citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . september 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message j. d. irving limited type private industry forestry transportation shipbuilding consumer products founded bouctouche new brunswick canada 1882 1882 founder james dargavel irving headquarters saint john new brunswick canada area served atlantic canada quebec new england key people j. k. irving owner jim irving co ceo robert irving co ceo owner j. k. irving number of employees 15 000 parent irving group of companies divisions irving forest products & services irving transportation services irving shipbuilding & industrial fabrication irving retail & distribution services irving consumer products irving industrial equipment & construction irving specialty printing website www.jdirving.com footnotes references 1 2 3 pulp and paper mill owned by jdi in saint john new brunswick . j.d. irving limited is a privately owned conglomerate company headquartered in saint john new brunswick canada . its activities include many industries forestry paper products agriculture food processing transportation shipbuilding . the company forms with irving oil and brunswick news the bulk of the irving group of companies which regroups the interests of the irving family . contents 1 history 2 incidents 3 controversies 4 divisions 4.1 irving forest products & services 4.2 irving transportation services 4.3 irving shipbuilding & fabrication services 4.4 irving retail & distribution services 4.5 irving consumer products 4.6 industrial equipment & construction 4.7 specialty printing 4.8 personnel services 4.9 security services 4.10 professional sports 4.11 brunswick news 4.12 a selection of former subsidiaries 5 references 6 external links history edit j.d. irving limited jdi traces its roots to a sawmill operated in bouctouche new brunswick by its namesake james dargavel irving . 1 j.d. irving s operations were entrusted to his children one of which kenneth colin irving assumed majority ownership and used jdi as a springboard for expanding into pulp and paper and other forestry related businesses between the 1920s 1940s . in the post war years jdi took control of pulp mills in saint john and upstate new york as well as sawmills throughout new brunswick . during the 1950s jdi took control of a shipyard in saint john and started several trucking companies and heavy industry companies like irving equipment to satisfy the growing needs of the company . a kent store in halifax nova scotia . from the 1960s 2000s jdi expanded to become the largest forestry concern in the maritimes and northern maine and the region s largest industrial player with extensive land holdings tree nurseries pulp mills plants producing kraft pulp supercalendered paper tissue products and corrugated medium sawmills a retail chain of home improvement stores kent building supplies modular home construction kent homes industrial construction wallboard manufacturing marine towing and dredging atlantic towing prefabricated concrete strescon steel fabrication ocean steel frozen food production cavendish farms fertilizer and agri services cavendish agri services railways new brunswick southern railway and manufacturing of personal care products including tissue and paper towels majesta and royale as well as diapers irving personal care . in the 1970s and 1980s jdi expanded into trucking with its scot truck subsidiary based in debert ns . now called midland transport and based in dieppe nb it is joined by sister companies midland courier dieppe sunbury transport fredericton and rst industries saint john . jdi is also the largest shipbuilder in canada with ownership of shipyards in halifax liverpool shelburne and georgetown . incidents edit as a large regional industrial conglomerate j.d. irving ltd. subsidiaries have been the focus of several notable incidents in 1970 an oil barge named irving whale sank in the gulf of st. lawrence causing periodic oil spills until it was raised by the federal government in 1996 . in 2007 the irving pulp & paper ltd. mill at reversing falls accidentally released 680 000 litres of green liquor into the saint john river ; pleading guilty the company received a fine of 50 000 . in november 2008 environment canada investigators exercised a search warrant at irving pulp & paper s head office to seek more information on this accidental spill . in november 2008 jdi logistics and atlantic towing made the news over an accident involving the transport of 2 new turbines from saint john harbour to the nearby point lepreau nuclear generating station . the jdi subsidiaries had been sub contracted by siemens ag turbine replacement sub contractor for the facility s owner nb power . the 2 turbines were manufactured by siemens ag in scotland and were shipped to saint john on a road transport vehicle aboard a cargo ship . the cargo was off loaded from the ship onto a barge owned by atlantic towing ltd. however the cargo shifted and the barge tipped sending the turbines and the road transport vehicle into saint john harbour . in late november 2008 the atlantic towing ltd. dredging barge shovel master was being towed by the company s tugboat atlantic larch from saint john to halifax for a refit when it foundered in heavy seas 20 nmi 37 km west of yarmouth ns . the barge crew of 3 was rescued by a ch 149 cormorant search and rescue helicopter before the barge capsized . several atl tugboats and commercial divers responded and a tow line was secured to the capsized yet floating barge by the tugboat atlantic oak . the barge was towed 45 nmi 83 km south of yarmouth however it sank in 150 m 490 ft carrying 70 000 l 18 000 us gal of diesel fuel as well as 1 000 l 260 us gal of hydraulic fluid and 5 000 l 1 300 us gal of waste oil . controversies edit j.d. irving s ownership of most major media outlets in new brunswick has led to ongoing concern regarding control of the media . a report from the canadian senate in 2006 on media control in canada singled out new brunswick because of the irving companies ownership of all english language daily newspapers in the province including the telegraph journal . senator joan fraser author of the senate report stated we didn t find anywhere else in the developed world a situation like the situation in new brunswick . 