The Company

Gilbert Smith Forest Products Ltd. is a family owned and operated wood products company. With over 70 years of speciality product experience and over 100 years of family history in the industry, we have the experience and proven track record of a reliable producer of high-quality products.

Gilbert

Smith is deeply connected to our local communities, indigenous partners, and employee families. These relationships are the foundation of our business. We are uncompromising in integrating safety into all we do and believe that by being creative and innovative we can sustain forests for future generations.

The Location

Gilbert Smith Forest Products Ltd. is located in beautiful Barriere, BC. Most staff live between Kamloops and Clearwater, BC in the amazing North Thompson Valley.

https://norththompson.ca/

North Thompson Valley British Columbia — Wilderness Just a Step Away. Discover a land of endless adventures — where rivers run wild and waterfalls thunder, where wildlife roam free and the snowfall is epic. Find yourself here, awed by its rugged beauty and charmed by the people who call this place home. Come work and play in an untamed wilderness — in the heart of British Columbia’s central interior.

Lead Innovation. Deliver Quality. Shape the Future of Value-Added Lumber.

Do you take pride in producing lumber with exceptional quality and consistent results?

Are you passionate about optimizing planer performance, improving reliability, and using technology to create premium value-added wood products?

If you're driven by quality, innovation, and manufacturing excellence, this is your opportunity to make a lasting impact.

We are a family-owned specialty lumber manufacturer known for quality Western Red Cedar products and exceptional customer service. As we continue investing in manufacturing technology and new value-added product lines, we're looking for an experienced Lead Planer Technician to help accelerate our remanufacturing operations into the future.

This is more than a technical role—it's an opportunity to influence manufacturing performance, improve product quality, and help develop our next generation of specialty lumber products and services.





What You'll Do

As our Lead Planer Technician, you'll be the technical leader responsible for maximizing planer mill performance while ensuring exceptional finish quality, reliable equipment performance, and consistent product outturns.

Your responsibilities will include

· Leading initiatives that improve finish quality, dimensional accuracy, and product consistency. Optimizing planer performance to deliver reliable production, consistent product outturns, and maximum customer satisfaction.

· Working with our remanufacturing machine centres to continuously improve quality, reliability and efficiency.

· Support the development of manufacturing programs for new specialty and value-added lumber products.

· Collaborating with Operations, Maintenance, Sales, Quality Control, and Production to introduce current products and improve processes.

· Review production and reliability data, quality trends, and performance metrics to identify and initiate improvement opportunities.

· Responsible for setup, calibration, and maintenance of planer and related remanufacturing equipment to improve reliability, reduce unplanned downtime, and enhance overall equipment performance.

· Providing technical leadership, coaching, and support to planer technicians and production personnel.

· Staying current with emerging technologies and identifying opportunities that strengthen our competitive advantage as part of our continuous improvement team.

What You Bring

· Alignment with our Company core value of Safety, and a commitment that all work is performed safely.

· A strong focus on producing consistent, high- quality products that exceed customer expectations.

· Strong communication and leadership abilities.

· Excellent analytical, troubleshooting,



and problem- solving skills.

· Experience in and strong understanding of planer processes and maintenance, finish quality, machine setup, lumber recovery, grading requirements, and value-added manufacturing.

· Experience working with optimization and automated manufacturing systems.

· Innovative ability to quickly develop remanufacturing product set ups that support the capture of new market opportunities.

Why You'll Love Working Here

Your Expertise Makes a Difference

You'll work directly with company leadership and have the opportunity to influence manufacturing decisions, product development, and long-term growth.

We're continually investing in advanced optimization systems, automation, scanning technology, and modern manufacturing equipment to deliver exceptional quality and remain leaders with specialty products our customers can depend on.

Our culture combines the stability and values of a family business with the ambition and innovation of a modern manufacturing company. We believe great ideas can come from anyone—and we give our people the opportunity to bring those ideas to life.

Competitive Compensation & Benefits

We offer

· Competitive salary based on experience

· Comprehensive health and dental benefits

· Profit sharing opportunities

· Company Pension

· Career development, technical training, and industry conferences

· Relocation assistance for the right candidate

· Stable, full-time employment with an innovative and growing organization

Ready to Make an Impact?

Apply today and build a career where craftsmanship, technology, and innovation come together to produce exceptional wood products.

Pay: $92,000.00-$105,000.00 per year

Benefits

- Company events
- Company pension
- Dental care
- Employee assistance program
- Life insurance
- On-site parking
- Profit sharing
- Relocation assistance
- Vision care

Education:
- AEC / DEP or Skilled Trade Certificate (preferred)

Experience:
- sawmill: 3 years (preferred)

Language:
- English (required)

Licence/Certification:
- First Aid Certification (preferred)

Work Location: In person

📌 Lead Planer Technician (Barrière)
🏢 Gilbert Smith Forest Products
📍 Barrière