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A Hatton-Brown Publication

Co-Publisher: David H. Ramsey Co-Publisher: David (DK) Knight Chief Operating Officer: Dianne C. Sullivan Publishing Office Street Address: 225 Hanrick Street Montgomery, AL 36104-3317 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2268 Montgomery, AL 36102-2268 Telephone: 334.834.1170 FAX: 334.834.4525

Volume 43 • Number 2 • March 2018 Founded in 1976 • Our 441st Consecutive Issue

Renew or subscribe on the web: www.timberprocessing.com

Executive Editor David (DK) Knight Editor-in-Chief: Rich Donnell Managing Editor: Dan Shell Senior Associate Editor: David Abbott Associate Editor: Jessica Johnson Associate Editor: Jay Donnell Art Director/Prod. Manager: Cindy Segrest Ad Production Coordinator: Patti Campbell Circulation Director: Rhonda Thomas Marketing/Media: Jordan Anderson Classified Advertising: Bridget DeVane • 334.699.7837 800.669.5613 • bdevane7@hotmail.com Advertising Sales Representatives: Southern USA Randy Reagor P.O. Box 2268 Montgomery, AL 36102-2268 904.393.7968 • FAX: 334.834.4525 E-mail: reagor@bellsouth.net

Midwest USA, Eastern Canada

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NEWSFEED

Price Industries Buys Fulghum Fibres

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BENNETT LUMBER

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MILL ROOTS

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SECOND LOOK

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WOOD YARD

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MACHINERY ROW

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AT LARGE

Technology Improvements Take Advantage Of Markets Montana’s F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Diaz Forest Products Of Pennsylvania Several Suppliers Offer The Right Solutions CombiLift Plans Major Capacity Increase Bradford Forest Becomes Danzer Lumber

COVER: Bennett Lumber Products in Princeton, Idaho handles a variety of log sizes, including big cedar ones, and produces a range of high grade and dimension lumber. Story begins on PAGE 18.

(Dan Shell photo)

John Simmons 32 Foster Cres.

Whitby, Ontario, Canada L1R 1W1 905.666.0258 • FAX: 905.666.0778 E-mail: jsimmons@idirect.com

VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.timberprocessing.com Western USA, Western Canada Tim Shaddick 4056 West 10th Avenue Vancouver BC Canada V6L 1Z1 604.910.1826 • FAX: 604.264.1367 E-mail: tootall1@shaw.ca

Member Verified Audit Circulation

Kevin Cook 604.619.1777 E-mail: lordkevincook@gmail.com

International Murray Brett Aldea de las Cuevas 66, Buzon 60 03759 Benidoleig (Alicante), Spain Tel: +34 96 640 4165 • +34 96 640 4331 E-mail: murray.brett@abasol.net

Timber Processing (ISSN 0885-906X, USPS 395-850) is published 10 times annually (January/February and July/August issues are combined) by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc., 225 Hanrick St., Montgomery, AL 36104. Subscription Information—TP is free to qualified owners, operators, managers, purchasing agents, supervisors, foremen and other key personnel at sawmills, pallet plants, chip mills, treating plants, specialty plants, lumber finishing operations, corporate industrial woodlands officials and machinery manufacturers and distributors in the U.S. All non-qualified U.S. Subscriptions are $55 annually: $65 in Canada; $95 (Airmail) in all other countries (U.S. Funds). Single copies, $5 each; special issues, $20 (U.S. funds). Subscription Inquiries— TOLL-FREE: 800-669-5613; Fax 888-611-4525. Go to www.timberprocessing.com and click on the subscribe button to subscribe/renew via the web. All advertisements for Timber Processing magazine are accepted and published by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. with the understanding that the advertiser and/or advertising agency are authorized to publish the entire contents and subject matter thereof. The advertiser and/or advertising agency will defend, indemnify and hold any claims or lawsuits for libel violations or right of privacy or publicity, plagiarism, copyright or trademark infringement and any other claims or lawsuits that may arise out of publication of such advertisement. Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. neither endorse nor makes any representation or guarantee as to the quality of goods and services advertised in Timber Processing.

Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. reserves the right to reject any advertisement which it deems inappropriate.

Copyright ® 2018. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. Periodicals postage paid at Montgomery, Ala. and at additional mailing offices. Printed in U.S.A.

Postmaster: Please send address changes to Timber Processing, P.O. Box 2419, Montgomery, Alabama 36102-2419 Other Hatton-Brown publications: Timber Harvesting • Southern Loggin’ Times Wood Bioenergy • Panel World • Power Equipment Trade

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THEISSUES

Rich Donnell Editor-in-Chief

INFORMATION TO BE HAD 18

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ou may be aware that Timber Processing magazine is closely affiliated with Panel World and Wood Bioenergy magazines.

While TP obviously covers the lumber industry, PW focuses on panels and engineered wood products, and WBE reports on industrial wood pellets and biomass procurement. They have one thing in common—they’re all wood-related. So naturally some of the coverage in one magazine spills over into one of the other magazines or both.

I realize everybody’s time is precious these days—thank goodness—but there are two upcoming events that may have some interest for you.

On April 11-12, the fifth Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo will be held at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. This event will feature 30 speakers and 60 equipment and technology exhibitors in the Grand Ballroom North of the hotel.

It marks the 10th anniversary of the startup of the first large scale industrial wood pellet plant in 2008, by Fram Renewable Fuels in Georgia. There are now about 20 or so of these plants in the Southern U.S. that are manufacturing and exporting wood pellets to overseas electricity producers.

Several of the leading officials from several of the wood pellet companies will be addressing the future of the industry, forest sustainability, the biomass supply chain and other topics.

If you want to get up to date on this industry, which has been happening all around you, here’s your chance.

In the same location, on April 13-14, will be the sixth Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo. Some 40 speakers and 80 technology exhibitors will be on hand. This event, held every other year, started in 2008, so it is celebrating a 10th anniversary as well.

Like the title says, “engineered lumber” is one of the major focal points of this conference. While you’ve been running hard to produce lumber for traditional markets, you’ve most likely heard of developments going on with a product called cross laminated timber. This product, which originated in Europe, is now finding its way into some multi-story structures in the U.S. Regulatory bodies are hard at work giving definition to CLT application. Concrete groups are becoming concerned about losing market share to CLT. CLT is made from gluing and pressing layers of solid sawn lumber, with each layer composed of multiple pieces of dimension lumber side by side, and each layer oriented in the other direction from the layer above and below it. It is somewhat like glulam, except glulam layers are all oriented in the same direction.

Of course if it really gets going, it represents a new market for lumber producers such as yourself. While a couple of plants are making CLT in the Northwest, a new one is being built in Dothan, Ala. by International Beams.

The second day of the conference in Atlanta will have a session with five speakers addressing developments in CLT. It might be worth your while.

Registration for one or both of the conferences includes access to all of the speaking sessions, the exhibitor floor and multiple food functions. You can also register for just one day.

The web sites are: www.bioenergyshow.com and www.pelice-expo.com.

TP We hope to see you there.

Contact Rich Donnell, ph: 334-834-1170; fax 334-834-4525; e-mail: rich@hattonbrown.com TIMBER PROCESSING

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NEWSFEED THE PRICE IS RIGHT IN FULGHUM DEAL And the winner is—The Price Companies.

The Price Companies of Monticello, Ark. submitted the highest bid in a bankruptcy court auction for the purchase of Fulghum Fibres, an affiliate company of Rentech. The Price Companies out-bid an affiliate of Scott Davis Chip Co., based in Alabama.

The Price Companies officially closed on the deal in mid-February.

Rentech, amid filing for bankruptcy, earlier reported that it had sold its Fulghum Fibres business to an affiliate of Scott Davis Chip Co. for $28 million. But on January 10, The Price Companies and its affiliate, Firehunt, Inc., filed an objection to the Sale Motion and delivered a competing bid

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for the Fulghum assets. The Price Companies, which like Fulghum is a chip mill operator and contractor, contested Rentech’s disclosure statements for not containing enough information on the transaction, why certain affiliate properties of Rentech had filed for bankruptcy and some hadn’t, and why it would be acceptable for Renetch to sell Fulghum Fibres for $2 million less than what The Price Companies said it had offered to buy Fulghum Fibres.

At a hearing on January 17, after arguments from Price and other creditors, the Bankruptcy Court allowed an auction for the sale of Fulghum to proceed. After receiving several bids from Scott Davis and Price, it was determined that Price had submitted the “highest and best bid” for Fulghum.

On February 1, the Ful-

ghum sellers entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement with Price as buyer. Price agreed to acquire Fulghum and assume certain specified liabilities for a base purchase price of $33,750,000 (which includes the assumption or payoff by Price of approximately $20,000,000 of debt of the Fulghum sellers). Upon the closing of the sale, the Fulghum sellers were to terminate the earlier Fulghum purchase agreement with Scott Davis and pay the $840,000 break-up fee required under the terms of the agreement. The Fulghum sellers were to be reimbursed for the break-up fee by Price.

On February 2, 2018, the Bankruptcy Court entered an order authorizing the sale of Fulghum to Price.

Rentech purchased Fulghum Fibres in 2013 for $112 million, including 32 wood

chip mills, six of which were in South America.

NEWLIFE FP PLANS SAWMILL UPGRADE NewLife Forest Products appears to be in line for an air quality permit to complement its planned expansion of its sawmill operation, known as the Lumberjack Mill, in Heber, Ariz.

The company’s application for the permit states it is proposing to upgrade the equipment and production capacity to 69MMBF annually, in order to support its obligations under the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI).

The upgraded Lumberjack mill will process ponderosa pine logs collected from four national forests. The application appears to indicate that NewLife will operate three dry

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NEWSFEED kilns (two indirect and one direct) along with a steam boiler in addition to sawmill and planer mill operations.

