Chopstick factory idle, employees collect U.I

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Employees of the Sturgeon Lake chopstick factory are on unemployment insurance waiting for the factory to reopen, says Chief Ronald Sunshine.

The $3 million factory, which has been temporarily shut down for the investors to re-evaluate and improve its operations, should re-open in a few weeks, he said at a recent news conference held in Edmonton.

Cree Valley Industries, which is owned by Sturgeon Lake Band and the Harbin International Corporation for Technical and Economic Cooperation (HITEC), a Chinese investment company, closed the plant in February because it produced only 10 per cent of the predicted output.

"A common problem experienced by (our factory and) chopsticks manufacturers in British Columbia has been inefficient utilization of wood fibre, which pushes up costs," declared Sunshine, who also sits on the company's board of directors.

He explained that low-grade aspen on the Sturgeon reserve and troubles with the highly specialized machinery resulted in low production. High labor costs and two overdue accounts totaling $50,000 also contributed to the shutdown.

The factory may have to find another marketing agency due to the outstanding accounts and ineffective marketing of its current agent, Michealson Japan, Sunshine said.

The market is huge, spanning Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and other Asian countries, according to HITEC representative Zhang Jianlie.

"The quality of the product is really good -- better than the other products (in the world)," he said.

The factory was originally chopsticks -- per day. Since opening in September last year only 1,440 boxes have been made and sent to Japanese consumers.

HITEC will protect its investment of $1.1 million in the factory, Jianlie added, and will help the band get the factory back on its feet. He suggested the number of shifts may have to be triples to increase production. The factory had operated with a single shift of 45 employees.

Sunshine said employees also have to learn how to properly use and maintain the chopstick machinery.