TP 0323 digimag

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Editor-in-Chief: Rich Donnell

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Senior Editor: David Abbott

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Timber Processing (ISSN 0885-906X, USPS 395-850) is published 11 times annually (monthly except Jan./Feb.) 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: 800-6695613; 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 ® 2023. 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.

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Other Hatton-Brown publications: Timber Harvesting • Southern Loggin’ Times Wood Bioenergy • Panel World • Power Equipment Trade

Rich Donnell Editor-in-Chief

YOUR TAX DOLLARS NOT AT WORK

You may be aware of our affiliate magazine, Panel World, which covers the structural and non-structural wood panel industries in a similar way that Timber Processing covers the lumber industry.

Recently in Panel World we ran a news article on Huber Engineered Woods pulling out of a long-planned project to build a $440 million oriented strandboard (OSB) plant in Cohasset, Minn., which would have been Huber’s sixth OSB plant following ongoing operations in Maine, Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee and Oklahoma.

But this time Huber ran into the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, which collaborated with the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) to cause Huber to back off the project. MCEA, in looking at its web site and personnel roster, is all about finding “environmental justice” through the courts in representation of various clients, such as Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, whose land base is the Leech Lake Reservation in north-central Minnesota. The tribe operates three nearby gaming casinos and owns two gas express and food stations.

Though it’s a panel mill project, paying close attention to its developments and roadblocks may prove enlightening to sawmillers looking to build a plant down the road.

Huber, which first announced it wanted to build the plant in June 2021, bowed out in response to a Minnesota Court of Appeals decision in early February that would have caused further delay in the construction of the operation, which would have created 150 direct jobs and positively impacted hundreds of others in logging, trucking, supplies and numerous retail sectors.

But in the ruling on an appeal from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (whose reservation is due west) and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, the court of appeals said the Cohasset city planners’ earlier decision to only require an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) of the project, and not require a more detailed Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), needed to be readdressed by the city because of issues involving 10 acres of two “public waters wetlands” that the court said state law would require an EIS for. (The state of Minnesota requires a “responsible governmental unit,” such as a city planning body, to determine if a project requires an EAW or EIS, or both.)

Huber had initially submitted an EAW and then, at the city’s request—including providing more information about the health of Minnesota’s forests and their ability to sustainably supply the facility, and providing more detail on the project’s carbon footprint and the carbon sequestration effects of the finished wood products—re-submitted the EAW, which the city accepted while deciding an EIS wasn’t necessary.

Leech Lake Band appealed, and the appeals court agreed that the facility “falls into categories” for which an EIS is mandatory under Minnesota law, specifically as to the “elimination” of public waters wetland.

The court noted that the state’s definition of public waters wetlands is 10 or more acres in size in unincorporated areas and at least two and a half or more acres in incorporated areas. Huber’s EAW explained that its project would involve filling portions of two public waters wetlands, both in incorporated areas: 8.73 of 14.27 acres in one and 1.65 of 5.67 in another, and that while there would be a reduction in the size of each, it wouldn’t “eliminate” the public waters in question. The city agreed and noted that the partially filled public water wetlands would not fall below the 2.5 acre threshold after the partial filling.

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

SPI ANNOUNCES NEW SAWMILLS

Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) plans to build a new sawmill complex, including two new sawmills located adjacent each other on the east side of its existing site in Eugene, Ore., eventually operating under one roof and ultimately replacing the existing sawmilling facilities.

The two sawmills will include a stud mill, patterned after SPI’s mill in Shelton, Wash. and consuming logs 516 in. diameter, and a cutting mill (large log mill) that will process logs 16 in. and larger.

The log mix will be similar to the current mix; however, the cutting mill is designed to extract greater value from each log, including dimension lumber, rough and surfaced timbers, shop, VG, clears, etc.— designed similarly to SPI’s

four cutting mills in California.

The location allows SPI to complete the construction offline while continuing to run its three existing facilities and maintain full employment of more than 300, before moving into the new facilities as they are completed.

The new sawmill complex will become one of the largest

single site lumber producers in the U.S with an annual production capacity of 650MMBF, compared with the existing capacity at Eugene of more than 350MMBF.

The new sawmill project timeline anticipates completion between 2025 and 2026, contingent on securing appropriate permits and approvals.

“Sierra Pacific is energized about this opportunity to continue to provide quality, renewable wood products to meet the anticipated increased demand for housing and other societal needs,” comments Todd Payne, SPI President of Lumber. “This project will make our Eugene mill site one of the largest and most modern sawmills in the United States, continuing to build our momentum in growing our position in a critical market while maintaining our commitment to sustainably grown and manufactured wood products, and our talented, hard-working crew members.”

SPI acquired the Eugene site (formerly Seneca) as part of a larger 2021 acquisition and began plans for growth and expansion almost immediately. Construction of a new trucking facility and new engineering, technology and fabrication facility are under-

Sierra Pacific Industries plans major investment at Eugene.

way, with completion expected this fall. These new facilities will expand efficiencies for the site and support the design, fabrication and construction of the new sawmills.

“These investment decisions by SPI are a reflection of our confidence in the need for sustainable building products, as well as that of our Oregon crew members and communities,” says SPI CEO Mark Emmerson. “We pride ourselves in our partnerships with our communities and the positive community impacts of our operations.”

CANFOR PLANS NEW BC FACILITY

Canfor Corp. stated that to better align manufacturing capacity in British Columbia with the available long-term fiber supply, it is restructuring its BC operations by permanently

closing its Chetwynd sawmill and pellet plant and temporarily closing its Houston sawmill for an extended period to facilitate the construction of a new manufacturing facility. Project planning, scoping, preliminary engineering and budgeting are underway.

The company will undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the availability of economic fiber and a thorough project financial analysis, supporting a final investment decision by the end of the second quarter of 2023. Both facilities will be closed following an orderly wind down of operations that is expected to conclude early in the second quarter of 2023 and will remove 750MMBF of annual production capacity.

“We are making these difficult but necessary decisions to create a more sustainable operating footprint in BC,” comments Don Kayne, president and CEO. “Our goal is to

match our mill capacity with the economically available fiber for harvest to enhance our ability to compete and to operate throughout the market cycles. This is what will ultimately create greater stability for our employees and communities, while ensuring we can continue to provide the high quality, low carbon products that are in demand by our customers around the world.”

COALITION FAVORS DUTY UPGRADE

U.S. Dept. of Commerce announced the preliminary determination of a combined anti-subsidy and anti-dumping duty rate of 8.24% in the fourth annual review of allegedly subsidized traded Canadian softwood lumber imports into the U.S. The review covers lumber imported in calendar year 2021.

“Continued enforcement of U.S. trade laws against unfairly traded Canadian lumber will maximize long-term domestic production and lumber availability produced by U.S. workers to build U.S. homes,” says Andrew Miller, Chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition and CEO of Stimson Lumber.