NewLife represents the new investors group that took over daily operations of Good Earth Power AZ, including a Forest Service stewardship contract that seeks to thin or otherwise treat 300,000 acres in 10 years,

dating back to 2012, but which barely covered 10,000 acres in the first five years.

The 4FRI project encompasses several million acres in the Coconino, Kaibab, ApacheSitgreaves and Tonto national forests and their ponderosa pine stands, and comes on the heels of years of devastating wildfires.

NewLife wants to upgrade its Lumberjack sawmill in Heber, Ariz.

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The investors who stepped in to take operational control of Good Earth at the end of 2016 say they are pursuing a less vertically-integrated business model and are working more with outside contractors as opposed to owning timber harvesting, chipping and trucking capacity.

In addition, NewLife For-

est Products is planning a greenfield small log mill in Williams, Ariz.

The Forest Service originally awarded this 4FRI contract in 2012 to a Montanabased firm with little experience over a local group seeking to build an OSB plant to utilize the small diameter material. But the contract winner, Pioneer Forest Products, could never gain financing for its plans to build a cutting mill and small log facility along with biofuel plant.

In 2013 the contract was transferred to Good Earth Power, a company with even less experience. It brought in the Campbell Group for procurement management, but that relationship soured into a lawsuit. Campbell Group may be back in the picture as a participant in a new federal program that will look at more efficient harvesting and transport.

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NEWSFEED KATERRA RAISES $865 MILLION

IMMUNITY IS NO DEFENSE

Katerra, a technology company that says it is redefining the construction industry, announced an $865 million Series D funding round led by the SoftBank Vision Fund.

The financing will be used to fund Katerra’s continued manufacturing expansion and for further investment in its R&D efforts.

“The construction industry is ripe for digital disruption,” says Michael Marks, chairman and co-founder of Katerra. “Katerra leverages its own software platform to remove time and costs from building development and construction.”

In September Katerra announced it is building a crosslaminated timber mill in Spokane, Wash. Founded in

An Oregon district judge has refused to dismiss a 2016 lawsuit filed by counties with state forests within their borders that claimed state officials have refused to maximize timber revenues from lands that counties donated to the state years ago. Attorneys for the state had claimed “sovereign immunity” in the matter—a doctrine that county governments can’t sue the state government—and while the judge initially allowed it as a possible defense, his most recent ruling says that in this case, counties can sue the state to enforce their contract rights.

At issue are timber sale revenues from state lands that were initially donated to the state decades ago, along with accompanying legislation that the lands should be managed for the “greatest permanent value” and revOregon counties say the state shortchanged them on enues shared with the counties. Acstate forest revenues. cording to the suit, state forestry officials began reducing timber revenues in favor of recreational and environmental protection priorities 20 years ago via an internal policy change. As a result, the counties believe they have been shortchanged and are asking the state for more than $1 billion in revenues.

The judge’s ruling clears the way for the trial to begin, says counties’ attorney John DiLorenzo, adding that maybe the Oregon Dept. of Forestry will take the case seriously, claiming that until now the state has treated the suit with derision, believing it would be easily dismissed.

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NEWSFEED 2015, Katerra reports it has: l accumulated more than $1.3 billion in bookings for new construction, spanning the multi-family, student and senior housing, and hospitality sectors l amassed a global team of more than 1,300 people, attracting senior leadership and talent from groundbreaking technology brands such as Apple, Google, HP, Nokia, Sandisk and Flextronics l opened a fully operational manufacturing facility in Phoenix, Ariz. with a roadmap in place for multiple additional domestic factories, including breaking ground on the mass timber factory in Spokane.

“The $12 trillion construction industry is extremely fragmented with tens of thousands of companies using minimal levels of technology.

While labor-productivity

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growth has skyrocketed in the overall global economy, the construction industry has averaged only 1% annual productivity growth over the past two decades,” says Jeffrey Housenbold, managing partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers. “Katerra is leveraging the latest technologies to radically transform the way people build. Drawing on his experience leading Flextronics, Michael’s unique vision and talented team are taking the great lessons of electronic manufacturing and applying them to an industry that is in dire need of change.”

New investors in the round include: Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), a private investment fund managed by Soros Fund Management LLC, Tavistock Group, Navitas Capital, DivcoWest, and others.

In connection with the in-

vestment in Katerra, Housenbold of SoftBank Investment will join Katerra’s board of directors.

Katerra’s service model and technology platform are focused on delivering better, faster and cheaper building projects. The company’s says its approach and tools include: l a vertically integrated team to provide end-to-end building services within a single partner, including architecture, interior design, engineering, material supply, manufacturing and construction. Katerra’s proprietary technology drives this integration by connecting Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools and computational design directly to its global supply chain infrastructure for ease of material ordering, manufacturing, tracking and delivery.

l integration between factories and construction jobsites, offering greater precision, higher productivity and quality control. With materials and products arriving at construction sites just-in-time and ready to install, a Katerra job site more closely mirrors a process of precision-sequenced product assembly than traditional construction. l a unique design approach combining product standardization with customization, providing the efficiency of manufacturing without sacrificing design freedom. l global supply chain of curated, high-quality products, eliminating middlemen and passing on the savings directly to clients.

Founded in Menlo Park, Calif., Katerra was started by Michael Marks, Jim Davidson and Fritz Wolff. Existing investors include Foxconn,

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NEWSFEED Greenoaks Capital, DFJ Growth, Khosla Ventures, and Louis M. Bacon, the founder of Moore Capital Management, LP.

NEW CROATIA MILL NAMES SUPPLIER Cedar Ltd., Vrobovsko, Croatia, has placed an order to the sawmill supplier Möhringer, Wiesentheid, Germany, to build a beech sawmill in Vrobovsko. The new sawmill is designed for a log intake capacity of 200.000 m3 per year, making it Europe’s largest sawmill for unedged high-quality beech lumber.

As a general contractor, Möhringer will also supply the associated log yard with long log handling, scanning, length trimming and sorting

of the log sections. The sawmill consists of a combination of several log band saws, horizontal band saws and band resaws from the CANALI product line. The stacking of the unedged goods will be handled by the stacking robots FLEXISTACK from Möhringer.

The entire sawmill system will be equipped with modern full-scale scanners for automatic quality measuring and assessment. Möhringer has developed automation solutions especially for the hardwood industry in the last 10 years.

“We are proud that we have been selected from the international bidding circle as the supplier,” says managing director and owner Dr. Stefan Möhringer. “We have worked intensively on numerous innovations in recent years.”

ISELI ACQUIRES VOLLMER BAND SAW MACHINERY Vollmer, the specialist for grinding and eroding machines, is selling its “wood-cutting band saws” product line to the Swiss sharpening machine manufacturer ISELI effective January 1, 2019.

Guarantees and warranty obligations, as well as maintenance contracts for machines that Vollmer concluded with customers up to the acquisition date shall remain with Vollmer.

The product area in the agreement includes Vollmer’s band saw sharpening, grinding, straightening, tensioning and welding machines.

Vollmer reports that the divestiture of this product segment is part of its long-term corporate strategy. Vollmer will focus more on its growing business areas of CNC-controlled grinding and eroding machines, and will invest more heavily in the product areas circular saws and rotary tools.

Iseli produces processing and sharpening machines for band saws and circular saws. Managing Director Philipp Iseli comments, “By taking this step we are strengthening our technical expertise for manufacturers of tools, service providers as well as sawmills who put a very high value in having the perfect cut.”

ATLANTA CONFERENCE TO DISCUSS CLT, MASS TIMBER mass plywood panel (MPP) plant in Lyons, Ore. Freres touts MPP as an alternative product to CLT. MPP uses veneer/plywood in its makeup.

Rob Freres, executive vice president, will present “From Concept to Plant Opening, A Rob Freres Tyler Freres Steve Lieberman Karl Aicher Bob Glowinski Learning Experience: Mass Cross laminated timber and mass timber construction will Plywood Panel Manufacturing in Oregon.” Tyler Freres, vice be the subject of one of the sessions at the Panel & Engineered president of sales, will speak on “The Technologies Behind Lumber International Conference & Expo to be held April 13- Mass Plywood Panel Manufacturing.”

14 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, Ga. The Saturday morning keynote session will also include The event, which is held every other year, is produced Bob Glowinski, president and CEO of American Wood Counby Panel World magazine, an affiliate of Timber Processcil. He’ll address mass timber construction as part of his talk, ing magazine.

“Rising to New Opportunities: Regulations for Increased On the second morning of the conference, Saturday, April Wood Construction.”

14, two representatives of IB X-LAM USA and two from FrKicking off the Saturday morning session will be Roger eres Lumber will give presentations on their respective proTutterow, Professor of Economics at Kennesaw State Unijects and products. versity, who is highly regarded for his economics and housIB X-LAM USA is building a cross laminated timber ing forecast models. plant in Dothan, Ala. Steve Lieberman, Senior Product EngiCost for attendance to the second day of the conference, inneer, will speak on “Cross Laminated Timber Manufacturing cluding a food function, is $299. It includes access to all of the in the Southeast U.S.,” and Karl Aicher, Operations Managspeaking sessions, to the exhibit floor in the Grand Ballroom er, IB X-Lam USA, will talk about “Cross Laminated TimNorth and to a special brunch that will celebrate the 10th anber Facility Startup.” niversary of the event.

The IB X-LAM plant will be the first CLT plant in the The cost to attend the Saturday sessions, walk the exhibit world that uses southern pine lumber. foor but not participate in the brunch is $150.

