It’s hard to know if Roger could have predicted his future with Sinclar when he first showed up for work at Apollo Forest Products in 1984. He’s become a textbook example of the incredible potential and endless possibilities an employee can enjoy when they join the Sinclar family.
When Roger was a high school student in Vancouver, he traveled to Fort St. James to visit his siblings during the summers of 1984 and 1985. When he wasn’t working with a local contractor on the Apollo yard as a journeyman carpenter, he was fishing, camping and dirt biking.
After graduation, his uncle suggested he apply for a job at the mill and the rest is history.
I started out helping in the yard, got trained on the CONUS energy system, the beehive burners, on maintenance. Then the General Manager asked if I could build…I found myself building fire shacks, fixing windows, doors, plumbing. I renovated all the bathrooms at the sawmill. Next thing I know, I’m offered a full-time job!
A large part of Sinclar’s philosophy is to encourage advancement when their employees show potential and initiative. Roger had both in spades.
The General Manager liked Roger’s work ethic, but he didn’t have his ticket and couldn’t be promoted. Roger found himself on the spare list as a production worker. That put his foot in the door in the mill.
I worked in the planer and sawmill. Whenever I got called, I didn’t turn down the shift. It took me a year to get full time work on the green chain, but I wanted to learn all I could about the whole operation. I worked edging, stacking, sorting, spent time at the chip site, drove loaders, and the forklift. I did that for five years.
His hustle got him a job as a canter operator for the next five years, but Roger was looking for another challenge. When the Shift Millwright apprenticeship became available, he jumped at the opportunity. In 1996 he was Lead Hand.
He continued to challenge himself, earning his Red Seal from the College of New Caledonia in Prince George in 2000.
As Superintendent, he still considers his job to be challenging to this day, thanks to the Sinclar culture.
Management is very supportive, always offers ways to develop. There are always courses available. If you were willing, they put you in them, helping you get better. And I promote that now when I’m talking to new employees. I tell them, “The sky’s the limit. Put your nose to the grindstone and we’re going to move you up.” At Sinclar, if you really want to learn and excel, they really help you.