“A level playing field against subsidized and dumped imports is particularly important during times of down markets when U.S. mills can least afford to lose sales to Canada’s harmful unfair trade practices that endanger U.S. jobs and communities who depend on a vibrant U.S. forestry industry.”

The U.S. industry remains open to a new U.S.–Canada softwood lumber trade agreement if and when Canada can demonstrate that it is serious about negotiations, according to a Coalition statement.

“Until then, the U.S. Lumber Coalition fully supports

the continued strong enforcement of the U.S. trade laws to address Canada’s unfair softwood lumber trade practices.”

STRUCTURLAM LOOKS TO REBOOT

The temporary closure of Structurlam Mass Timber’s Conway, Ark. cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glulam plant

and the apparent severing of the plant’s relationship as a major supplier for Walmart’s new low carbon footprint and energy efficient corporate campus in nearby Bentonville marks yet another growing pain for an industry that’s just getting started realizing its amazing potential.

In 2019 Structurlam announced that the new campus project was to be fed by Structurlam’s new CLT facility that included a $90 million investment to up-

grade a former steel mill and convert it to a CLT plant. Structurlam would become the “exclusive supplier of mass timber products” to the new Walmart home office campus, covering 350 acres, two million square feet of floor space and multiple office buildings.

The project moved along, and many were surprised in January this year when Structurlam officials announced the plant would be closing due to a “customer” contract cancellation and that there are no plans to enter into a new commercial agreement with the “customer.”

Structurlam CEO Matthew Karmel refers to it as a “commercial dispute, but we cannot discuss the specifics.” More specifically, according to a source in the CLT industry, the plant may have “overcommitted” to Walmart while dealing with startup issues, and there may have been dispute over product quality or composition.

Following the 2021 bankruptcy of Katerra and its CLT plant in Spokane, Wash.—which set out to revolutionize the construction industry using pre-fab building and mass timber construction principles but couldn’t get out of its own way—the mass timber industry had regained the momentum, and is definitely expanding as designers, engineers and architects learn more about it.

Karmel says the state-of-the-art Conway plant has met the vigorous startup challenges “with flying colors—its crosslaminated timber and glulam production capabilities already exceed its plan objectives and its processes have been validated repeatedly by the APA to exceed U.S. regulatory standards.” Karmel adds that Structurlam is in a strong position to resume Conway operations and support new customers as the rapid growth of mass timber across North America continues to drive demand for manufacturing capacity.

In May 2022 Structurlam named Karmel as CEO. Prior to joining Structurlam, Karmel served as the CEO of Crenlo Engineered Cabs. Previously, he led other companies in North America and Europe in a broad range of industries, including Klenk Holz AG, the largest sawmills group in Germany, as the company’s CEO & Chairman. He earned a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering from Princeton University and completed a generalmanagement executive program at INSEAD Business School in France.

Structurlam operates mass timber

manufacturing operations at its home base in Penticton, BC.

MENDOCINO COMPANIES EXPANDS IN UTAH

Mendocino Companies purchased the assets of Utah Wood Preserving (UWP) and portions of its affiliates. UWP’s manufacturing facility in Woods Cross, Utah,

is a well-maintained preservative treating plant on a large, fully paved site with dry kilns and rail service. A distribution yard, operating as ABS in Denver, Col., is included in the asset purchase.

Robert Moore, UWP principal architect and partner, has agreed to join Mendocino.

The Mendocino Family of Companies includes Allweather Wood, Humboldt Redwood Co., Humboldt Sawmill Co.,

Mendocino Forest Products, Mendocino Redwood Co. Mendocino Companies owns 440,000 acres of FSC certificated timberland. Mendocino Companies also owns and operates a 25 MW biomass cogen plant and wood pellet plant in California.

SAWMILL IN CAMDEN HAS NEW LIFE

Executives at Astara Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm, along with Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and other state and local officials gathered to mark the opening of the Camden Timbers sawmill in early February.

Astara Capital Partners earlier formed Camden Timbers to acquire and restart the former Victory Lumber SYP sawmill in Camden. Camden Timbers is Astara’s second sawmill investment for its ACP Lumber Holdings platform, following its acquisition of Cross City Lumber in Florida in April 2021.

“Astara is proud to invest in American manufacturing companies, and today’s ceremony highlights the wonderful team at Camden Timbers and its special partnership with the state of Arkansas,” commented Astara Managing Partner Michael Ranson, who came to Astara in summer 2020 from Blue Wolf Capital Partners.

Camden Timbers will create more than 50 jobs in the area. The company expects the sawmill to produce more than 50MMBF of timbers and dimension.

COURT HALTS LOGGING PLAN

Ruling that the Forest Service is violating environmental laws, a federal court in Boise, Id. has halted the Hanna Flats Logging Project in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, citing potential harm to grizzly bear habitat.

FS officials relied on Bonner County’s wildfire protection plan that designates the area as a wildland urban interface in claiming the logging project qualified for a categorical exclusion under the Healthy Forest Restoration Act since it’s in an area where homes and structures are vulnerable to wildfire.

The court disagreed and halted the project until it can hear the case on its merits. The 2,500 acre project has roughly 1,100 acres of mechanical treatments that include clear-cutting, thinning and other work.

RESOURCE CHANGING

EFFINGHAM, SC

By David Abbott

Achieving success is difficult enough in the first place; maintaining it over the long haul can be even trickier. To do so, businesses often find it necessary to adapt to changing conditions, make adjustments, alter strategies. What worked yesterday may not be right for today, and knowing when to change can be critical.

Charles Ingram Lumber Co., Inc., has displayed this capacity more than once through the years. The southern yellow pine producer operates two separate sawmills on opposite ends of the same property here. One side processes large logs, while the other is devoted to smaller logs (they call it the Willow Creek mill). Charles Ingram Lumber originally added the small log line in the early 2000s in response to a glut of pulpwood in this region.

Charles Ingram Lumber rebuilds its small log line and sees significant gains in yield, productivity and efficiency.

“We were having trouble getting rid of pulpwood off some tracts we had bought,” recalls Jesse Moore, who at the time was a forester for Charles Ingram and now oversees mill production. “We built this small log mill to try to capture a super pulpwood type of tree. And it worked well for about 10 years. Then the glut was gone, and competition for that wood started getting a lot stronger from the paper mills.”

Paper mills surround the Charles Ingram facility on all sides. As competition for smaller diameter trees grew extremely tough, the company was forced to make a choice: a big investment aimed at adjusting to a “larger” smaller log, or shutting the Willow Creek line down.

“Fortunately, the lumber market after COVID allowed us to fix the problem,” Moore says. In an effort to continue op-

With limited space available for an edger, mill management opted for profilers at the newly rebuilt Cetec twin band.

A new building houses the new Comact mini-canter line, including profiler and Comact CantExpert scanning/optimization.

Profiled cants exit the mini-canter and proceed to a new versa gang built by Columbia Construction.

erating the Willow Creek mill, Charles Ingram Lumber reinvested in much needed upgrades.