Oregon-based Freres Lumber, which operates sawmill and Visit www.pelice-expo.com, or e-mail Ashley Whitus, ashveneer and plywood plants, has already built and started up a ley@hattonbrown.com, to register or for more information.

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HIGHER GRADE

OUTPUT By Dan Shell

Bennett Lumber Products is riding grade and recovery increases following recent green end optimization and kiln improvements.

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PRINCETON, Id. ecent improvements to the dry end and a green end grade scanning system installed in 2016 have longtime family-owned lumber producer Bennett Lumber Products (BLP) in a stronger competitive position at its facility here, one of two sawmills BLP operates that produce a combined 150MMBF annually. The BLP Princeton mill and Clarkston, Wash. mill roughly 60 miles away cut a similar log and product line, but the Princeton mill cuts cedar, white pine and spruce and also produces a bit more non-dimension lumber.

In fall 2016, BLP updated scanning

and optimization at an Optimil board edger and gang with new scanning and optimization packages from USNR. The board edger scanning included USNR’s Bioluma grade scanning heads that have added a new dimension to the mill’s sawing solutions. And just last year, BLP’s seven Wellons kilns were all updated with new Wellons control systems.

BLP Vice President Brett Bennett, son of President Frank Bennett, notes the improvements have made a big difference.

“We’re getting more grade and better overrun,” he says of the green-end scanning at the edger, adding that the upgrades are putting more pressure on the planer mill, which is next in line for up-

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Bennett Lumber Products President Frank Bennett, left, and Vice President Brett Bennett, right, accept February 2017 U.S. Senate Small Business of the Month award from Mike Hanna, center, regional director for Idaho’s U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, a member of the Senate Small Business Committee.

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Princeton mill saws fir, pine, cedar and spruce and can handle a wide variety of log sizes from 4-50 in.

grades though a red-hot lumber market is taking priority right now.

Adding the green end grade scan capability “really opened our eyes,” says Paul Montgomery, BLP plant superintendent.

“Recovery and production have both improved really more than we anticipated.”

Though it can handle a wide variety of log sizes, BLP has developed a niche sawing larger logs that higher-production mills can’t handle. It’s also done well

sawing for the pine shop and lam stock markets as well.

The 20 ft. mill cuts a variety of species, including Douglas fir and white fir; ponderosa, lodgepole and Idaho white pine; inland red cedar and Engelmann spruce. Products include dimension and shop lumber, lam stock and pattern lumber.

While he’d like to see the Forest Service sell more timber like many

sawmillers, Bennett says the current BLP setup with the two mills is working well.

“We’ve developed a pretty good fit with having the two mills operating in terms of log supply and products.”

OPERATIONS The mill procures logs from a variety of sources, including federal, state and non-industrial landowners as well as its

Background

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he company’s roots date to founder Guy Bennett (Frank’s father), who moved to Clarkston, Wash. in 1939 and was a utility worker with Potlatch Corp. while managing the family’s small dairy and orchard operation. No one could have known his need for fruit boxes would eventually lead to a high-production premium quality lumber company that’s utilized the latest technology since the 1970s and now operates mills in Clarkston and also Princeton, Id. Though the box plant was affected by the move to cardboard, it operated into the 1960s. As box demand waned in the 1950s with the rise of cardboard in the fruit industry, Bennett built a finishing operation and large log mill—Guy Bennett Lumber—at the box plant site to dry and plane green Bennett mills in Princeton, Id. and Clarkston, Wash. have both lumber. Guy and son Frank’s Bennett Lumber Products part- seen the cover of TP in ’78 and ’94 thanks to new technology, innovative design. nership bought lumber operations at Troy and Moscow, Id. and bought the former Boone’s Mill at Princeton, Id. in 1961. The mill received an extensive upgrade and renovation ties. Bennett is a big promoter of the IFPC’s Project Learnin the early 1970s. Later, operations were purchased at Elk ing Tree, an environmental education program designed for City and Grangeville that were eventually sold. teachers working with students in pre-kindergarten through Meanwhile, Guy Bennett Lumber had moved across the high school that provides workshops for teachers, foresters, Snake River to a new location, starting with finishing operapark and nature center staff, and youth group leaders. tions in 1980, then building a state-of-the art sawmill that Locally, Bennett Lumber Products personnel work with started up in 1993. Though both mills were consolidated youth summer reading programs, scholarship awards, school under the Bennett Lumber Products entity in 2003, the forestry tours and 4-H projects. The company also supports Clarkston mill still operates as Guy Bennett Lumber Co. personnel who are trained EMTs and first responders who The company is a member and strong supporter of the assist local departments in medical and fire calls. In FebruIdaho Forest Products Commission, which promotes positive ary 2017, Bennett Lumber Products was named the U.S. public awareness of the forest products industry with PR Senate Small Business of the Month by the Senate Commitcampaigns, workshops, teacher materials and other activitee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

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Gillingham-Best stacker features Variable Pan Geometry.

Board edger upgrade includes USNR bioluma grade scanning capability.

own 70,000 acres of timberland that are managed and certified under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.

As a longtime regional log destination, BLP maintains good relationships with local landowners, says Tom Biltonen, BLP chief forester. BLP requires its logging contractors maintain Washington and Idaho logging association profession-

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al logging accreditation, and urges NIPL landowners to do the same while following best management practices.

Providing NIPLs with resources and expertise is a big part of BLP’s log procurement and sustainability program, helping with everything from stream rehab to cattle guards and bridges, Biltonen says. In the past few years, BLP has acquired more than 2,000 acres of farmland that will be reclaimed and converted into timberland.

Sawing a variety of products, the mill

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processes a wide range of log sizes, from 4 in. small end to 50 in. Premium log is 33 ft., though the log yard also accepts some 16 ft. logs. Logs are bought on weight over a set of Powell scales, but roughly 40% of loads are stick-scaled, especially higher-value loads such as cedar.

A LeTourneau log handler unloads trucks, while Caterpillar 980 wheel loaders move and deck logs and a Link-Belt excavator does some sorting. Logs are sorted by species, and with long and short log decks for each. A critical aspect of log yard operation is handling and aging pine decks through the hot summer months. Frank Bennett is known as a master for decking and storing pine during summer with minimal blue stain issues. The mill operates a Bennett-designed log sprinkling system with PLC controls that runs in part based on temperature and humidity levels.

A Nicholson 35 in. tandem ring debarker handles most debarking duties, and an adjacent Nicholson 50 in. debarker handles oversize logs while operators make bucking decisions at a deck saw.

The mill’s two primary breakdown lines handle different log sizes: While actual diameter break points may vary

Filing staff handles saws for three bandmills, an edger, gang and two trimmers.

Blue stain is kept at bay with BLP’s custom, PLC-controlled log spray system.

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New Wellons kiln controls and humidity equalizer system have boosted drying production and quality in key shop and lam stock markets.

depending on log batch, in general the left side headrig handles the smallest logs—and the largest logs—and feeds to a resaw. The right side headrig handles a more uniform, medium-size log and feeds to a gang.

The left side headrig is a Salem 6 ft. bandmill with in-house designed and built carriage, including Lewis Controls scanning and optimization. Seeking to produce the smallest cant possible (down to 4 in.) the headrig feeds sideboards to the grade-scanning Optimil board edger and multiple boards and cants to a McDonough resaw.

The right side headrig is a Salem 7 ft. bandmill and carriage, also with Lewis Controls scanning-optimization package.

Sideboards flow to the board edger, and

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4-6-8 in. cants are fed to an Optimil single arbor, climb cut gang fitted with USNR scanning-optimization package.

Lumber from the gang and edgers feed to the same outflow chain and on to an unscramble section where the operator can send boards back to the resaw or edger, into the chipper or on to the trimmer-sorter line.

Trimmer is a Salem unit that feeds to a Moore-Oregon 29 bin sorter. At the end of the line is a Gillingham-Best stacker with Variable Pan Geometry stick placing system that minimizes jams and has

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cycle speeds up to 15 courses per minute.

All BLP production is kiln dried, and the kilns perform well across a wide variety of schedules that include dimension, shop and lam stock that has to be 15% or lower MC. The dry end’s seven Wellons kilns are all 73 ft., double-track units except for the #3 single-track kiln. Heat is provided by a Zurn Industries 60,000 lb. boiler. The kilns were all upgraded with new Wellons TCS control systems in 2016.

The project included Wellons’ True

Capacitance Moisture Meter System that uses two plates each 4 ft. long placed approximately15 courses apart and can more closely pinpoint the charge’s transition through fiber saturation, a critical part of any drying schedule. In addition, a new humidity equalizer kiln spray system from Wellons also provides more control and flexibility.

“We have better drying accuracy with less wets and overdry, and a lot faster drying overall,” Montgomery says, adding that the spray system has made drying more even and consistent across the charge.

Lumber entering the planer mill first travels across a set of Wagner transverse moisture meters. The Stetson-Ross planer operates with a GLC controls system with temposonic cylinders that adjust from 2x4 to 2x10 at the touch of a button. The mill has also added a Wolftek Dynamic Tensioning System to the planer, boosting production and quality while reducing machine wear.

The planer feeds to a grading line where four manual graders make grade terminations that are scanned by a Lucidyne grade mark reader. Lumber then flows to a Stetson-Russ trimmer and LSI sorter and stacker. Each piece is logged into inventory with a Lisa bar code and inventory control system. A Signode wrapping machine and autobander complete the process.

In the filing room, a staff of five handles saws from the three bandmills, plus the gang and edger saws. Equipment includes Simonds auto-levellers, a Wright grinder-tipper, Vollmer grinder and Armstrong grinders. Saws are Simonds bands and Peerless circles, sourced through Missoula Saw. Montgomery notes that it’s long been a Bennett philosophy to be as self-sufficient as possible, and the mill maintains an extensive machine shop and parts warehouse.

