Furniture Manufacturer Fined for Workplace Injury

Ridgewood Industries Ltd. has been fined $62,500 following an accident that critically injured a worker at its former Cornwall, Ont., furniture manufacturing plant.

The incident occurred on Feb. 20, 2025, when a medium-density fibreboard panel became lodged in the cone rotator area of a sizing and edge-banding machine.

The worker entered the machine area to remove the panel through an opening where a section of protective fencing had been removed.

The machine was normally enclosed by the fencing, which included an interlocking gate that shut down and locked out the equipment when opened. However, the missing section of fencing allowed the worker to access the machine while it remained in operation.

While attempting to remove the panel, the worker came into contact with the nip point between the machine’s top and bottom cone rotators, sustaining critical injuries.

An investigation by Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development found the nip point was not guarded to prevent access to its moving parts, as required under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Ridgewood Industries pleaded guilty to the offence and was fined $50,000. The court imposed an additional 25 per cent victim fine surcharge of $12,500 under the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is directed to a provincial government fund that supports victims of crime.

The company’s Cornwall facility permanently closed last year when Montreal-based Dorel Industries announced it was ending furniture production in Canada. Ridgewood Industries had been the Canadian manufacturer of the company’s ready-to-assemble furniture.