification strategy that got Coulson Group to where we are now. I have decided to take a quick look through the Year 2000 Log'n Talk issues. These are my observations and thoughts...

February, 2000 - Ten-year timber supply for Coulson Manufacturing runs out at the end of Year 2000...
Coulson Manufacturing was created to operate a value-added lumber processing facility in Port Alberni. In exchange for this investment, the B. C. Government awarded the company with a ten-year supply of timber through a 1,000,000 m3 timber sale. Seven years later, Coulson Manufacturing has the only family-owned and operated sawmills running on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. There are three divisions: Coulson Manufacturing Primary, Remanufacturing, and Millworks. Timber supply continues to be a challenge, but through our alliance with the five tribes of Mamook to co-own TFL 54, as well as the volume harvested from CFP's Toquart Forest Licence and Echa-Peh's Forest Licences, we continue to put logs across the brow.

March, 2000 - Coulson Aircrane rebuilt its first Sikorsky S61 - C-GJDR...
In 2007, C-GJDR was sold to SunWest Helicopters Ltd., a privately-owned business operating out of the Qualicum Airport. Brian Sallows, owner, is operating this shorter version of the S61 helicopter as a heavy-lift helicopter with a logging and fire-fighting mission profile. Coulson Aircrane now operates five S61 helicopters throughout the world. C-FMAY - the first Coulson S61 - is now the dedicated logging aircraft, although it is currently on its way to Australia to assist in their fire-fighting efforts. C-FCLM is the dedicated fire-fighting aircraft, working our winters in Australia and our summers across Canada, fighting forest fires as required. C-FXEC was the first Coulson S61 to be reconfigured in a passenger-carrying profile. C-FXEC is currently traveling by sea to Brazil, where it will begin a new heavy-lift lease contract in January 2008. It has spent the past one and a half years in Baku, Ajerbaijan, under lease with CHC. While C-FXEC was originally envisioned to fly between Vancouver and Victoria in the winters, it was replaced after the first season with C-GBSF, which is now on lease to Helijet through to 2010. C-GBSF flies the winter commuter season between Vancouver and Victoria; from May to September, this aircraft services two Queen Charlotte Island fishing lodges - Queen Charlotte Lodge and West Coast Resorts. Sikorsky S61 - N615C,- continues to work in Kauai, Hawaii, under lease to Croman Corporation. This aircraft is based at the Barking Sands military base. In 2007, the Coulson Aircrane fire-fighting fleet was increased by the addition of two world-famous Flying Tankers - C-FLYL and C-FLYK. Aircrane was able to secure a 90-day contract for one of the Flying Tankers with the B. C. Government for the 2007 season; one of the Flying Tankers was dispatched to Southern California late in October to help with the devastating destruction brought about by wild bush fires and the Santa Ana winds.

May, 2000 - Coulson Group companies need to maintain their flexibility by continuing to stay focused on their unit costs, whether it be: by the tree, by the board, or by the helicopter! We are starting to prepare each company for the uncertainties that are being indicated by these warning signs...

This article, in hindsight, was extremely accurate. Japanese customers were requiring a change to kiln-dried product; without an increase in lumber pricing. European lumber products were entering the marketplace with additional pressure to lower lumber pricing. B.C.'s lumber industry and particularly the Coastal Forest Industry were starting to feel the impact and downward pressure of the world-wide markets.

June, 2000 - The biggest concern shared by all Forest Industry stakeholders is the attack by the environmentalists to stop harvesting all old-growth timber...
This is an interesting article. Wayne made two statements of fact - Europeans liquidated all their old-growth timber 500 years go and now have highly productive second-growth plantations, and the US land-owners have very little old-growth timber left. He made the statement that our two biggest competitors don' want BC old-growth products rivaling their second-growth lumber products. Now, seven years later and for the first time in Coulson history, we are harvesting second-growth timber. I guess you can only keep the competition out for so long.

July, 2000 - Sign off on new Environmental Policy...
All Coulson Companies have demonstrated that their Environmental Management Systems are in conformance with ISO 14001:2004. Responsible management of our environment continues to be as topical in 2007 as it was in Year 2000.

September, 2000 - Aircrane was very successful in providing the US Federal Fire Agency with a Triple-A fire-fighting performance throughout the states of Colorado, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Washington...
We have a saying that we put in many of our professional submissions. It goes as follows: The future success of any company is based on the thumbprint of yesterday. Today, Aircrane has four aircraft with fire fighting as their mission profile, that is, over 50% of the Coulson aircraft fleet.

October, 2000 - Today, all players in the Forest Industry (contractors, government, licensees, unions, banks) are recognizing the need to build capacity for First Nations in all small communities...
And now we have come full circle. Coulson in 2007 continues to build sustainable relationships with Coastal First Nations. Early in 2007, the following announcement was made. Ma-Mook Natural Resources Ltd. (MNRL), a holding company owned by a group of five First Nations based in Ucluelet and the Coulson Group based in Port Alberni have concluded an agreement in principle with respect to the ongoing ownership and operation of Tree Farm Licence 54 concurrently purchased by MNRL from Interfor. The First Nations involved in MNRL are: Ahousaht, Hesquiaht, Tla-O-Qui-aht, Toquaht, and Ucluelet... "This joint venture represents a tremendous business opportunity between Coulson Group, a smaller, family owned and operated forest company, and local First Nations and marks an important contribution to the development of a new relationship with First Nations. This venture supports the reconciliation between First Nations and non-First Nations in the Coastal BC Forest Industry," said Shawn Atleo, BC Regional Chief, Assembly of First Nations.

Diversification, Respect for the Environment, Mutually-Beneficial Alliances, and "The Will to Succeed".
The Coulson Group of Yesterday (2000); The Coulson Group of Today (2007). ...My thoughts.

October, 2007 Volume 07-129

By Susan Merivirta, Chief Financial OfficerCorporate News

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