“We build a lot of stuff in-house, Montgomery says, noting the clarifier tank for the boiler that was being constructed when Timber Processing visited last year. He emphasizes the machine shop’s professional and talented staff that built one of the sawmill carriages.

“Everything they build, it fits like a glove,” he says.

It’s not a stretch to say the warehouse has at least one of everything: “I think we’ve got spare parts for every machine in the mill,” Montgomery adds.

The mill also operates a truck shop that keeps a fleet of eight rigs on the road, including flatbeds, chip trucks and dump trucks.

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Stoltze Land & Lumber Built The Way West

By May Donnell

E

HALF MOON, Montana ntrepreneur Frederick Hawse Stoltze was so far ahead of his time they didn’t even have a name for what he did.

Today, they call it recycling.

The company he started in 1912 as F.H. Stoltze Land Company has been challenging the status quo ever since.

In the early 1880s, Fred Stoltze, of Madison, Wis., took a trip out west on

James J. Hill’s fledgling Great Northern Railway (GNR). As he traveled across the prairies of North Dakota and eastern Montana, he recognized a fortune in the form of buffalo bones lying on the ground. These were full of the calcium and potassium needed for making fertilizer and multiple other products. Stoltze recruited local Indians to gather the bones and he paid for them by the pound.

By 1885, he was known as the man to see about buffalo bones. That year and the next, he shipped some 400 carloads of

F. H. Stoltze set the pace.

bones back east on the GNR, becoming the railroad’s largest shipper and caught the attention of Hill, who likely knew a go-getter when he saw one. The two became friends and business associates.

Stoltze purchased State Lumber in 1908 and moved it to Half Moon in 1918.

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Stoltze built towns, such as Lansford, North Dakota, along the Great Northern Railway.

Canadian born Hill had left his small family farm in eastern Ontario in 1856 with dreams of becoming a ship’s captain.

He tried finding work at various ports along the Atlantic with no luck so decided to try the Pacific. He started west toward Seattle in hopes of finding a ship to the Orient, where he could learn his trade.

Along the way, however, he stopped to visit a friend in Winnipeg and the delay caused him to miss the season’s last ox-cart caravan out of St. Paul to Seattle. He needed work to survive the winter and so took a job as a clerk in the office of a Mississippi River steamship company. St. Paul remained his base forevermore. A budding entrepreneur, Hill and some partners started Red River Transportation and later Hill started and prospered with a coal business.

In the early 1870s, during the depression, a number of railroads went bankrupt, including the local St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. Hill and several partners purchased it and ultimately expanded it as the transcontinental Great Northern Railway, reaching from Minnesota to the Northwest.

TOWN BUILDER Eventually, Stoltze realized the Indians were bringing in more human bones than buffalo bones and he decided to quit the trade. From his association with James Hill, he knew the railroad needed traffic between the Twin Cities and the Rockies.

There was a lot of land along the main

line but no towns of any size, so Stoltze made a deal with Hill. Wherever Hill wanted to plant a town, Stoltze would purchase the land and plan out the townsite. Stoltze agreed to construct lumberyards, general stores and often furniture stores. This plan fit quite well with Stoltze’s existing hardware store businesses. On the rest of the land Stoltze platted lots to sell or rent to farmers.

In northern North Dakota alone between 1901-1905 Stoltze built 10 new towns: Brocket, Lansford, West Hope, Hampden, Glenburne, Mohall, Deering, Bottineau, Cando and Souris. Clearly, Fred Stoltze was no idler.

As the need for lumber was great for both the expanding railroad and settlers alike, Stoltze focused his attention on the supply side of the business. In 1908, he bought the majority of the State Lumber sawmill on the Whitefish River in the Flathead Valley of Montana. This mill dated back to 1891. In 1909 he and some partners formed Enterprise Lumber at Kila, and purchased or leased substantial amounts of timber. Wagons in the summer and sleighs in the winter transported logs to the Enterprise mill. In 1910 he started Empire Lumber, which built a mill near the junction of Wild Bill Creek and Brown’s Meadow. Logs were supplied to this mill via a log flume that came down Truman Creek and Emmons Creek and by a narrow gauge railroad.

That same year, Stoltze opened 20 lumberyards in the eastern part of the state.

Talk about busy.

About this time railroad tycoon Hill retired, commenting, “Most men who have really lived have had, in some shape, their great adventure. This railway is mine.” Later that same year of 1912 his long-time associate, Fred Stoltze, now 52, started and incorported F.H. Stoltze Land Co. in Montana. Stoltze was flush with timber leases and lumberyards and still owned a few towns. He had also gone into Canada and formed 32 lumberyards in partnership with the Konantz family to become Reliance Lumber Company, stretching from Ontario to Alberta.

The three Montana sawmills operated in place until 1918, when State Lumber was moved three miles north to Half Moon— the site of the company’s present location three miles west of Columbia Falls. During the winter of 1918 and 1919, horses moved many of the buildings and machinery from the old State Lumber mill site to the Half Moon site.

The Enterprise and Empire mills were closed by the late 1920s. Work began on a new mill at Half Moon, a project that would take some four years to complete and cost $225,000 to build. Much of the equipment was obtained from other mills including a mill in Frazee, Minn. along TIMBER PROCESSING

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Two other company mills were closed and Stoltze concentrated on the Half Moon operation.

The sawmill burned down in 1956.

The company has always practiced forest stewardship.

with 25 employees and their families. In May of 1923 production began at a pace of 100MBF per eight-hour shift.

A planer facility was also built and started up in 1925 fueled by wood waste utilizing a waste burner in 1926, likely the first such facility in Montana. There were approximately 100 workers employed, a new bunkhouse, cookhouse, company store and numerous homes were also built. At one time there were 32 company owned homes at the Half Moon site.

In the fall of 1923, State Lumber acquired a used 32-ton, 1914 model Shay locomotive manufactured by Lima Locomotive Works, along with eight log cars and enough steel to construct seven miles of railroad. The Shay was a standard gauge engine and ran on a 60pound-per-foot track. With the purchase of the Shay, grade and tracks were immediately laid to gain access to the 10,000 acres of timberland Stoltze owned in the Haskill and Trumbull Creek drainages. Five new camps were built. With the establishment of the railroad, logging could continue during the 30

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summer months. In the early years steam donkeys were used to pull the logs to the landing, which were located along the tracks. Then a Lidgerwood loader was used to load the logs on the railcars. This loader would be carried to the loading spot on an empty railcar and then blocked up so the empty cars could pass beneath the loader. The logs were loaded onto the cars and then the loaded cars moved ahead.

JOHN R. ARRIVES Meanwhile, Fred Stoltze’s health had begun to fail, though not before he reached out to his only son, John R. Stoltze, who at the time was in the oil business in Shreveport, La., pursuing his college training as a professional geologist.

John R. was the only child of Fred Stoltze and his first wife Elizabeth, who died on July 18, 1904 when John R. was eight years old. (Stoltze later remarried to Clara Ward, who passed away on February 12, 1927.) John R. had graduated from Princeton University in 1917

John R. Stoltze answered the call.

and was a veteran of World War I. As a second lieutenant of field artillery in the U.S. Army, he had seen combat on the front in France. After eight years in the oil and refining business in Louisiana, John R., also known as Jack, agreed to help his father and he spent several years learning the business from him.

Despite the elder Stoltze’s illness, his legacy of innovation kept rolling along through his son John R. F. H. Stoltze passed away on May 21, 1928, just a week after celebrating his 69th birthday. Some four years later,

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Dan O’Brien took over at his father-in-law’s urging in the mid ’60s.

Rem Kohrt, right, followed Royce Satterlee, left, as general manager. They served in those roles a combined 35 years.

during the teeth of the Great Depression, the Stoltze operations were reorganized as the F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. During the 1930s electricity was supplied to the mill town at Half Moon via a steam-powered generator with lights out at 10:00 p.m. The company store provided the needs of the workers as well as the needs of the surrounding community. During these hard times the lenient credit policy of the company store was a great help to many families.

The store, cookhouse and bunkhouse were operated until the early 1940s. By this time both the roads and automo-

biles had improved to the point where the employees did not need to live at the mill site and chose to live with their families. Mountain States Power was brought to Half Moon in 1947.

Under John R.’s guidance, Stoltze Land and Lumber diversified into the production of dairy products with the formation of Maple Island, Inc. The venture started while settling the F.H. Stoltze estate when John R. traded the Stoltze home on Pillsbury Avenue in Minneapolis for a dairy operation in Stillwater, Minn. In 1935, Maple Island, with the help of a professor from the

University of Minnnesota, pioneered the freeze dried milk process. Reliance Lumber Co., in partnership with the Konantz family, continued operations as Canadian lumber retailers, headquartered in Saskatchewan.

But along with the giant steps, there were some setbacks, not so uncommon to sawmills. On August 30, 1945 the planing mill and loading facilities at the mill site were destroyed by fire. Because of the war effort, replacement equipment was difficult to get but a new building and equipment was back in production by early 1947.

The current sawmill produces 75MMBF annually.

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Chuck Roady has been GM since 2008.

The Half Moon operation is only a few miles west of Columbia Falls.

The machine shop was destroyed by fire on October 3, 1948. This shop was built so that the Shay could be run inside.

Another shop was built soon after.

A fire on March 22, 1956 destroyed the entire sawmill. Part of the log slip and green chain were all that was saved.

The heat was so great that the stack for the boilers partially collapsed. A crew from Spokane, Wash. came and jacked the stack back straight.

Except for a tragic accident, John R. might have been the last family member to run the business day to day.

“FOR YOUR CHILDREN” John R. had long since chosen Herb Bigelow as his successor but Bigelow died in an automobile accident in Minnesota before he could assume the duty.