4 the report went further stating the irvings corporate interests form an industrial media complex that dominates the province to a degree unique in developed countries . at the senate hearing journalists and academics cited irving newspapers lack of critical reporting on the family s influential businesses . 5 j.d. irving forestry practices and influence over provincial government policy has also resulted in controversy . a forestry plan announced by the province in 2014 had been altered at the company s request to increase allowed cutting by 20 % to a level experts believed was unsustainable . 6 this was justified to the public with promises of jobs growth and corporate investment in silviculture infrastructure . defending the changes j.d. irving co chief executive jim irving blamed criticisms on environmental nay sayers and cited the company s own scientific research group of six doctorates which had worked for 15 years on the ground . this is not theoretical he said . this is not sitting in the office staring at the computer . this is out in the forest doing the work on the ground collecting the data . 7 however one scientist who was part of j.d. irving ltd s forest research advisory committee went public to counter irving s assertion . marc andr villard stated we have never been told about the details of this upcoming plan . we had heard about it but only rumours . and we were not consulted whatsoever on the contents of the plan . had he been consulted villard said he would have raised the same concerns he has voiced on the committee for 15 years . 8 many of the forest management practices at j.d. irving have come under fire from environmentalists . while jdi has received praise from its lumber retailers and from government regulators environmentalists point out that the company s tree farming practices have led to an unprecedented industrialization of the forests of northeastern north america and in turn have led to a decline in tree species variety . citation needed logging roads and erosion problems are also frequently criticized . divisions edit the following is a list of divisions of j.d. irving ltd. irving forest products & services edit irving pulp & paper ltd. irving paper ltd. irving tissue co. ltd. lake utopia paper irving sawmill division irving woodlands division irving transportation services edit new brunswick railway co. ltd. new brunswick southern railway co. ltd. eastern maine railway co. ltd. maine northern railway co. ltd. midland transport midland courier rst industries sunbury transport atlantic towing kent line jdi logistics harbour development irving shipbuilding & fabrication services edit saint john shipbuilding halifax shipyard east isle shipyard shelburne ship repair woodside industries fleetway inc. oceanic consulting corporation irving retail & distribution services edit chandler kent building supplies kent homes universal truck & trailer shamrock truss atlas structural systems cavendish agri services irving consumer products edit irving tissue royale majesta scotties private labels irving personal care diapers training pants cavendish produce fresh vegetables cavendish farms frozen potato processing indian river farms riverdale foods industrial equipment & construction edit irving wallboard gulf operators irving equipment crane rental heavy lifting specialized transportation pile driving and project management services specialty printing edit plasticraft personnel services edit protrans personnel services inc. security services edit industrial security limited professional sports edit moncton wildcats brunswick news edit telegraph journal saint john nb times & transcript moncton nb the daily gleaner fredericton nb the tribune campbellton nb la voix du restigouche campbellton nb the bugle observer woodstock nb le journal madawaska edmundston nb l toile various editions dition provinciale dition la cataracte grand falls nb dition chaleur bathurst nb dition dieppe dieppe nb dition kent bouctouche nb dition p ninsule shippagan nb dition r publique edmundston nb dition restigouche campbellton nb dition sh diac shediac nb kings county record sussex nb miramichi leader miramichi nb the northern light bathurst nb here saint john nb moncton nb fredericton nb money saver st.stephen nb a selection of former subsidiaries edit acadian lines ltd smt eastern ltd. bus lines saint john city transit xwave hawk communications steel and engine products ltd references edit a b history . j.d. irving limited . retrieved 27 july 2014 . about us . j.d. irving limited . retrieved 27 july 2014 . j.d. irving limited . office of the commissioner of lobbying of canada . office of the commissioner of lobbying of canada . retrieved 27 july 2014 . cbc feds must examine irving media empire . 2007 10 12 . retrieved 2016 03 24 . the star hot scoop burns reporter at irving paper . 2009 06 17 . retrieved 2016 03 24 . l cbc new crown forestry plan greeted with shock dismay check url value help . 2014 03 13 . retrieved 2016 03 24 . l cbc jim irving defends new brunswick forest practices expanded cut check url value help . 2014 03 17 . retrieved 2016 03 24 . l cbc j.d. irving scientific adviser blindsided by new forest policy check url value help . 2014 03 19 . retrieved 2016 03 24 . external links edit official website j.d. irving equipment division v t e irving group of companies subsidiaries irving oil irving oil refinery canaport j.d. irving ltd. irving tissue irving equipment kent building supplies new brunswick railway new brunswick southern railway eastern maine railway maine northern railway brunswick news acadia broadcasting irving shipbuilding cavendish farms key people k. c. irving james k. irving arthur irving john e. irving retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title j. d. irving & oldid 740333583 categories conglomerate companies of canadafood and drink companies of canadapulp and paper