In the spring of 2024 a CBC News Story asks the question: “Is mass timber the next big thing in cheaper, greener construction?” You might ask: “What’s mass timber... and why does it look so familiar?” The story explains that mass timbers are made by binding layers of wood together to create larger, stronger beams. Proponents say it’s faster and easier to use mass timber than concrete and steel, and less carbon-intensive
to boot. The CBC article included this photo of a recently manufactured ‘mass timber’ beam. This beam is familiar to anyone who’s spent time in older style curling and skating rinks in Manitoba because, as it turns out, ‘mass timber’ isn’t new here.
Chances are you’ve heard of ‘Dring rafters’. George and Arthur Dring were sixteen and seventeen years of age when they came to Canada from Nottingham, England, in 1922. With their mother they farmed near Boissevain for five years before moving into Boissevain to work as carpenters. Both boys had studied carpentry at school in England, and Arthur had also studied Drafting and Mechanical Engineering. They soon were operating their own contracting business, starting with building repairs and small jobs such as granaries. Before long they were hiring staff and taking on larger projects.
During the World War 2 years the brothers invented the laminated style of building construction for which they, and Boissevain, became famous. Arthur got the idea when he learned that the famous Royal Air Force aircraft the Mosquito was made of plywood and glued wooden struts. He applied the idea to rafters for barns. At first the Drings were cutting the ribs out of flat wood and nailing them together. Gluing made the union stronger; in fact, stronger than the wood itself, and they were able to dispense with the use of nails altogether.
The carpentry shop evolved into a production plant with George as the plant superintendent and Arthur in charge of marketing. The rafters were first used for barns, but some churches, hospitals, and many arenas and curling rinks were also built using the Dring invention. Boissevain buildings erected by Drings include the Agricultural Arena and the Memorial Hospital. The firm expanded with Arthur bringing in orders from across Canada and beyond. In 1949 Dring Laminated Structures was incorporated with George as President, Arthur as Vice President and R.J. Gillespie as Secretary-Treasurer and General Manager. During this period the company employed as many as eighty-five men with an annual payroll of $300,000 (over $3.9 million in today’s dollars). In 1974 Dring’s officially opened a $160,000 ($1 million) expansion to increase its production capacity. This expansion included the installation of some very sophisticated laminating equipment.
Dring Canada Ltd. continued to ship laminated wood products in virtually any shape and length, coast to coast in Canada and into North Central U.S.A. But by the mid 1980s, the company was struggling to keep its workforce employed. A competitor in Edmonton - Western Archrib - bought Dring Canada in 1987. By aggressively marketing their product in the USA, both production facilities managed to stay strong. Now, only 5% of Western Archrib’s product stays in Manitoba; 55% goes across Canada and fully 40% leaves for the USA. With steady demand the company has created two shifts, which has necessitated the expansion of their floor space, which then facilitated a separation of framing and finishing jobs, which in turn required more finesse work, to which women have been attracted.
Bob Woodcock started with Dring Canada in 1980, right after high school, and recently retired as the Plant Manager. He says the company attracted many farm boys from the surrounding area. The work kept them in the community and kept them spending in local shops. Mostly these men had some knowledge of carpentry and the use of tools. And so most, like himself, learned everything they needed to know ‘on the job’. Bob says it was rare, but he remembers the occasional woman applying for work on the production floor as well. One in particular he remembers had taken a carpentry course at Assiniboine Community College and she did very well with the work.
Fortunately for Boissevain and area, the company continues to attract workers; increasingly from a great distance. Workers now hail from the Philippines, Ukraine and Eritrea. Sid Braybrook, the current CEO of the Boissevain plant, says that “Enough of each of these international groups have settled in Boissevain, that they feel at home here!” The workers and their enthusiastic families are weaving a rich and diverse cultural fabric in this community.
There’s much to be learned and copied from this story. Regarding the laminating process, several other companies are using the technique pioneered by the Dring brothers, and as CBC has pointed out, the process is news all over again.
Sources:
Written by David M. Neufeld and Ken Storie https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary Posted: May 29, 2024
Boissevain History Book Committee. Beckoning Hills Revisited. Altona. Friesen Printing, 1981