So John R. reached out to his son-in-

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Lumber out the door is not taken for granted due to ongoing timber access challenges.

law, Dan O’Brien, who was married to his daughter, Sallie, and was a successful attorney in the Twin Cities.

“John R. tried to convince me that I should step into his shoes and run the family businesses and I did not want to do it,” O’Brien recalled in a personal recollection of company history. “I had a good law practice going. I was happy doing what I wanted to do.” John R. responded, “You know, it’s not for you, it’s for your children.”

During the waning years of WWII, O’Brien had spent three years in the U.S Navy as a deck officer on a destroyer. He claimed to have never been shot at. Instead, he became the target of his determined father-in-law. It took some time to convince O’Brien, but John R. eventually got his way.

“I finally, in 1964, told John R. I would take over the lumber companies, which was F.H. Stoltze and Reliance in Canada,” recalled O’Brien. John R. retired the same year but remained chairman of the board until his death in 1991.

O’Brien ran the company for nearly the next four decades. He says figuring out John R.’s estate was one of his greatest challenges.

“Some farmer up in the Dakota’s was still paying rent on his place in one of the towns F.H. started 90 years ago,” O’Brien said. “I gave him a good deal on the property and got it off the books.”

O’Brien sold the remaining Stolze interest in Reliance Lumber to the Konantz family in the early 1980s after nearly 80 years of partnership.

O’Brien hired Royce Satterlee to come in and run the company as general manager in 1967. This followed a union strike at the Columbia Falls mill because the union 34

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wanted a union-owned pension plan but O’Brien preferred that the company remain the trustee of the pension plan.

O’Brien got the mill running again with a handful of employees, and the union strike petered out after several months. A couple of the strike employees were rehired, “but most of them stayed out and I guess just sort of dissolved into the woodwork,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien recalled that the general manager at the time, Harry Preston, refused to run the mill behind a picket line and was at odds with O’Brien over some other issues, so Preston retired after serving as GM from 1950-1964. O’Brien promoted Preston’s assistant, John Host, to the GM position, and then replaced him as GM with Satterlee, who was a logging boss in western Oregon for Boise Cascade.

Satterlee stayed on for 25 years, until 1992. He oversaw the acquisition of a distressed mill in Dillon in 1972, which Stoltze ran until shutting it down in 1990. And he was in charge in the early ’80s when Stoltze rebuilt its Stoltze-Conner sawmill in Darby, of which Rem Kohrt became the plant manager.

Kohrt succeeded Satterlee as GM of Stoltze in 1992 and oversaw the sale of the Stoltze-Conner sawmill to Darby Lumber in 1993. In 1996, Kohrt acquired Utah Aspen Mills in Siguard, Utah and operated the aspen board mill until 2001 when federal and private timber supplies dried up.

Kohrt served as GM until 1999, followed by Mike Lyngholm until 2002, Ronald Buentemeier until 2008, and then Chuck Roady, who remains in the position 10 years later.

O’Brien died in 2012. His widow, Sallie Stoltze O’Brien, and her sister, Car-

olyn Stoltze Benepe, served on the board of the company until their deaths, which passed the company down to the next generation.

STILL GOING STRONG Through more than a century, the oldest family-owned lumber company in Montana, and one of the oldest in the West, has prided itself on sticking with the principles set forth by their pioneering founder, Fred Stoltze, who believed in expansion, innovation, diversity and an ethic of active land management stewardship. The company continues to enlarge its nearly 40,000 acre tree farm.

Another tradition passed down through the years is that of being a good neighbor.

The company’s four-year-old, stateof-the-art cogeneration power plant, which operates on sawmill residuals, generates 20-25 megawatts per year and supplies power to more than 2,000 homes in Flathead County through Flathead Electric Cooperative and Bonneville Power Administration.

The public is welcome to enjoy hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, four wheeling and snowmobiling on much of the Stoltze property.

Meanwhile the sawmill at Columbia Falls continues to produce 75MMBF annually. Roady and his team have persevered despite having to continue the uncomfortable practice of battling timber availability issues on federal lands, where they procure a quarter of their logs, while pulling the remainder from Stoltze land, other private landowners, the State of Montana and tribal forests.

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DIAZ FP

SECONDLOOK One of the featured sawmill stories in the January-February issue was Diaz Forest Products of Kinglsey, Pa. The sawmill has weathered many a storm, literally, and finds itself running better than ever as part of a group of Diaz operations including trucking and secondary manufacturing. Here’s another look. (Jay Donnell photos)

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PELLET PRODUCERS HAVE MOMENTUM Cold weather markets have taken away some of the pain.

T

his brief article shows how weather (heating degree days) and the price of heating oil influence demand for wood pellets for heating. The article also looks at actual pellet prices in several selected states.

FutureMetrics has been gathering detailed data on retail prices for heating pellets in selected northern New England states since July 2017. Each month FutureMetrics contacts between 130 and 160 retail outlets across the region to get prices for individual 40 lb. bags and oneton pallets of 40 lb. bags for each brand of pellets that the retail outlet sells. Some of that data is used in this article. Prior to July 2017, FutureMetrics gathered data from a limited number of sources on bag and ton pricing across New England.

Most of the past 10 years have been warmer than the 30-year average. This has presented challenges to the northern New England pellet producers. However, the beginning of the 2017-2018 heating season is very different. The first 42

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three months of the 2017-18 heating season were by far the coldest in the past 10 years. This is in strong contrast to the beginning of the last two heating seasons in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Colder than normal temperatures (i.e., higher heating degree days) results in increased sales of all heating fuels. As is discussed later in this article, demand for pellets is also influenced by the cost of heating oil in those states.

Per ton pellet prices have been relatively stable for the past six months. Massachusetts pellet buyers, on average, experienced about an $11/ton increase in the cost of pellets over the past six months.

This equates to about a $0.22 per 40 lb. bag increase.

In Maine. pellet prices have been much more stable over the past 22 years than heating oil prices. Heating oil has been as high as the equivalent of $513 per ton of pellets in 2008 and recently as low as under $200 per ton in 2015-16. The 2015-

16 heating season had the warmest start to a winter in recent years. The combination of low heating oil prices and warm temperatures were very challenging to the regional wood pellet producers The recent rise in heating oil prices, combined with the cold start to the 2017-18 heating season, increases the demand for pellets and for new pellet heating appliances.

Pellet prices vary by location and brand. The farther the retail outlet is from a pellet mill, all other inputs held constant, the higher the retail price. Transport costs from the pellet mill to the retail outlet increase the cost at the retail outlet.

80% of the pellet per ton prices fall between $230 and $304 with the average being about $273 per ton. The data includes all types of retail shops including farm supply stores, hardware stores, stove shops, and big box stores.

There are quantitative differences between hardwood and softwood pellets primarily in terms of ash content. Softwood pellets have less ash. Douglas fir pellets

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is second in the nation at about 46%. In those states, when heating oil is significantly lower cost than pellets for the same energy, as it was in 2015-16, pellet stove owners may stop using pellets altogether. Lower heating oil prices combined with a warm start to the winter heating season two years ago caused rapid drops in pellet demand and a significant decline in the sales of pellet stoves and boilers.

If the remainder of the 2017-18 winter is as cold as normal and if heating oil

prices remain as high as they were at the end of January 2018, pellet stove and boiler sales should increase significantly in 2018. This will expand the base of pellet appliances and, given seasonal winters combined with crude oil prices remaining in the mid to upper $60’s per barrel, the prospects for growth in the NE U.S. heating pellet markets are much improved. TP This is an edited version of a report by William Strauss, president of FutureMetrics.

For more detail and chart data, visit futuremetrics.com.

have a significantly lower percentage of ash than most other pellets and thus often sell at “ultra-premium” prices. Softwood pellets also typically deliver a slightly higher BTU per pound. Prices for hardwood, blends, and softwood pellets vary considerably.

If pellet stove owners buy pellets by the bag, they pay a slightly higher price than if they buy by the ton. The median price is constant at about $6 per bag ($300 per ton: one ton contains 50 fortypound bags).

Wood pellet demand depends first on the number of pellet appliances (stoves, boilers, and hot air furnaces) that are installed in homes and businesses. Upon that base, pellet demand depends on how cold the winter is and on the prices of alternate heating fuels.

In the three states surveyed, heating oil commands a significant market share.

Maine has the highest proportion of heating oil use in the U.S. with about 64% of homes using heating oil. New Hampshire TIMBER PROCESSING

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WOODYARD EDITOR’S NOTE: The following companies submitted the editorial profiles and photos. All statements and claims are attributable to the companies.

FULGHUM INDUSTRIES Fulghum Industries, Inc. has recently completed installation of four 170 ft., 45ton log handling cranes. Two of the log cranes are in use in North Carolina and the other two are in use in South Carolina.

Fulghum Industries has been serving the forest products industry since 1956, engineering and fabricating the equipment needed to handle, debark, chip and process all types of hardwood and softwood. The two log handling cranes in the photo have been purchased by a leader in the chip producer industry and was selected for their size, durability and reliability. With their combined storage capacity, the two cranes will be able to unload trucks, store logs and feed the mills more than 1 million tons of logs each per year. Add that storage capacity to the inherent ruggedness of Fulghum Industries’ equipment, and each mill will have a pair of log handling cranes that will operate efficiently and consistently, without the hassle of unscheduled maintenance and unnecessary repairs.

The pulp & paper, lumber and panel board industries are booming parts of the global economy and Fulghum Industries is available to supply the material handling equipment and expertise needed to excel in such competitive markets. www.fulghum.com

LOGPRO LogPro is an industry leader in log handling technology and sets the standard for quality, durability, low maintenance and dependable service.