“I was a forester for a long time and saw first hand how quickly the resource changed,” Moore says. “It was fast. So we pivoted, we reinvested a lot of money to get it right.”

The solution was fairly obvious: The small log line just didn’t need to be quite

so small anymore. In fact some of the butt cut logs were being taken from the small side over to the large log mill. “We don’t have the glut of super pulpwood material, but we also don’t have the large logs anymore either,” Moore states. “It is somewhere in between. So this (setup) fits the log resource we now have.”

He says they don’t do titles here, but Moore, a forester who once served as

procurement manager, now helps manage day-to-day operations and production at Charles Ingram Lumber, while Thomas Brodie focuses on regulatory and financial management as well as quality control for the family-owned operation in business since the 1930s. In senior management are Jim Anderson (production) and Thomas’ father Furman Brodie (regulatory/financial).

NEW LINE

The Charles Ingram Lumber team took out the entire sawing system on the small log line, everything after the bucking line and before the trimmer/ sorter, right down to the concrete floor. They removed the Willow Creek line’s Comact DDM6 profiling line and replaced it with a BID Group-Comact infeed optimized sharp chain (OSC) with chipper canter on 30° V slides, chipping-profiling heads module and twin band. It’s preceded by new True-shape C1-Scan scanners and quad rolls flying log turner.

They had already bought the Cetec twin band and had it in storage. “Comact came in to help get the older Cetec twin band saws up to speed and modernized,”

Each mill (large and small log lines) has its own crane, this one a LogPro.

There was some space constraint and the new line configuration had to be modified some. An edger wasn’t an option due to space constraints, so they went with the profilers before the twin, and they also installed a new Comact mini-curve-canter with profiler and transversal infeed position table preceded by a Comact CantExpert transverse scanning and optimization system with A1 software. The mill constructed a new building to contain the Comact mini-can-

Tinsley Consulting Group from Hot Springs, Ark., handled engineering on the project. “Without their support and vision, this project would have never gotten off the ground,” Moore notes.

With the upgrades completed, Charles Ingram Lumber successfully achieved its goals for the Willow Creek mill. “Since this project we have really done well and have seen results in everything,” Moore asserts. “The gain in yield is considerable. Production has gone from 150MBF a day

to 250MBF or so,” while maximum log size increased from 10.5 in. to 16 in.

“Everyone knows not every project goes so smooth,” Moore adds. “But this was a dream project. The equipment vendors were excellent. I can’t say enough about Comact and Columbia Construction. They did a really good job. The follow up from Comact and Columbia Construction was excellent, and the machines worked. They do what they’re supposed to do.”

The mill shut down Willow Creek on October 28, 2021 to begin the upgrade. The project was completed in about two months, with the new system running just before January 2022. “We spent January working out bugs and really got it going in February, just about a year ago,” Moore says. “After a project of that magnitude, where you literally tore it down to the ground, and built the minicanter and gang off line in a hole where nothing was there before…to do all that in two months was really good.”

MILL FLOW

Incoming logs are sorted at the scale houses, determining if trucks unload at the large log mill or at Willow Creek.

Original Huot bucking line remains from when the small log mill was built.

Each mill has its own crane. A LogPro crane, bought from Timber Automation, unloads on the small log yard. A 22 in. Nicholson A8 debarker, added in fall 2022, and an existing MDI metal detector complement the original Huot fixed saw slasher deck, built with the small log mill in 2001.

Bucked logs progress to one of six decks; three lead to the sharp chain infeed, one to a chipper and two are for rejects (oversized or defective logs). “When we were running smaller logs, it was critical to have those bins because you were kicking out a lot,” Moore says. “We had a narrow window for optimum log size. Very little gets kicked out now.” A Comact scanner sorts logs automatically to the appropriate deck. Oversized logs go across the property to the big mill. Undersized and defective logs transfer to a Fulghum 96 in. chipper.

As for the three infeed decks to the mill: one has a Brunette flare butt reducer, middle deck is for 12 ft. logs and the third is for 16 ft. logs. That one loads into a Comact wave feeder, while the other two decks still use the original Huot feeder. Logs from all three decks ultimately load onto the Omega sharp chain and through the new Comact twin band profiling line. Cants and sideboards flow into the new adjacent building, where some cants are profiled at the mini-canter, before running through the Columbia Construction gang. Profiler knives are from Lindsay Forest Products.

Longtime sawmill machinery innovator and fabricator Scott Bye at Columbia Construction built the gang saw. “We feel like we got a hot rod,” Moore says. “It is a very nice gang, with 800HP direct coupled to the saw arbor.” According to QC supervisors Kevin Johao Vitiry and Paxton Smith, the gang can run up to 600 FPM. “Saws don’t shift on the arbor,” Smith says. “The whole saw box moves. The press rolls are pre-positioned on the mini-canter and the gang from 4 to 6 in. thicknesses.” (At the big mill they cut up to 2x12s.)

From the gang’s exit, boards flow back around under the twin band outfeed toward a hybrid sorter line (half Carbotech, half Timber Automation), moving up to an unscrambler with screw rolls built by David Reiter of RTS (Reiter Technical Services). “He did a very good job,” Moore says. “He has built transfer decks for us before.” In fall 2022, the mill further added a new Comact board dealer to speed up the handoff to the Baxley trimmer, which has a Timber Automation trimmer optimizer. The small side operates a Gillingham-Best stacker.

New debarker was added this last fall, 2022.

OTHER WORK

Willow Creek wasn’t the only beneficiary of recent investments. The large log mill has three lines: a twin band, a quad band and a headrig/carriage. A Corley carriage with Salem 6 ft. bandmill headrig was another recent project, just completed fall 2022. That line and the twin band line feed lumber through a Columbia gang, while the quad band line leads to an Omega gang saw. Everything from both gangs flows to the same trimmer sorter line.

Green lumber from both Willow Creek and the large log mill ends up at the dry end. Charles Ingram Lumber runs several continuous dry kilns including NOREV DPK (dual path kiln) dry kilns (for more on this, see the article featured in the February 2021 issue of Timber Processing). A Timber Automation parallel sorter was added to a Miller Mfg./BID Group high-speed planer line around the same time as the small line upgrades. “That was another good project,” Moore says.

The company has also invested in a well-equipped filing room in recent years, choosing not to farm out filing. They now have separate rooms for circle saws and bands, featuring an array of the latest sharpening, tipping and leveling equipment.

Another late 2021 addition: Charles Ingram Lumber is now in the wood pellets business, as Effingham Pellets LLC. Seeking additional markets for planer shavings besides MDF plants, the company seized an opportunity to convert shavings into pellets and export via Savannah to the biomass power industry in Europe. They operate a Prodesa pellet mill.

“It has been a learning experience,” Moore says, acknowledging that they had no prior experience in this arena. “It is highly affected by atmospheric conditions like relative humidity, ambient temperature, and the moisture content of the shavings.”

