By David Wiwchar

SAN Group owners speak out

Feb 13, 2025 | 7:59 AM

Six months after SAN Group financing and operations started to unravel, two company owners are speaking out and trying to combat the many rumours swirling around the mills.

Suki Sanghera says he and his brother have split their holdings with Kamal Sanghera keeping the mills, and Suki and third partner Paul Deol taking Kingsley Trucking.

Suki said many mistakes were made including not seeking government help for losses during the Cameron Bluffs fire.

“SAN Group failed because SAN Group spent lots of money and we [made] mistakes,” he said. “And then Corona [Covid] hit, and then the highway fire happened and we didn’t get any help from any government, not provincial or federal government. This was the biggest mistake. We should have shut down at that time and waited for insurance money to fix things. This was the biggest mistake that SAN Group made.”

He said over-bidding, over-promising, the high cost of forestry along with family problems all contributed to the company’s downfall.

no recording

'Functionally impossible to enforce:' Nanaimo Council bans gallery use of electronic devices during meetings

2h ago

On the Brink

Clippers season on the line after home ice loss in Game 3 versus Cowichan

9h ago

egregious offending

Teenage addicts expose Port Alberni drug trafficker

15h ago

With SAN Group assets now tied up in Supreme Court hearings and restructuring processes, Suki and Deol sat down in PEAK Studios yesterday.

They said the July news story about Vietnamese workers being improperly housed was the beginning of the end.

“This was the SAN Groups downturn,” he said. “We had a MOU signed with First Nations and that was the first thing cancelled. It’s not good. The second part is we had international business and we had lots of problems there. Because the news is out, the damage is done. Lots of people listen to the news. We lost lots of business; probably 30% of business lost in 2 or 3 months.”

Suki said he would be happy to work with whoever buys the cedar mill and reman facility to make sure they don’t make similar mistakes.

We reached out to Kamal for his side but he declined the opportunity to be interviewed.

PHOTO: (l-r) Suki Sanghera and Iqbal (Paul) Deol.