In 2003, CAE Industries made a strategic decision to focus on their core business – Aircraft Flight Simulation – and divested their business operations in other sectors, including the CAE Machinery plant. Birch Hill Equity Partners purchased CAE Machinery Ltd. in mid-2003. They named the new company Carmanah after the pristine and protected Carmanah Valley, located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. In August 2011, Carmanah relocated its offices, manufacturing, and warehousing facilities to its present location in Surrey, B.C.
Since 2003, the company has continued to evolve with new product development and innovation. The acquisition of the Nicholson chipper business in 2005 expanded the company’s product range for the pulp, sawmill, and biomass industries. In 2012, Carmanah supplied the main woodroom equipment for the Russian OSB project ORIS, and soon after launched a successful disposable knife business for OSB production.