While investment in upgraded equipment is important, Moore emphasizes that the company’s greatest resource remains its people. “We have the best employees in the world,” he believes. “You can have the best equipment and processes, but at the end of the day have to have the right people to run it. We are very blessed with some very good, intelligent people who believe in what they’re doing and come to work with the right attitude. It is a pleasure to work with them.”

Also last fall, Timber Automation optimizer was added to the Baxley trimmer.

CANTERSPROFILERS

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following companies submitted these editorial profiles and images to complement their advertisements placed elsewhere in this issue. Please refer to those advertisements for web site and contact information. All statements and claims are attributable to the companies.

ANDRITZ

Andritz group is a global technology leader in the sawline chipping head industry. With many decades spent in the industry and countless years of know-how, Andritz continues to innovate and lead the way when it comes to sawmill chipping. The Andritz TKD (TurnKnife-for-Drums) system for profiling equipment makes your sawline more flexible and efficient, while providing longer run time and less unplanned downtime. The TKD profiler system can be fitted to your machine, with a wide variety of cutting diameters and knife counts tailored specifically for your application.

You never need to compromise between economy and quality—Andritz gives you both. Our advanced technology is continuously developing, with even better tools and even smarter forms of collaboration.

We are continuously developing new canter and profiling technologies, as well as process optimization. Together with customers around the world, we improve the chipping quality and debarking results in the sawmill. Sawmills with our knife systems are superior to most others in the market and have a clearly dominant position in the forest industry.

With Andritz, the process is optimized based on the customer’s needs. Therefore, we can continuously create the highest possible return on the wood raw material together. Tools from Andritz in your sawmill increase productivity, minimize operating disruptions, and provide higher revenues. This is why we are almost everywhere that forest raw materials are processed.

Our knowledge gives you an advantage!

BID GROUP

Backed by several decades of experience, BID Group and its Comact brand have all it takes to offer high-performance and innovative sawing technologies. BID understands that quick and efficient equipment is an integral part of the optimal solution. The following mechanical innovations have enabled sawmills to increase productivity and profitability.

l Double Profiling at Secondary Breakdown

BID now separates the entry modules of the Comact secondary breakdown for a greater sawing quality and reduced recovery loss. Here, the canters are combined with the profiling module, followed by the gang saw. Since the equipment is not chipping at the same time as the sawing because the modules are separated, no lateral pressure is applied on the saws. This results in better quality of sawing, less variation, better durability of the saws and shorter gaps. The configuration is a good fit for mills transforming larger logs with bigger dimensions (10-12 in.) with no edgers.

l Splitter at Primary Breakdown

BID Group introduces new sawlines with double profilers combined with a splitter on the Comact primary breakdown solutions, a game changer for the breakdown of logs with a larger diameter.

The double profilers now allow the production of two side pieces of different widths and offer an endless range of widths (up to 4 in. for the thickness of a block or a side cant). As for the splitter, a horizontal saw allows the resaw of the first and/or second side board, in two pieces of different widths (2x4-2x4, 2x4-2x6…) with high accuracy to avoid damage to the central cant. This module also has two profilers that finish the pieces to the proper width.

The main benefits for this type of profiling are:

—Improvement of the production performance

—Improvement of the breakdown line speed by up to 30%

—Improvement of the sawmill flow

—Reduction/elimination of the edger operating costs

Innovation is fundamental for BID Group; each saw line is adapted to the client’s specific needs. Contact your BID representative today.

Andritz builds with profiler knowhow.

BID offers profiling technology solutions.

CANTERSPROFILERS

CONE-OMEGA

Profiling was common in the early Chip-N-Saw canter machines and in recent years profiling has made a comeback as a way of increasing profits by boosting productivity. Our profiler produces preedged sideboards that are trimmer ready. With almost no edger boards being generated, bottlenecks throughout the mill are reduced. When square edged, easy to handle boards are produced at the primary breakdown, overall mill flow improves, labor requirements are reduced and unnecessary downstream sorting and extra handling are eliminated.

We offer the profiler in twin and quad configurations. Designed for use with our sharp chain systems and any Chip-N-Saw style 4sided canter system, the profiler is placed between the top head and saw section modules. Only minimal modifications are required to add a profiler to an existing line, allowing profiled boards to be created anywhere on the side of the cant. During operation the chipping modules are inside the main frame and chips are completely contained. Chips are discharged out the bottom, making housekeeping a breeze.

Log faces are chipped, side boards profiled and our shifting quad sawbox takes off the side boards. Trimmer ready boards are separated from the center cant and head to the sorter. Center cants are transported downstream to either a VSA or VDA that can be supplied with a shifting timber pocket and a 5⁄4 bank that can shift below bedline until needed. An optional top and bottom profiler module can be added to the VSA/VDA that will eliminate the remaining 2-3% of edger boards that would have been created on the top.

Since the introduction of our profiler in 2017, we’ve installed 13 complete high speed profiling canter lines and retrofitted another line. We currently have two more systems in production for delivery in Q4 2023 and another in the queue for Q2 2024. Our quad profilers on our sharp chain lines feature adjustable inside board thickness. We have a sharp chain quad profiler as well as a profiling canter with 12 in. DAG that will both be commissioned in Q3 2023.

MEBOR

Mebor presents its BM CDH log sawing lines. They are based on circular saw technology in combination with chipper canters. Log diameters range from 4 in. (100 mm) to 19.5 in. (500 mm), while the sawing lengths are adapted to the needs of each customer. It is equipped with a 3D scanner with operator controlled visual log turning or with automatic turning of logs and positioning of cants.

The new CDH-Q 500 circular saw for logs may use various blade diameters (1623.5 in. / 400-600 mm) to optimize kerf depending on the log diameters sawn. Cutting is distributed evenly between bottom and top shafts, allowing equal load on all the motors. The machine is able to cut 1/2/3 cants from the log, allowing a better recovery on certain cutting patterns. Cants are sawn by a double arbor VC DE multi rip saw. Variable speed of chipper canters allows a uniform chip size in relation to feeding speed. The main sawing line is controlled by one operator only.

Boards are edged by Mebor’s optimized FRC chipping edger that includes 1-3 additional circular rip saws.

The BM CDH line may also include automatic board stackers and all needed waste removal conveyors. Production rates of the lines range from 65,000 –140,000 BF/8h (approx. 250-500 m3 of log input), depending on the design and customer’s needs.

The recently installed line shown in the photo was designed for a minimum log length of 82 in. (2.1 m).

Cone-Omega profiler pre-edges sideboards for the trimmer.

Mebor sawing line with chipper canter

CANTERSPROFILERS

OPTIMIL

Optimil’s canter profiler feed section consists of a heavy duty auto rotation conveyor, a log turner and a skewing-slewing-tilting infeed. An extended (DLI) length infeed precisely positions the log to achieve maximum yield as calculated by optimization software. Logs are fed through the infeed system on a pneumatically tensioned high speed roller chain and work in conjunction with the coupled overhead hold-down rolls to maintain control of all log sizes and to ensure accurate log transport. In order to pre-position spiked rolls and control the log as it enters the bottom head chipping assembly or sharp chain system, linear positioners are seamlessly incorporated along the line.

