Douglas da Silva's journey from Brazil to Canada
Douglas da Silva, a production supervisor at Grand Lake Timber, has traded a career in automobile production in Brazil for one in lumber with J.D. Irving, Limited in Canada and he’s not looking back.
In Brazil, Douglas had spent over 15 years in the automotive sector, working his way up from a labourer to a project analyst and then projects supervisor. Then came an opportunity to move to Canada and join JDI’s Sawmill Division as a labourer at the Truro Sawmill in Nova Scotia.
While it meant starting over as a labourer, Douglas jumped at the opportunities the move would provide for his family in terms of quality of life, security and education. In September 2023, Douglas, his wife, two daughters and the family’s wiener dog left the city of Sao Paulo (population 12 million) for the town of Truro, N.S. (population 13,000).
“It was a culture shock,” said Douglas, reflecting on moving to a less-populated location where people actually take the time to say, “Good morning.”
“But now I think it was the best decision because I’m now not only looking to be a better professional; I want to be better in my personal life.”
As Douglas was learning the ins and outs of working in a sawmill, he looked on with pride as his children began learning English and French on top of their first language of Portuguese. Douglas said his new role was also teaching him how to balance work ambition with life outside work.
About a year in, an opportunity arose for Douglas to apply for a production supervisor role at Grand Lake Timber in Chipman, N.B. In January, Douglas and his family packed up again and made the short move from Nova Scotia to New Brunswick.
As a production supervisor, Douglas works alongside a team of 15, where he says his role is to give his team the best environment in which to do their work.
“They need to know that I am there for them. I want to be a leader. I want to be an inspiration,” he said.
In his journey of growing his career with JDI so far, Douglas said his favourite part has been the people he’s met and gets to work with.
“They are so welcoming. Everyone knows that I am Brazilian and they are very happy to help me, to teach me. That’s what gets me most,” he said.
“My life has changed forever and I’m very grateful to have this opportunity to start over. I know that this is a company that has a lot of opportunities for those who want them.”
