Why Forest Forward?
Forest Forward is 100% Indigenous-owned and the only mass timber manufacturer within 1,000 kilometres of Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Forest Forward fills the gap in Northwestern Ontario’s and central North America’s glulam manufacturing today while developing better, greener mass timber solutions for tomorrow.
About Forest Forward
Forest Forward is a 100% Indigenous-owned mass timber manufacturer and research company based in Thunder Bay, Ontario (Rosslyn Village). The company was founded in 2023 by Cory Hubbard, a Métis entrepreneur and mass timber researcher who holds a Master of Science, Civil Engineering. Forest Forward’s initial goal is help meet the growing demand for glulam and mass timber construction materials in central Canada and the US Midwest including especially Northwestern Ontario. SPF glulam will be the primary product line to start. The Forest Forward R&D Program develops new and better products in collaboration with regional scientists and companies for tomorrow’s Mass Timber 2.0 future.
Forest Forward will encourage more mass timber projects in the region and reduce glulam transportation costs for those projects already in the planning stages.
Estimated launch of our glulam manufacturing facility is Fall 2026. Forest Forward is accepting orders now.
Indigenous-first, Environment-first, and Social-first Forest Products
Forest Forward is proud to source SPF (spruce-pine-fir) lumber from 100% Indigenous-owned operations and sustainably managed local fibre within the Boreal Forest where we live.
Wood supplies come first from Papasay Value Added Wood Products in Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek, an Ojibwa First Nation on the eastern shore of Lake Nipigon. This 100% First Nation-owned company produces green lumber from nearby Lake Nipigon Forest Management Inc., which is managed by four area First Nation shareholders.
We feel this is central for several reasons, and it speaks directly to our Core Values. Forest Forward manufactured glulam products use materials sourced from:
- Sustainable forests to ensure environmentally sound products (Transparency)
- Indigenous-owned companies first to provide better economic opportunities (Economic Reconciliation)
- Reliable operations with quality wood products (Economic, Construction Innovation)
- Sources that allow close partnerships to develop new products (Design, Scientific Innovation)
The designers and builders in the region we work with know the whole supply chain from our Northwestern Ontario forests to their build projects. Environmentally, that’s important for calculating the carbon footprint for net-zero and LEED-certified projects. Working with regional Indigenous-owned companies also provides social and in some cases economic benefits to projects.
What Makes Forest Forward Different?
Forest Forward is different from other mass timber/glulam manufacturers in several ways:
- One of nine glulam manufacturers in Canada and the only one within 1,000 km of Thunder Bay
- 100% Indigenous-owned, sourcing all raw materials from other Indigenous-owned companies first including Papasay Sawmill and Lake Nipigon Forest Management Inc.
- A strong R&D Program, researching tomorrow’s solutions for Mass Timber 2.0
- Forest Forward’s Six Points of Innovation (see below)
Forest Forward’s Six Points of Innovation
Forest Forward is more than a mass timber manufacturer. Our founder, Cory Hubbard, is a mass timber and glulam research scientist, formerly at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Many see mass timber as simply a new way to construct buildings. But Hubbard understands that mass timber provides innovation in six overlapping ways:
1. Construction Innovation
Mass timber and glulam is revolutionizing the construction industry. It is lighter than steel, easier to work with than concrete, and cheaper to transport and install than both, making it a versatile building material while reducing each project’s carbon footprint.
2. Design Innovation
Glulam and mass timber provide the core building elements in biophilic design – the movement to bring nature back into our work and living spaces for better mental and physical health. Not only does mass timber offer the warmth of wood, glulam allows design versatility including organic shapes and forms that better reflect the natural world than squares and boxes.
3. Environmental Innovation
With its demonstrated smaller carbon footprint and lower impact on greenhouse gases (GHGs), mass timber is a key building material for net-zero buildings and LEED-certified projects. Forest Forward only uses wood from sustainably managed forests in Northwestern Ontario.
4. Social Innovation
Forest Forward believes that any innovations should be about bettering the lives of people. Mass timber provides new opportunities to solve the housing crisis. The light-weight material makes it ideal for building in remote First Nations on shipping building materials on weight-sensitive ice roads. Plus, mass timber provides good-paying jobs for more area residents.
5. Scientific Innovation
Forest Forward is engineering the Mass Timber 2.0 future. Hubbard works closely with research scientists and companies in the region to develop the next generation of mass timber products that are stronger, more cost effective, and more environmentally friendly.
6. Economic Innovation
Mass timber reduces overall construction costs over steel, concrete, and other building materials by significant amounts. The Canadian glulam industry also adds value to our forest products, helping Canada become a manufacturer of wood products rather than an exporter of raw materials. Mass timber has the potential to revitalize the forestry industry in Northwestern Ontario, and domestic innovations will help us compete in global markets.
Canada could be a global leader in glulam production, though currently we lag behind our European counterparts. Mass timber can help bring Canada up from a resource-based economy to world leader in glulam manufacturing. Growth in the domestic industry is predicted to hit $1.2 billion in 2030 and $2.4 billion in by 2035.
Forest Forward will be part of that solution.
We will help meet the mass timber gap within Canada, research more and better mass timber products, and eventually help raise Canada’s mass timber industry to the point where we can compete on the global market.
Forest Forward’s Glulam Operations
Forest Forward’s glulam manufacturing facility in Thunder Bay is a small in scale but large in flexibility. Our cold press moulds can produce narrow, wide, cambered, curved, or stepped beams as well as columns and one-way slabs from SPF lumber. Products of varying stress levels and all appearance levels available for residential, commercial, industrial buildings, and infrastructure projects (such as bridges).
Forest Forward’s facility is easily scalable to meet future demand and incorporate new products.
By the Numbers
- Max Dimensions of Final Product: 16.2 metres x 2.6 metres (53 feet x 8.5 feet)
- Thickness of members: 0.075 metres to 0.3 metres (about 3 inches to 1 foot)
- Minimum Curve Radius: 3 metres (9.8 feet)
- Stress Grades (to CSA O86-19 standards, ANSI soon to follow): Bending (20f-E, 20f-EX), Compression (12c-E), and Tension (14t-E)
All Forest Forward glulam products can fit on a single flatbed truck without oversized restrictions. Further, glulam is a lightweight material compared to steel and concrete, making it ideal for construction in remote First Nations and communities that rely on ice roads for transport.