The two-sided canter systems, typically used in conjunction with secondary horizontal curve-sawing systems, use conical side heads to produce two-side cants in which logs feed through on a sharp chain. These conical disc chipping heads are positioned on the log 30° sideways, incorporating low friction linear bearings to produce high quality chips and achieve optimum accuracy. Optimil’s patented non-rotating anvil provides superior log guiding and minimum deviation throughout the chipping section.

Optimil’s four sided canter utilizes drum type heads and a mini spline guiding to offer feed rates of 750 FPM while maintaining chip quality. The new four-sided canters have been developed to promote dust and chip containment.

More feed rolls have been added for better control through the entire system; all chip heads and feed rolls are driven by U-joint drive shafts operated through remote Rex gear boxes. Side board profilers can be added to both two and four sided canters to help eliminate the load at the board edger system. These heads are positioned by the optimized solution sent by the scanner located in the extended length (DLI) system. The side board solution can be skewed up or down the side of the cant.

USNR

USNR has a long history manufacturing gangs and has developed upgrades that can increase production levels, efficiency and profitability in your mill. We combine the latest technology with innovative design to develop high performance, end-to-end, valuefocused solutions. Whether your goal is improving yield, expanding production, or entering new markets, we can help you get there.

Improve the performance and accuracy of your curve-sawing gang with the Remote Saw Mismatch Adjuster. A linear positioning hydraulic cylinder moves the top arbor sawguides to match the bottom arbor. The system also ensures alignment between saws on the top and bottom arbors during spline cuts and can be biased from the HMI. The result is little to no saw mismatch in your boards.

The pivoting drive base upgrade offers a strong and accurate motor base for arbor drives, enabling users to tension and/or replace the poly chain belts without causing misalignment between the motor shaft and the arbor. This keeps the poly chain sprockets perfectly aligned after adjustment. The pivoting drive base replaces the original 4-post motor base and alleviates the need for a sprocket alignment after every belt tensioning/replacement procedure.

The pantograph arm conversion for the McGehee GEN-I double arbor gang is designed to improve uptime and reduce maintenance, while maintaining safe operation. With fewer belt changes required, the conversion provides ongoing time savings for your maintenance and production staff. It also offers improved access while maintaining safety features. Other key features include larger sprockets and belts, eccentric jackshafts, and opening belt guards.The motor drive arrangement upgrade improves access to the HSS arbor drive components by rotating the motors 180°. This places the belt drives outside for better access and faster belt changes. Belts drive the arbors using jackshafts, torque-limiting couplings, and drivelines. Arbor and jackshaft rotation sensors offer improved troubleshooting.

When mills work with manufacturers to find ways to improve equipment performance, solutions can be found that may enable them to run for another 10-15 years. USNR is proud to offer performance-enhancing upgrades with quick paybacks.

Optimil canter profiler line

USNR gang upgrades improve performance, reduce maintenance.

BACK WHEN NAVAL STORES

By DK Knight

—First of Three Parts—

It was dirty, demanding, and destructive, a remarkable forest-based industry that endured for most of three centuries and even today is survived by a distant remnant. It was a major component of the South’s economy, but it wiped out untold volumes of longleaf and slash pine timber and scarred the lives of many who toiled at the tasks it entailed. And, in some instances, it left a shameful wake of social wrongdoing.

When wooden ships and boats were the thing, tar and pitch were essential in keeping them seaworthy, as theyexcelled in keeping vessels watertight, preventing shipworm infestations, and preserving rigging. Tar and pitch were known as ‘naval stores,’ a term that eventually included turpentine and rosin.

Long accustomed to producing naval stores from their native conifers, European immigrants who settled in southern Virginia and eastern North Carolina built in-ground kilns—typically large, smoldering mounds—to extract (sweat) tar from abundant resin-rich lightwood found on the forest floor. According to historical documents, this crude, pungent activity surfaced around 1700 and was the beginning of one of the New World’s first significant industries.

Depending on the kiln size, the process could take two weeks and required constant 24/7 monitoring to maintain the proper temperature. A large kiln could hold many tons of lightwood and produce up to 5,700 gallons of thick tar, used by colonialists as axle grease, a fence post preservative, a healing agent for livestock wounds, and yes, for social punishment. In a separate process, tar was boiled to produce thinner pitch. Primary market for

the products was England, whose ships ruled the seas for generations. As a bonus, the process turned lightwood into charcoal, which blacksmiths used as fuel.

In the early 1800s, the process of distilling turpentine from raw gum harvested from live trees evolved and slowly expanded. This refined product was used by colonialists for many purposes, among them medicine, solvent, and water repellent. Primary source for lightwood and

The birth, development and demise of the South’s important Naval Stores sector

North Florida, early 1900s—wagon with barrels, worker emptying bucket of gum.

An artist’s rendering of tar kiln, circa early 1700s

gum was the longleaf pine, which covered an estimated 92 million acres from southern Virginia to present day east Texas when settlers arrived on the East Coast. Over time, slash pine would join longleaf as a favored gum resource.

GUM HARVESTING

Some colonialists reportedly bored holes in trees and let the gum pool in holes dug in the ground, but by far the most widespread early gum harvesting practice was known as the ‘box’ method. In the winter months, ‘boxer’ teams used a broadax and wooden maul to chop one or more boxes, or cavities, in a tree a few inches above the ground. On large trees, up to three boxes could be made; on smaller ones, usually one or two.

The area above a box was then prepared for the flow of gum. To ‘corner the box,’ a worker used a felling ax to remove bark above the box, then relied on a heavy, specialized tool called a hack to open or chip the initial incision and to periodically continue the process, which was done in narrow grooves typically spaced just less than an inch apart in a chevron pattern.

Some operators limited the distance the chipped area, or face, extended up a tree, but others went up 15 feet or so, particularly with the beginning of the 20th century. In such cases, workers used a ladder or a long-handled ‘puller.’ A high face extension resulted in increased gum evaporation and greater crystallization. Regardless of the face height, lower value crystallized gum had to be scraped away once or twice during the March-November season to facili-

tate gum flow. New grooves were cut every week or two during the season.

Areas of the tree bole scarified for gum production were known as ‘cat faces’ in that they resembled a cat’s whiskers. The gum flowed down these channels and into the box, which could hold up to two quarts of resin. Every three to four weeks workers known as dippers went from tree to tree, scooped gum into heavy buckets, each of which could weigh up to 50 lbs. when full, and emptied them into 40-gallon barrels, which were transported via wagon (later a farm tractor) to a distillery.

WOOD-FIRED STILLS

Early on, these wood-fired stills were not found in the woods, but this changed with advances in technology

Depiction of chopped box, chipped face

New grooves were chipped every one to two weeks. Note trash protection across gum cup.

A ‘puller’ was used to extend the face, in some instances up to 12-15 feet.

so that smaller stills, which used a process similar to their moonshine relatives, could be set up in all but the smallest operations. In most instances, a still was accompanied by a barrel-making shed, a cooper and a helper.