The LogPro radial log crane is a continuous duty (Class F) 24/7 designed for off-loading treelength and shortwood from trucks. In just one or two picks, the LogPro crane can offload trucks for wood storage, log processing decks or directly into a debarking infeed system. The optional trolley allows maximum use of the wood storage area.

Unlike other cranes of similar construction, the structure at the pivot of the LogPro crane is filled with concrete of sufficient weight to counterbalance the crane lifting forces. As a result, the pivot bearing is always under compression. The counter balance design gives the LogPro rotary log crane an added safety feature that in case of a pivot bearing failure, the crane will not overturn.

The overall class F structural design of the crane utilizes heavy-wall pipe and tubing for a strong yet simple structure. Structural truss assemblies are shop welded with nondestructive testing—main connections are of a pinned design. Although the LogPro crane has few fasteners, they are galvanized to reduce corrosion.

The LogPro radial log crane is designed for continuous duty and surpasses the most stringent requirements of CMAA 70 specifications. With models ranging from a 25 ton, 125 ft. unit to a 45 ton, 175 ft. unit, the LogPro log crane sets the industry standard. www.timberna.com 44

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WOODYARD PRECISION HUSKY If you want to rule the log yard like a boss, you need a “Brute,” the toughest knuckleboom loader yet from industry-leading Precision Husky.

Three models of super stable, yet seriously agile loaders are engineered to outweigh, outwork, outsmart and out-maneuver the rest of the field. Honestly, it’s not even close. Attention, all you log handlers out there. Are you ready to make your toughest loads behave and your investment pay off? Team up with a Brute that suits you and walk tall in the yard. Your yard. l Brute XL-345: The baddest Brute weighs in at 31,000 lbs. and has a lift capacity of 17 tons at 10 ft. and nearly six tons at full extension of 31 ft. Swing speed has been increased by 25% along with dozens of overall improvements to help you work more efficiently. l Brute XL-245: The second bully in the Brute lineup weighs 21,000 lbs. and can lift more than 11 tons at 10 ft. and four tons at full reach of 27 ft. l Brute XL-175: For its size, this Brute is one tough machine. It weighs 16,000 lbs. and can lift nearly 19,000 lbs. at 10 ft. and more than 6,000 lbs. at maximum reach of 25 ft.

All of the Brutes feature a lower unit, turntable bearing, hydraulic components and control valves. All are available for trucks, stationary electric, rubber tire self-propelled and trailer mounts. Routine service is fast, with an easy access design like centralized hydraulic pressure checks and turntable bearing greasing from the operator’s cab. Count on super heavy-duty sub frames for maximum stability.

From the top down, the Precision line is better engineered, built heavier, smarter and stronger for more go time and less downtime.

Precision is more than a name. It’s the number one goal.

With more than 100 experienced, highly dedicated and motivated employees, Precision Husky continues to show the world just how outstanding one company can be. From humble beginnings, Precision Husky now works from a 165,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Leeds, Ala. President Scott Smith is a second-generation innovator like his father, company founder and CEO Bob Smith.

Together they have seen Precision go from a small regional provider to a worldwide leader in timber processing technology, with customers in 120 countries. www.precisionhusky.com.

PROGRESS INDUSTRIES Progress Industries offers log cranes from 75 ft. to 180 ft. with capacities of 14 tons to 45 tons. These radial cranes travel in a 360° circle, unloading trucks with treelength logs or short logs. The logs are then stacked in a circle for storage or fed for processing. Storage capacities can reach up to 20,000 cords of 60 ft. treelength.

With the option of a remote style log crane, an operator can be in a separate control room away from the log crane. This allows one operator to control the infeed deck system and still operate the log crane, too. In many cases where an operator is not comfortable traveling on the crane, this allows him or her to be in a stationary control room. www.progressindustries.com 46

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WOODYARD SENNEBOGEN Sennebogen speed, stability and long reach are ideal for log handling applications. Custom-built and equipped for your operation, Sennebogen high-stacking capability instantly raises the roof of your yard to increase capacity and simplify inventory management. A compact footprint with stable 360° lift radius allows efficient loading and faster mobility between tight rows.

The exclusive Maxcab elevating operator station allows a clear view to the top of infeed decks, trailer loads and log piles for accurate, smooth loading and sorting.

The full lineup of Sennebogen machines, from the 818 right up to the 875, whether on a pedestal, tracked or wheeled undercarriage, take on log handling duties all over the world. Specialized work often calls for specialized machines, and the Sennebogen fleet includes those, too, with models specially designed for: Log Yards —Excellent stability, even while moving, to load, sort and stack both treelength and cut-to-length wood —Fast, powerful duty cycles to feed debarking, engineered wood and pole processing equipment —Nimble, cost effective pick & carry machines Sawmill Operations —High mobility to stack and move material for infeed for sawmills —High volume loading of chips to infeed at pulp mills —Precise feed to chipping and grinding equipment —Safely and quickly clear jams from conveyors and feed decks Biomass Production Facilities —Efficient infeed of logs and bulk materials for chippers and grinders —Sort material and load conveyors for energy production The 830 M-T trailer-puller features the 4-wheel-drive system with dual transmissions providing direct drive to each axle. Generating the highest drawbar pull in its weight class, the 830 M-T drive system ensures ample power to pull 100,000 lb. (46 metric tons) trailer loads without undue stress on the power train. The unique undercarriage of the 830 M-T is also specially reinforced to withstand extreme towing stresses.

The rough-terrain 830 M-HDS is built for climates where seasons of heavy rain or severe freeze & thaw cycles turn yards into challenging bogs. Its specially reinforced heavy-duty undercarriage plus large-dimensioned single tires provide extra flotation and traction to operate on soft soils. www.sennebogen-na.com

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WHEN LOGS REACH THE MILL The best softwood sawmills probably have the best log yards.

By Jessica Johnson

E

ach year, U.S. softwood lumbermen are given the opportunity to respond to the Timber Processing sawmill operations and capital expenditure survey.

And each year the findings are analyzed and reported in the June issue. The survey touches on various issues such as labor concerns, downtime, markets and business health, but the crux of it is capital investment and specific machinery purchasing plans.

Almost without fail, capital expenditure on log handling equipment is ranked in the top quarter of the list of equipment that lumbermen have recently purchased or intend to buy in the near future. From the outside looking in, there may be some taking for granted a mill’s log crane, mobile and knuckleboom loaders, and wheel loader—everybody’s got one, right? But as a lumberman told TP—the key to a

great mill is a good log yard. And a good log yard, he says, is three-fold: It should have a robust design to minimize downtime; an efficient flow; and it should be optimized.

Robert Jordan IV agrees. He oversees Jordan Lumber & Supply in Mount Gilead, NC, which operates one of biggest SYP production sites there, and also operates a sawmill in Barnesville, Ga. “I feel the key to a good log yard now is first to have a design that incorporates the simplest flow possible; then add dependable, fast debarking equipment, incorporating the most accurate scanning

available and minimize labor as much as possible in the design,” he comments.

Jordan’s SYP mill in North Carolina invested in a new crane because of very high daily production and because of the addition of a high speed third sawmill line. Jordan settled on a LogPro 45 ton crane that can unload a log trailer in a single bite.

The new crane has sped up turnaround time for all logging crews, making them more efficient and able to get more loads per day with the same equipment, and the same drivers. Jordan adds, “It helps a lot because we all know truck drivers are get-

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ting very hard to find.” The LogPro crane has the ability to unload more than 230 loads of logs per day.

And if you think that more discussion goes into capital expenditure for an optimized gang saw or new headrig, while log handling receives a parting glance, think again. One lumberman who oversees multiple mills in the South, and who spent between $4-5 million on log yard equipment in 2016-17, told TP, “We don’t brush any decision on capital under the rug! We analyze our greatest needs and the opportunities for improvement and pick the equipment that can best handle the immediate and long-term needs of the mill.”

Tom Shaffer, COO of Neiman Enterprises, based in Hulett, Wyo., which operates four softwood sawmills in Wyoming, South Dakota and Colorado, says he focuses on minimal handling in the log yard and creating a good traffic pattern—the

least amount of movement from the log truck to the mill infeed. Shaffer says Neiman doesn’t do a more traditional strategic upgrade of the whole yard; instead has a systemic rotation on all material handling equipment to avoid having to replace a bunch of it at once.

In 2016, Neiman replaced a worn out unit located on the infeed to the debarker and immediately smoothed the log flow.

“We looked around a bit but we pretty much knew what we wanted,” he says.

“We purchased a Rotobec Evolution 960 (loader) and are extremely happy with it.”

All the sophisticated, high speed equipment in the mill won’t ever perform to its capabilities if the wood can’t get to it fast enough at the proper volume, so Shaffer makes decisions on log infeed equipment with that in mind.

“It all just goes back to that age-old, weakest link theory,” Shaffer adds. The log yard might not contain the flashiest equipment on the property, but without tough and efficient equipment and a proper flow, the optimized machines inside the mill will never operate at their highest levels.

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MACHINERYROW

Combilift Readies For New Factory Combilift, the Irish manufacturer of multi-directional forklifts and long-load material handling solutions, is set to open a new manufacturing facility in Monaghan, Ireland on April 30.

The new facility complements the company’s presence in the lumber industry.

Packs of lumber can be heavy, unwieldy and potentially dangerous when they are being moved around premises, so any equipment used must ensure the safety of personnel and the integrity of the product.

There are various options when it comes to forklift trucks, but the consensus is that safe handling, maneuverability and versatility of use are key factors: good maneuvreability enables maximum use of available storage space, while versatility avoids the need for various types of trucks to perform different functions—working indoors and out for example.

