Manufacturing and Technology
Maple Ridge grew its manufacturing base around the forest products sector, and maintains those ties to this day. In 2005, four of the five largest private sector employers are manufacturing wood products, primarily from cedar. Total community income attributable to forestry is seven percent, low by BC standards but high for a GVRD community.
Opportunities to create a larger value-added wood manufacturing sector exist. Although wood products remain a force, in the last 20 years the growth in manufacturing has been in other sectors, mostly light industrial operations involved in machinery and equipment manufacture. A small technology cluster has also emerged.
Activity Measures |
Number |
% of Total |
| Total Labour Force | 33,380 | 100% |
| Industrial Labour Force | 8,730 | 26.2% |
| Manufacturing Business Licenses | 144 | 6.5% |
| Average Personal Income (2001) - All Manufacturing | $46,975 | - |
| Average Personal Income (2001) - Wood Manufacturing | $51,380 | - |
| Total Industrial Land Area (hectares) | 576 | 2.2% |
| Building Inventory (thousands square metres) | 212 | 1.4% |
| Industrial Occupancy Rate (% 4th Quarter 2005) | 4.4% | - |