“We aren’t just making sawmills to sell. We are asking our customers what they need and what they want. We are designing a sawmill that will help them efficiently produce the highest quality lumber products for the market,”
– Pascal Labranche, president and owner, Cardinal Equipment
In 1980, in the small town of Angliers, Quebec, Cardinal Equipment was founded by the three Berneche brothers. The three brothers wanted to start a sawmill business where they were able to implement newer technologies and build better machines to produce high quality hardwood products.
Starting as a very small company in a very small town of no more than 400 people, the company grew and continued to be an innovative force within the forest products industry. In 1999 they produced the first electric carriage installed in North America. “That carriage ran for two shifts over the course of 20 years, and it is still running,” said Pascal Labranche, president and owner. “The facility was recently bought by another sawmill. We went in and made some minor modifications by adding a new scanner and making sure that it was up to date, and it is still running extremely well.”
The Cardinal 3-Bunk Carriage ready for installation is shown here.
Pascal Labranche was one of six shareholders before he bought out the then president and shareholder of the company, nine years ago. “My wife Karie Berneche, who was a shareholder, and I managed to buy out the other four shareholders and the one trust fund shareholder,” Pascal noted. There is now a third generation of the family learning and growing the business as Pascal’s son, Dannik Labranche, has entered the business as vice president and owner.
“We are a recognized name throughout Quebec, and no one starts a project that includes a carriage without asking about us,” Dannik said. “We wanted this brand recognition to reach further, so we began in France about 15 years ago.”
Pictured is the Cardinal Carriage, Slabber and Saw husk in action at Scierie St-Fabien (Quebec, Canada).
Cardinal Equipment manufactures carriages for hardwood and softwood companies that want to custom cut their logs efficiently while maximizing their productivity.
“One of the features that makes our carriages so unique is the electric drive for the bunks. This increases the speed compared to the hydraulics, so we found that it was important for us to be able to offer it,” said Pascal. “We also have integrated log turners which are very efficient and help maximize a sawmill’s productivity.”
Cardinal Equipment has partnered with Mudata, a small company in France, that produces scanners for their electric carriages. “We are extremely flexible, and we will adapt our products and build them the way that our customers need them. So, while we are partnered with Mudata and it is our preferred scanner, if a customer wants a different brand of scanner, we can easily install what they prefer on to the carriage instead,” Pascal said. “We understand that every sawmill has its own individual needs. So, we make sure that we have a range of products that can easily be integrated into an already existing sawmill.”
Above is the Cardinal 3-Bunk Carriage in action at Labranche Lumber (Vermont, USA).
Their sawmills are fully integrated and can be built from the ground up from the debarker to the optimizing edger or can be retrofitted to meet a specific mill’s needs. “We know that not every customer of ours is going to need the same type of sawmill. Based on what their needs are and the amount of lumber they are looking to produce annually, whether that is 5 million board feet or 15 million, we will help them design a sawmill or pick the right parts to add to their existing mill that will help them in the long run,” said Pascal.
From left to right: Dannik Labranche, Mario Tremblay, Karie Berneche, Pascal Labranche
The support that the staff at Cardinal Equipment provides to their customers is paramount. “We understand how important parts and service is to a sawmill,” said Mario Tremblay, sales representative. “That’s why we have dedicated teams close to our customers, and as soon as a customer tells us that their mill is down, we pull the part that they need from the closest warehouse and get it moving within the day.” This quick turnaround time on service is made possible by the fact that when a sawmill installs one of Cardinal Equipment’s products, if there isn’t a warehouse already in the area that is stocked with their inventory, they put one there. They currently have four different warehouses.
Cardinal Equipment is constantly striving to be better and to introduce newer innovations into the hardwood industry and to do this, out of their 50 employees, five of them make up their team of engineers that have more than 60 years of combined experience.
The Cardinal Bull-Edger ready for installation.
“The reason that we have this many engineers for the size company that we are is because we are focused on the customer and the little changes that we can make to our existing machines that will continue to efficiently maximize productivity,” said Pascal. “We also like to send our engineers to our customers when we have a new project. This allows us to truly understand what their needs are and make sure that the mill, with any and all custom modifications, fit nicely together and meet not only our expectations, but our customers’ as well.”
The guidance and the expertise that Cardinal Equipment’s engineers and sales staff give their customers is just one more thing that sets them apart. “While focusing on the new technologies that we are able to bring to our customers, we also focus on how we can accommodate their needs and the space that they currently have,” said Tremblay.
“We aren’t just making sawmills to sell. We are asking our customers what they need and what they want. We are designing a sawmill that will help them efficiently produce the highest quality lumber products for the market,” Pascal continued.
Pictured is a balanced vibrating conveyor freshly painted.
“We don’t have fully assembled carriages on hand,” said Karie Berneche. “We have the different parts on hand at all times and then build the carriage to the customers’ specifications, so whether that’s pairing a hydraulic or pneumatic carriage with one of our electric bunks, we are leaving ourselves open to the flexibility to provide our customers ultimately with what they want.”
Pictured is the Cardinal Bull-Edger in action at Scierie GVL (Quebec, Canada).
Not only does Cardinal Equipment wait for their customers to tell them how they would like their sawmills built, they are also continuously adding to their product lineup and the options that they are able to offer. “We recently divested from Sawquip, but in the process we gained ownership of all of their designs, drawings and patents regarding hardwood equipment, allowing us to further grow our catalog,” said Dannik.
The Cardinal Manufacturing facility in Angliers, Quebec, Canada.
Cardinal Equipment is a member of the National Hardwood Lumber Association.
For more information, visit www.cardinalsaw.com.