Stills became more efficient over time, but early vintage types were often sloppy and wasteful. For example, some still operators made no attempt to capture the important rosin byproduct, allowing it to flow onto the ground. Later, devices would not only capture rosin but also filter it multiple times for improved purity. Given often crude construction, a woodfired boiler and sticky, highly flammable gum and rosin, untold numbers of stills caught fire and burned. This, and the handling of high-temperature liquids, made working in a still the most dangerous of all turpentine tasks.

INDUSTRY GROWTH

The labor-intensive industry consisted of large, medium and small operators, some of whom owned or leased pine stands and owned and operated fire stills. Some simply harvested gum and sold it to distillers. Tar kilns continued as part of the mix. Factoring houses, or factors, eventually arrived on the scene. These well financed entities controlled vast timber tracts, which they leased to turpentine operators and routinely advanced capital and/or provided equipment and goods, thereby helping stabilize an industry known for up and down cycles.

North Carolina quickly emerged as the leading producer of naval stores and this dominance continued for decades. By

1850, the state accounted for almost 96% of the nation’s naval stores output, much of which continued to be exported. A few years before the Civil War began, more than 1,000 turpentine fire stills and numerous tar kilns were reportedly operating in eastern North Carolina. It’s no wonder that North Carolina came to be

known as the Tar Heel State.

Resin harvesting soared dramatically around 1850 as demand for gum turpentine increased due to new industrial uses for the product. However, the Union blockade of Southern ports brought the South’s naval stores industry to a near standstill, and after the war, wood shipbuilding declined, lightwood availability dwindled, and various petroleum products began replacing naval stores in certain applications. But brighter days were ahead.

‘TURPENTINE TRAIL’

Most longleaf stands in North Carolinas had been almost entirely decimated by the start of the Civil War, prompting turpentine interests to migrate south and west. Following vast stands of virgin

Crystallized ‘scrape’ had to be periodically removed.

Typical wood-fired still, early 1900s

longleaf and slash pine, they moved on to coastal South Carolina, southern Georgia, the northern half Florida, and to parts of the Gulf Coast states. Many brought their workers, mostly former slaves, with them, creating a phenomenon known as the ‘turpentine trail.’ Novelist Donna Everhart used this phenomenon as the platform for her book, The Saints of Swallow Hill, released in February 2022.

In another book, Tapping the Pines, Robert Outland chronicled the rise and fall of the South’s naval stores industry. Concerning one group of Georgia workers he wrote: “Of 178 laborers working at camps along the Macon and Brunswick Railroad in 1879,80% were black, and 70% were born in North Carolina.” A large number of NC whites and some Native Americans joined blacks on the trail, with some of the collective group eventually venturing as far as east Texas.

The industry slowly recovered from the impact of war and related fallout, and accelerated sharply in the 1880s. It attracted newcomers and led some producers to expand their businesses. Some operators leased property from factors or private landowners, and some private landowners worked their own timber for gum or partnered with larger operators. Regardless of the setup, trees were typically worked in crops consisting of some 10,000 faces per crop. The largest operations worked 10 or more crops per year and required lots of labor. Typically, a tree produced about 8 lbs. of gum per week and was good for up to 10 years of gum harvesting.

Workers were based in remote camps that ranged from decent to dismal in terms of housing and overall infrastructure. Most camps had a commissary where essentials could be purchased. Wages were typically paid in company scrip or coin, redeemable at the on-site store. Some camps had churches and school buildings, and racial segregation ruled. Most had a ‘juke joint’ for Saturday night entertainment. Whether suitable or far from it, housing was temporary (often portable) as trees were gradually ‘tapped out’ and the camp had to be relocated. TP

(Part two of this series will be carried in the April issue and will focus on 20th century innovations and developments. Note: Some information and illustrations in this article appeared in Naval Stores— A History of an Early Industry Created from the South’s Forests, James P. Barnett, U.S. Forest Service, June 2019.)

FRANK BENNETT WAS A VISIONARY

Francis “Frank” Raymon Bennett, former president of Bennett Lumber Products with mills in Princeton, Idaho and Clarkston, Wash., known as a sawmill innovator and a beloved grandfather, father and husband, died peacefully in his home in Moscow, Idaho surrounded by loved ones

on October 1, 2022. He was 87.

Timber Processing visited and wrote articles on Bennett’s mills, including a March 1978 article on the Princeton mill, which Frank Bennett had purchased and entirely rebuilt. The article stated, “Bennett Lumber’s dimension band mill is a show place—modern, highly productive, efficient, and yes,

even a place of beauty.”

A July 1994 article on the sawmill in Clarkston, once known as Guy Bennett Lumber, and which had just started up a new small log mill, “one of the newest and most technologically advanced sawmills in the Intermountain Region,” noted that Frank Bennett did much of the design work. “We weren’t after production, we needed the highest recovery possible, and felt we’d get the best return with this end-dogging system,” Bennett said.

Born July 11, 1935 to parents Guy and Millie Bennett in Clarkston, Bennett attended school in Clarkston while also assisting with his father’s fruit box business, sawing lumber purchased from Potlatch into fruit box shook ready for assembly. When World War II started, they landed a contract for ammunition boxes, rebuilt an old planer mill and began shaping Bennett Lumber into a successful business.

As the lumber business grew, the family expanded to two other mill sites in Moscow and Troy. Bennett had his sights on continued growth, and he purchased Boone Lumber in Princeton, and quickly got to work on modernization efforts for that mill and eventually closed the Moscow and Troy mills.

Bennett was a visionary and his constant modernization efforts frequently received praise for his mills being ahead of their time. He had a keen eye for reducing manual, labor-intensive processes whenever possible. In the late 1960s, he started working with an engineering firm and brought to life the bin sorter, which in 1972 was implemented at Bennett Lumber Products and became a mainstay in most sawmills.

Throughout the years, Bennett never failed to credit the success of Bennett Lumber and Guy Bennett Lumber to the dedication of the employees from the surrounding communities.

Bennett never fully retired before his passing, and that is a true testament to his love and devotion to his business, employees, and sustainable lumber practices. He put his whole heart into the mill and made every decision with precision and the utmost care. His legacy will continue with his son and grandson.

Bennett and Delores Hall were married on January 1, 1953. They moved to Moscow raised six children. Above all else, Bennett deeply loved his family, and you

Frank Bennett, 1978

could often find him surrounded by his children, 11 grandchildren, and 21 greatgrandchildren. On any given Sunday, you would find him sitting at the kitchen table educating one of the many family members on Nascar, IndyCar, or golf.

He and Delores shared a love of travel and would often take off on an adventure together with their children. With that came his passion for flying. He obtained his pilot’s license at a young age and

would often fly his helicopter to assess his timberland. In the evenings and on weekends, you could find him tending to his yard and garden. He took great pride in his meticulous Koi Pond. He had exquisite taste and a keen eye for Western art and found a lot of joy in attending Western art shows with his wife.