These are just two of many reasons why the multidirectional forklifts and sideloaders from Combilift are a very popular choice for operations both large and small. Combilift’s initial product when it was established in 1998 was the world’s first IC engine powered, allwheel drive multidirectional forklift— the Combilift C4000, and the company has since developed scores of machines, all designed for the safe, space saving and productive handling of diverse loads.

A major advantage of the multidirec-

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Combilift units can operate in narrow spaces.

tional truck concept is its ability to travel sideways in narrow spaces with long loads resting on the truck’s platform and the extreme maneuverability and safety that this provides. Trying to move 5 m, 10 m or longer lengths of lumber with conventional trucks can be problematic and requires large areas to be set aside.

The lumber sector was one of the first to recognize the benefits of Combilift’s customized products and thousands are in operation around the world for familiar companies such as Weyerhaeuser, Boise, Stora Enso, Moelven Wood, Tolko, Luvian Saha, Sierra Pacific and many others.

“Whatever type of timber you handle,

we have a suitable product,” says MD Martin McVicar. “Our machines are tough workhorses which operate inside and out in all weather conditions. We use standard and easily sourced components to make service and maintenance very straightforward wherever in the world your Combilift is operating.”

Celebrating its 20th year in business in 2018, Combilift has sold more than 38,000 units which are exported to more than 80 countries. The company will open a new £40 million, 46,000 m²/500,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility and global HQ and this expansion will position Combilift to double its current output and turnover in the next five years.

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MACHINERYROW Valutec Supplies Swedish Sawmills Following a year in which Valutec grew on several international markets, 2018 is off to a flying start with major deliveries to Västerbotten county in the northern parts of Sweden. These were Martinsons, which invested in one TC continuous kiln and five batch kilns in Bygdsiljum; and Norra Skogsägarna, which invested in TC continuous kilns for its sawmills in Kåge and Sävar. Both companies made investments as a key part of comprehensive increases in production.

“It’s fantastic to see our regional sawmills developed, and also an honor that they chose us as their partner in major future investments. I’m also proud of us supplying facilities that not only increase their production capacity but also help to further optimize their production,” says Robert Larsson, CEO of Valutec.

Martinsons will put its new TC continuous kiln into operation after the summer. It will have a capacity of around 100,000 m3 (42MMBF) per year and is primarily used for drying side-sawn

boards. In addition, the company is investing in five batch kilns, which will be used both for planks and boards. The investments are one part of the production increase in Bygdsiljum, which as a first stage means an increase from 300,000 m3 (127MMBF) to 415,000 m3 (176MMBF) annually.

“Valutec is our skilled local supplier which could also satisfactorily meet our needs in terms of both delivery time and type of unit. It wasn’t a hard choice for us to continue working together with them,” says Olov Martinson, Production Manager at Martinsons.

Norra Skogsägarna’s new TC continuous kiln in Kåge will be ready in January 2019, and the one in Sävar is to be put into operation in October 2018. The company’s total drying capacity will increase by 200,000 m3 (85MMBF). In Kåge, the capacity has almost doubled in eight years, from around 130,000 m3 (55MMBF) to 240,000 m3 (102MMBF).

This includes previous investments in batch kilns from Valutec.

“This gives us high capacity per SEK, and as we saw both pine and spruce we

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MACHINERYROW also need to ensure significant flexibility.

Purely from a design perspective, we’re also very happy with Valutec’s kilns. The batch kilns from 2011 are dependable and look almost new after six years of operation, which clearly bodes well,” says Johan Oja, Technical Manager at Norra Skogsägarna.

Norra Skogsägarna is an association owned by forest owners.

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XYLEXPO Plans Bigger Fair

XYLEXPO, formerly Interbimall, has resurged in recent years.

Activity is in full swing for the next edition of Xylexpo, the biennial international exhibition of woodworking technology and furniture industry supplies to be held at FieraMilano-Rho, Italy May 8-12.

Due to significant exhibitor growth, Xylexpo is adding a Hall 4. Halls 1 and 3 will host companies specializing in the production of panel processing machinery and tools, surface finishing and the related products, hardware, semifinished materials and supplies; halls 2 and 4 will be dedicated to panel and solid wood processing machinery and

tools, primary operation equipment and tools, semifinished materials and complementary accessories.

At a press conference for the event, Lorenzo Primultini, Acimall President, noted the event will celebrate its 50th anniversary since the first show in 1968.

He noted that Xylexpo in 2016 hosted 441 exhibitors on a net exhibition area just above 29,000 square m, visited by 17,145 operators (exceeding 41,000 visits in total), 29.1% from abroad. As of Mid-January, the event had contracted with 300 exhibitors for 30,000 sq. m of space.

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ATLARGE

Roseburg Fine-Tunes Personnel Lineup Roseburg Forest Products named Steve Courtney as Director of Solid Wood Resource Procurement. In this newly created role, Courtney is responsible for planning, sourcing and managing the log supply requirements for the Solid Wood Business.

As a member of the Solid Wood opera-

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tions leadership team, Courtney works closely with Roseburg’s Resource group and coordinates log supply planning and procurement with Gabe Crane, who transitions out of the log procurement role to assume expanded responsibilities within the Resource group. Crane continues to report to Scott Folk, Senior Vice President of Resources.

Courtney served most recently as the

General Manager of Wood Procurement for the Northwest operations of Interfor Corp. He brings more than 25 years of industry experience and has been active in industry affairs. He currently serves as chairman of American Forest Resources Council (AFRC). He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Engineering from Oregon State University and an MBA from National University. l In addition Roseburg named Phil Odom as Business Manager for the Plywood and Lumber Business. The newly created role consolidates the reporting structure of the company’s plywood and lumber sales organization. James (JT) Taylor, Kevin Smith and Kelly Robertson—sales managers for lumber, softwood plywood and hardwood plywood— report to Odom.

Odom has held several roles at BlueLinx Corp., where he most recently served as vice president of National Business Development. During his time at BlueLinx and earlier at Georgia-Pacific.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from ➤ 60

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ATLARGE 56 ➤ Georgia Southern University. l Earlier Roseburg reorganized its marketing and national accounts structure in anticipation of the upcoming retirement of Mark McLean, who has served as director of both functions for the company.

Instead of replacing McLean upon his retirement in spring 2018, the company has opted to reassign his responsibilities.

Current Director of Logistics and Planning Thomas Gennarelli will serve as Director of Product Distribution and National Accounts. Gennarelli will retain responsibility for all functions of transportation, as well as the logistics of Roseburg’s national account customer service group.

In addition, national accounts business managers Bob Nurre and Steve Gaeckle now report to him.

McLean joined Roseburg in 2001 as sales and marketing manager. He served as director of Transportation and Logistics for three years before being named Marketing Director in 2009. He worked in sales and accounting for Boise Cascade for 20 years before joining Roseburg. He plans to retire in May. “Mark has been a vital contributor to

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Roseburg,” according to company statement. “He has consistently taken on anything that we have asked of him and has been outstanding in his efforts. He is an example of the caliber of professional that helped make Roseburg what it is today.”

RoyOMartin Makes Employee Changes RoyOMartin, Alexandria, La., announced the following staff changes: Ray Peters announced his retirement, effective in February. Peters most recently served as vice president of human resources and marketing, having been with the company for 18 years.

Donna Bailey is promoted to vice president of human resources. Bailey joined the organization’s human resources team in 2005 and most recently served as corporate director of employee engagement.

Leigh Ann Purvis is named corporate communications manager for the company, which celebrates its 95th anniversary this year. Purvis joined the organization in 2003.

Bradford Forest Is Now Danzer Lumber After 30 years, Bradford Forest, Inc., a Danzer company based in Bradford, Pa., has changed its name to Danzer Lumber North America, Inc. “The name change is part of Danzer’s overall brand strategy to provide a diverse product offering under one common Danzer brand,” says Steve Bukowski, General Manager of Danzer Lumber North America, Inc. “The transition to the new name will be seamless for customers, with no interruption in great products and services.”

Danzer Lumber North America operates two production facilities in Pennsylvania, one in Bradford and one in Shade Gap. Each location specializes in different product portfolios and combined they employ 200.

The Bradford sawmill is one of the 10th largest hardwood sawmills in North America. The facility processes 26MMBF (61,350 m3) of lumber annually and employs 160. “We are in the heart of the best cherry in the world, which enables us to

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ATLARGE offer consistent, high-quality cherry lumber. With our controlled procurement strategy, we are also able to maintain a high degree of color consistency in other species we offer,” Bukowski states.

Hardwood species processed at the Bradford facility are cherry, hard and soft maple, red and white oak, and ash. Bradford’s technologically advanced sawmill enables the efficient conversion of logs

into consistently sawn hardwood lumber.

The Shade Gap facility employs 40 and processes 7.5MMBF (17,700 m3) each year. With years of thick stock kiln-drying experience, the Shade Gap facility is a partner of choice for customers needing quality, consistently dried thick stock. Shade Gap also offers high-quality kiln-dried lumber in more typical thicknesses.

Proximity to the resource base is a key logistical advantage of the Shade Gap facility. The main hardwood species processed at Shade Gap are walnut, white oak, red oak, hard and soft maple, cherry and ash.

Holding company Danzer is a leading quality hardwood company with production facilities in North America and Europe. It has 1,600 employees and services customers from 18 sales offices worldwide. Founded in 1932, Danzer is managed by a third-generation family member. The company owns and sustainably manages forests in North America and produces sliced veneer, lumber and innovative value-added wood products for decorative purposes. Danzer products are used in high-quality furniture, kitchen cabinets, cars and other applications.

Sentinel Structure Receives Award

Conference room is framed with arches manufactured by Sentinel Structures.

