PLC Logger's Voice Winter 2017

Canadian Chains
Continued from Page 7
Production underway on the shop floor in Norridgewock.
for it in Norridgewock, where it moved within a year and
has remained ever since.
Jason went into the family business straight out of
school in 2005 and first worked in excavation for one of his
many uncles in Connecticut, returning to Maine in the
winters when logging-related business was busiest. He
worked for his father as a mechanic one year, as a welder
another, and in other roles. By 2007 he was working in
Maine full-time including helping run the family’s Davco
store in Farmington.
Since taking over the management of Canadian
Chains, Jason has invested heavily in upgrading and
reorganizing the shop; installing overhead cranes, new
welders, new saws, respirators and fatigue mats for
employees, and other things designed to improve efficiency
and working conditions.
Production has doubled, and with a great product
the company is getting business as far away as Oklahoma
and California. It could expand even more, but Jason wants
first to concentrate on doing the best job he can with what
he’s got, and not grow too far too fast.
“Quality is the number one thing obviously, but as
much as I want to make money, I want to be a place where
people want to come work, that’s big for me,” Jason said.
He has four employees, and they are critical to the
company’s success.
It costs more to be able to put that “Made in
America” label on Canadian Chains products, but in a
market where cheaper imports often come with cost-cutting
measures like using case-hardened steel instead of throughhardened
steel, it pays to make something that lasts.
Canadian Chains does business with loggers
throughout Maine and is well aware of the challenges they
face, so in 2015 the company joined the Professional
Logging Contractors of Maine (PLC) as an Enhanced
Supporting Member.
Pulling together and supporting organizations like
the PLC that fight for the industry is important, Jason said.
“Anything that has to do with loggers, we want to
support what they do, because they are more important than
we are,” Jason said. “If they don’t make money, we don’t.”
For now, Jason remains focused on growing the
Canadian Chains brand through offering a superior product
and service. Down the road, there’s plenty of opportunity to
expand. Taking something and running with it is certainly a
family tradition; his father started out with nothing and
today is the owner of four successful companies.
The company is a good one and he really enjoys
the work and the customers Canadian Chains serves, Jason
said.
“I’m a fanatic about equipment and I really like the
industry,” Jason said. “I love excavation, I love logging and
I love everything that has to do with machinery.”
Jason Carrier, at right, in the Canadian
Chains manufacturing facility.
* See Canadian Chains product at work in
photo on page 4.
8 Professional Logging Contractors of Maine Loggers Serving Loggers Since 1995