Bennett was predeceased by his parents; brother Guy Bennett, Jr; son Frank Bennett, Jr.; daughter Sandra Bennett. He is

survived by his wife Delores Hall Bennett; sister Janice Bennett Dimke; brother Richard Bennett; daughters Vicki Bennett Jahns and husband Bob Jahns, Shelley Bennett, Suzanne Bennett Wilson and husband Charles Wilson; son Brett Bennett.

A service to celebrate his life was held at the Nazarene Church in Moscow.

OFIC SAYS ODF MESSED UP

Oregon Dept. of Forestry (ODF) used inaccurate modeling data to develop a plan to manage more than 600,000 acres of Oregon’s state forests for the next 70 years, according to a report from the Oregon Forest Industries Council, a trade association representing forestland owners and forest products manufacturers,

As a result, ODF has miscalculated the true financial impact the plan would have on both the agency’s budget and the budgets of 15 Oregon counties who depend on revenue from state forests, according to OFIC. The plan would reduce revenue used to fund the state lands division in the coming biennium close to $30 million.

In addition, as recently as three months ago, ODF represented to the Board of Forestry that their plan would initially produce 250MMBF of timber harvest annually, but now new data indicates harvest levels will be as low as 165MMBF a year, a 34% reduction from what was previously represented, and will not increase over the life of the 70-year plan.

Two years ago, ODF secured permission from the Board of Forestry to pursue a Habitat Conservation Plan, designed to be a long-term plan that supports the conservation of threatened and endangered species, while allowing management of the forest, including ongoing timber harvest activities. The 70-year-term was supposedly selected to balance the risks associated with shorter and longer terms.

Steve Zika, CEO of Hampton Lumber, says the plan came together “almost entirely behind closed doors. ODF gathered all its eggs in the dark and placed them in a single basket. Now near the end of their journey, ODF has submitted its preferred alternative to the federal agencies and a little daylight is revealing that the bottom of the basket has fallen out entirely. The festering problems now coming to light are due to a lack of transparency and oversight from the Board of Forestry. The Board can and should direct ODF staff to prepare a revised HCP.”

FOREST HEALTH PROJECT

Pursuing central Oregon forest health objectives while protecting environment, economy.

By Dan Shell

JOHN DAY, Ore.

Forest health issues continue to dominate the concerns of Western U.S. forest managers, especially on huge expanses of public lands that are in dire need of management activities that reduce the potential for disastrous wildfires. With huge backlogs of forest health projects and traditional funding sources running thin, stewardship contracts offer national forest managers the opportunity to integrate revenue-producing timber harvests with landscape-scale forest health and restoration activities and accomplish goals that benefit a variety of forest interests and stakeholders.

The story of central Oregon’s largest stewardship contract on the Malheur National Forest surrounding John Day starts with forest health issues: Two key groups, the Blue Mountain Forest Partnership and the Harney County Restoration Collaborative, have worked to bring diverse interests together to address forest health issues and take a more cooperative approach, especially as ongoing drought conditions have persisted and wildfire danger has increased.

The groups’ goal was to come up with projects that wouldn’t get challenged in court and can actually make a difference on the ground—while also providing a level of commercial timber production. Iron Triangle Logging was an active member of both groups, as were other timber interests in the area, before the

would soon close.

In a little 1,700-person town like John Day, the loss of a major employer like Malheur Lumber—not a large producer by any means but hugely important in such a community—can be an economic death blow. The mill was having trouble recovering from the 2008-2009 overall economic downturn as lumber markets remained sluggish, and few timber sales were moving in regional national forests. When owner John Shelk announced plans to close the mill in late 2012, the collaboratives’ members were able to act in concert with forest officials to develop thinning projects and a logging plan to help sustain the mill.

The groups were also involved in planning as Malheur National Forest personnel developed the 10-year stewardship contract. The contract called for between 180,000 and 500,000 acres of forest health treatments and a potential of up to 500MMBF in timber harvest during the life of the contract.

One big difference is that while on-theground decisions and projects are managed by local forest officials, as a federal Integrated Resource Service Contract (IRSC), the fine print in the contract and each task order is managed by personnel in the federal acquisitions management (AQM) office in Wenatchee, Wash.

Zach Williams, Iron Triangle Operations Manager, says when Iron Triangle bid and was awarded the contract in 2013, neither they nor the FS were exactly sure how well a 10-year contract

some adjustments along the way. For example, plans were originally to work on one task order per year, but those proved unwieldy and too large. Instead, they’ve been working two to three smaller task orders per year, up to 13 so far, he says.

A task order contains a number of projects, each defined in size and scope of services that include many forest health treatments, plus timber harvest estimates. Iron Triangle is responsible for ensuring all work is completed within the timeline.

One of the key issues with executing the task orders are the considerably shorter timelines involved. Projects under the contract have mostly two-year deadlines with very little wiggle room, Williams says, compared to traditional timber sales with three- to five-year deadlines and a waiver system that can sometimes double that time. The shorter deadlines are by design under the contract’s goals to provide a consistent flow of timber into the local economy.

Depending on how complicated or sensitive logging operations are they might get a three-year deadline, “But the intention is to keep the wood flowing,” Williams says.

A key feature of the contract is the true “integrated resources” concept that allows for more productivity in forest health projects. For example, in a traditional timber sale a high bidder wins the right to harvest timber on a specific site. There may be credit for roadwork to access the site, but any other activities would be completely separate projects.

Instead, the IRSC enables landscape scale restoration projects by placing all activities across a larger area under a single contractor. In addition, the IRSC allows for the national forests to combine the value of the timber revenues with Congressional appropriations to get the work done. These are the activities like mastication, pre-commercial thinning and fuel removal that typically don’t provide any revenue while adding to budget costs.

“We receive stewardship credits for the service work that we do, which is applied against the stumpage owed for the product we removed,” Williams says.

By using the IRSC process and stewardship contracts to fund forest health

Iron Triangle’s post and pole facility in Seneca

work, federal forest managers are able to use stewardship contracts to make an immediate impact on forest health needs and infrastructure maintenance.

Reducing overall fuel loads is key, Williams says. “The goal is to take these stands back to a historic spacing, but also be mindful of how we need more drought tolerant species. Our intention is also to bring these stands back to more pine dominant because there’s been a lot of fir ingrowth over the years,” he says.

“We want to create conditions where a wildfire doesn’t create a high-intensity burn and instead burns through the understory,” Williams says.

UTILIZATION

As usual, sawlogs, even in the smaller range, will find a home. It’s finding a value proposition for and marketing that mountain of material under 8 inches in diameter that’s being removed is key to making forest health operations more feasible.

Malheur Lumber Co., which was originally a large log pine cutting mill, has made investments to handle smaller logs and has converted to a multi species mill to match the output from the local forest, but at roughly 40MMBF capacity there’s only so much it can take.