Sentinel Structures, Inc. of Peshtigo, Wis. received an award for its work on the Farmers’ Union Industries headquarters in Redwood Falls, Minn. The award was given at the Minnesota/North Dakota chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors at their annual “Awards of Excellence in Construction” event in Minneapolis.

The Peshtigo firm made southern pine glued laminated columns, beams and arches for the roof structure of the large office 62

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ATLARGE complex. Company engineers worked with the general contractor, Marcus Construction of Willmar, Minn., to provide an economical roof framing system. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Widseth Smith Nolting.

In excess of 60,000 lbs. of straight and curved engineered timbers were shipped to Redwood Falls in November 2016. The warmth and beauty of natural

wood can be seen in the lobby and waiting areas along with general offices and the board room of the new corporate headquarters.

Local Peshtigo area businesses assisted Sentinel with the project. Connection steel was made by G & G Midwest of Beaver.

The custom mixed “Mystic Mahogany” stain used to finish the timbers was made

by Sherwin-Williams of Marinette. The

long and wide beams and arches were hauled from Peshtigo by Westy’s Trucking of Oconto.

Sentinel Structures manufactures structural glued laminated timber beams, arches, trusses, bridge components, highway noise barriers, ship timbers and many other engineered timber products. It operates in Peshtigo at site of the original timber laminating plant in North America, established in 1934.

American Wood Council Elects Allyn Ford American Wood Council (AWC) announced the election of Roseburg Forest Products chairman Allyn Ford as the AWC chairman for a one-year term in 2018.

Danny White, a director of T.R. Miller Mill Co., was elected first vice-chairman, and Neil Sherman, executive vice president of siding at LP Corp., was elected as second vice-chairman. Current AWC board chairman, Stimson Lumber CEO Andrew Miller, will serve as immediate past chairman.

Sean McLaren, vice president of U.S. lumber operations for West Fraser, was confirmed as a new member to the AWC board.

Other AWC board of directors include: Adrian Blocker, Weyerhaeuser Co.; Furman Brodie, Charles Ingram Lumber Co.; Tom Corrick, Boise Cascade; Eric Cremers, Potlatch Corp.; Mike Dawson, Norbord, Inc.; George Emmerson, Sierra Pacific; Michael Giroux, Canadian Wood Council; Jim Rabe, Masonite; Fred Stimpson, Canfor Southern Pine; Marc Brinkmeyer, Idaho Forest Group; Fritz Mason, Georgia-Pacific; and Joe Patton, Westervelt.

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Call Toll-Free: 1-800-669-5613

LUMBERWORKS

EMPLOYMENTOPPORTUNITIES SEARCH NORTH AMERICA, INC. IT'S YOUR MOVE...

FOREST PRODUCTS RECRUITING SINCE 1978

The Jobs You Want — The People You Need WWW.SEARCHNA.COM

CONTACT CARL JANSEN AT 541-593-2777 OR Carlj@SearchNA.com

Recruiting and Staffing George Meek geo@TopWoodJobs.com www.TopWoodJobs.com (360) 263-3371

2200

Gates Copeland 281-359-7940 • fax 866-253-7032

gcopeland@mrihouston.com • www.mrihouston.com

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GREENWOOD KILN STICKS Importers and Distributors of Tropical Hardwood Kiln Sticks GW Industries www.gwi.us.com

127

“The lowest cost per cycle”

Top Wood Jobs

Dennis Krueger 866-771-5040

Jackie Paolo 866-504-9095

greenwoodimportsllc@gmail.com

jackie@gwi.us.com

3779

PROFESSIONALSERVICES WORN OR MISALIGNED CARRIAGE RAILS? A Proven Process

Specializing in confidential career opportunities in the Forest Products industry

Management Recruiters of Houston Northeast

1615

The privately-owned BID Group, one of the largest integrated suppliers to the wood processing industry and the North American leader in the field, is looking for Construction Project Mangers for projects located in the South Eastern USA. As a Construction Project Manager, you will report to the General Manager of BID Construction and be responsible for overseeing the construction phase of projects in accordance with our company standards.

If you are unique, have the job qualifications and are looking for a challenge, we are looking for you! We offer a competitive salary and a range of attractive benefits. Every job application is treated confidentially. Please forward your resume to careers@bidgroup.ca and reference the posting “Construction Project Manager.” BID Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Only selected candidates will be contacted.

13287 Thank you for your interest.

Contact Us Office 541.760.5086 Cell 541.760.7173 Fax 971.216.4994 www.acculine-rails.com george@acculine-rails.com

• Rails straightened & ground in-place at a fraction of the cost of rail replacement • No down time for the mill • Restores carriage rails to optimum sawing efficiency •Precision Laser Alignment • Machining and Grinding • Carriage and Bandmill Alignment 489

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WOOD PRODUCTS marketplace NORTH AMERICA

■ Minnesota

■ United States

■ Tennessee

STACKING STICKS

FOR SALE

■ Georgia

AIR-O-FLOW profiled & FLAT sticks available Imported & Domestic

Beasley Forest Products, Inc. P.O. Box 788 Hazlehurst, GA 31539 beasleyforestproducts.com

DHM Company - Troy, TN 38260 731-538-2722 Fax: 707-982-7689 email: kelvin@kilnsticks.com www.KILNSTICKS.com

Manufactures Kiln-Dried 4/4 Red and White Oak, Poplar, Ash and Cypress Contact: Linwood Truitt Phone (912) 253-9000 / Fax: (912) 375-9541 linwood.truitt@beasleyforestproducts.com

Pallet components, X-ties, Timbers and Crane Mats Contact: Ray Turner Phone (912) 253-9001 / Fax: (912) 375-9541 ray.turner@beasleyforestproducts.com

■ North Carolina Cook Brothers Lumber Co., Inc.

Manufacturer of Appalachian Hardwood Lumber LEONARD COOK, Sales (828) 524-4857 • cell: (828) 342-0997 residential: (828) 369-7740 P.O. Box 699 • Frankin, NC 28744 NATIONAL HARDWOOD LUMBER ASSOCIATION

Next closing: July 5, 2018

■ Kentucky HAROLD WHITE LUMBER, INC.

WANT TO GET YOUR AD IN OUR NEXT MARKETPLACE?

MANUFACTURER OF FINE APPALACHIAN HARDWOODS

(606) 784-7573 • Fax: (606) 784-2624 www.haroldwhitelumber.com

Ray White

Domestic & Export Sales rwhite@haroldwhitelumber.com

Green & Kiln Dried, On-Site Export Prep & Loading Complete millworks facility, molding, milling & fingerjoint line

Buyers & Wholesalers We produce quality 4/4 - 8/4 Appalachian hardwoods • Red Oak, White Oak, Poplar •

Green Lumber: Air Dried, Kiln Dried Timbers & Crossties • Hickory, Sycamore, Beech, Gum & Elm • Custom Cut Timbers: Long lengths and wide widths

Call or email Melissa McKenzie 334-834-1170 melissa@hattonbrown.com

Sales/Service: 336-746-5419

336-746-6177 (Fax) • www.kepleyfrank.com

02/18

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MAINEVENTS MARCH 7-9—National Wooden Pallet & Container Assn. Annual Leadership Conference, Marriott Harbor Beach Hotel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Call 703-519-6104; visit palletcentral.com.

8-12—IndiaWood 2018, Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, Bangalore, India. Call +91-80-4250 5000; visit indiawood.com.

22-24—Hardwood Manufacturers Assn. 2018 National Conference & Expo, Hyatt Regency Greenville, Greenville, SC. Call 412-244-0440; visit hardwoodinfo.com or hmamembers.org.

11-12—Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo, Omni Hotel at CNN Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 334-834-1170; visit bioenergyshow.com.

13-14—Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE), Omni Hotel at CNN Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 334-834-1170; visit pelice-expo.com.

22-24—American Wood Protection Assn. annual meeting, Seattle Marriott Waterfront, Seattle, Wash. Call 205-733-4077; visit awpa.com.

MAY 8-10—Western Wood Products Assn. annual meeting, Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort & Spa, Austin, Tex. Call 503-224-3930; visit wwpa.org.

8-12—Xylexpo 2018, Fiera Milano Rho Fairgrounds, Milan, Italy. Phone +39-02-89210200; Visit xylexpo.com/index.php/en.

18-19—Expo Richmond 2018, Richmond Raceway Complex, Richmond, Va. Call 804-737-5625; visit exporichmond.com.

JUNE 9-12—Assn. of Consulting Foresters of America annual meeting, Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC. Visit acf-foresters.org.

JULY 29-August 1—Walnut Council annual meeting, Grand River Center, Dubuque, Iowa. Call 765-583-3501; visit walnutcouncil.org.

AUGUST 22-25—International Woodworking Fair 2018, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 404-693-8333; visit iwfatlanta.com.

OCTOBER 15-16—28th Annual WMI Workshop on Design, Operation and Maintenance of Saws and Knives, Holiday Inn Portland Airport, Portland, Ore. Call 925-943-5240; visit woodmachining.com.

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MARCH 2018

22-25—Lesdrevmash 2018, 17th International Exhibition for Machinery, Equipment and Technology for Logging, Woodworking and Furniture Industries, Expocentre Fairgrounds, Moscow, Russia. Visit lesdrevmash-expo.ru/en.

Listings are submitted months in advance. Always verify dates and locations with contacts prior to making plans to attend.

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This issue of Timber Processing is brought to you in part by the following companies, which will gladly supply additional information about their products.

APRIL

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17-19—Timber Processing & Energy Expo, Portland Expo Center, Portland, Ore. Call 334-834-1170; visit timberprocessingandenergyexpo.com.

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ADVERTISER Acrowood Andritz Iggesund Tools Arkansas Economic Dev. Comm.

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