Restoration Fuels, a torrefaction plant that’s located adjacent Malheur Lumber, is still working to optimize its processes and product mix, and may eventually provide a huge local market for biomass and chip material in the future. The facility takes some material each year, but not in the volumes that Williams (or Restoration Fuels, for that matter) would like to see so far.

Meanwhile, Iron Triangle has invested in two small material processing facilities in 2016: a sorting facility in John Day and a small post and pole mill in Seneca roughly 25 miles south. The John Day facility has expanded to include firewood processing and packaging as well.

IMPACT

A detailed report halfway through the life of the 10-year contract was released by the University of Oregon in 2018 that showed an average of 38MMBF were harvested each year during that time. In addition, the forest and restoration activities completed each year added up to an

average of $1.2 million annually in forest health work.

Economic studies that accompanied the report showed that through its first five years, the Malheur NF 10-year stewardship contract directly supported 268 jobs in Grant and Harney counties each year, including 185 jobs in forest health work, logging, millprocessing and administrative employment and 83 multiplier effect indirect jobs.

Utilization is a key component in the forest health equation.

HUNT MOVES FORWARD WITH LEBLANC

also to procure younger talent into the industry?

LeBlanc: Labor issues are a common theme at many industry events across the U.S. In the last several years we have experienced many challenges that impacted our work force…Covid, hurricanes, ice and snow storms. Our owners and partners agreed with the company’s leadership to pay all hourly employees during these events that caused extended downtime at our mills. I feel strongly that how we treat our employees during these uncertain times has helped us retain our talent during these trying times. We were able to take advantage of the favorable markets and provide additional bonuses to our employees. We recognize that it is both a business and strategic imperative that talent must be developed from within the organization. Our owners and leadership are committed to helping develop employees and give them the tools and skills necessary to increase employee engagement, thereby enhancing performance.

TP: Developing a company culture continues to be a growing theme. Is Hunt invested in this and what are the keys to its successful implementation?

tion-and-answer session with Richie LeBlanc, president and CEO of Louisiana-based Hunt Forest Products, LLC, also appeared in the March issue of Panel World, an affiliate of Timber Processing. Family-owned Hunt Forest Products named LeBlanc as president in 2016. After a stellar college baseball career as a pitcher for Louisiana Tech, and several years pitching in the minor leagues for the Kansas City Royals, LeBlanc wrapped up his business degree at La Tech and worked with an insurance agency as vice president in Ruston for 10 years, before joining Willamette Industries in Ruston and then Weyerhaeuser after Weyerhaeuser acquired Willamette in early 2002 following a prolonged takeover battle. LeBlanc served on the integration team,

Willamette and Weyerhaeuser. He became the land adjustment program manager of Weyerhaeuser’s North Louisiana timberlands organization. In 2015, he was named director of U.S. real estate operations for Weyerhaeuser, before joining Hunt Forest Products. Hunt FP continues to operate a plywood mill in Pollock, La., a hardwood sawmill in Olla, La. and in recent years has partnered with Tolko Industries at a newly constructed sawmill in Urania, La. and at a sawmill under construction in Taylor, La.

TP: We hear about labor issues affecting operations across so many industries. Is Hunt seeing this as well, and what initiative is Hunt taking to attract, train and retain employees, and

LeBlanc: When we took over in 2016, we started molding the company’s culture into a system that is proactive with respect to safety, capitalization, automation, growth, and development of people. This was a tremendous change from where the company was prior to the change of ownership within the Hunt Family. Trott and Jimmy Hunt have and continue to advocate growth both within existing assets and new projects like the greenfield lumber mill in Urania, La. and the most recent announcement of the new mill in Taylor, La.

TP: Given your experience with timberlands, there has been discussion about potential conflicts with carbon credit programs that could essentially take forestland out of timber production. How closely does that bear watching?

LeBlanc: I am by no means an expert in the carbon credit markets. I do believe there are areas that can be set aside without much impact to timber production. As we have seen, this is a very dynamic space that will continue to evolve.

There’s no shortage of activity for LeBlanc and Hunt FP these days.

President Richie LeBlanc provides insights on Hunt FP and the wood products industry.

TP: Is there a possibility that Hunt will enter mass timber production, given the company’s combined panel and lumber expertise?

LeBlanc: We have and will continue to grow our business within our core competencies. As with carbon markets, finding new ways to utilize the renewable resource we have in wood products will continue. We want to have a seat at the table with respect to any growth opportunities within this space.

TP: Provide a few reflections on what the industry has meant to your development of character and professionalism?

LeBlanc: It certainly has been an interesting ride. I joined Willamette in 2000 not knowing much about wood products. My role was more administrative than operational. Shortly, after joining the Willamette team, Weyerhaeuser announced their bid to acquire Willamette. I was asked to be part of the integration team that would bring the two companies together. It was an incredible experience, some good and some not so good. As with any merger, there were many people that were displaced. That was a difficult time because Willamette had such a significant presence in Ruston, Louisiana. However, with Hot Springs, Arkansas

learned was what type of leader I wanted to be.

TP: How did you come to be with Hunt Forest Products?

LeBlanc: Joining the Hunt team was all about timing. The Hunt Brothers needed someone to oversee the company and I was in Seattle with Weyerhaeuser at the time. My son became very ill and my wife had already returned to Ruston. I remember telling my team at Weyerhaeuser, “It’s easy to say that family comes first right up until that time when you have to make the decision to leave Weyerhaeuser and return to Ruston to take care of family matters.” I also remember the day Trott Hunt called…same day I found out that my son was ill.

TP: What’s it like to lead a familyfounded company like Hunt, and what lessons learned perhaps through your sporting days do you continue to bring to the leadership table today?

LeBlanc: The Hunt family has a long history of success in the North Louisiana Piney Woods. Being part of that history is certainly special. In the seven years I have been part of this company, we have expe-

ers are sitting in church with you—it’s hard to hide from them in our small town. Therefore, we have to ensure our actions are sound business decisions and what will be the effect. It is similar to playing minor league baseball: You have to learn and improve every day if you want to move to the next level. Once you stop wanting to learn and improve, your career is over.

TP: If you had to pick out a major challenge the industry (and Hunt) faces moving forward, what would it be?

LeBlanc: I believe labor will continue to be challenging in the future—not only from the employment side but also from the knowledge side of our business. We

Hunt FP has teamed with Tolko Industries on two greenfield sawmills in Louisiana.

Sawmill action at LaSalle Lumber, Urania, La.

MACHINERYROW

Esterer WD Reveals New Bold Logo

Since 1862, Esterer WD with 250 employees today in Altötting and Reutlingen, Germany, has been one of the worldwide leaders in supplying sawmill equipment. Commitment to quality, reliability and customer focus count among the most important values within the company and contribute to ongoing success.

EWD has enjoyed considerable growth in recent years and has taken several, successful steps toward digitalization. Despite this, the sawmilling industry will face substantial challenges in coming years which will require further, continued development.

The company, always known for realizing new possibilities, is facing these challenges and developing a comprehensive vision for the future. For this EWD is drawing on its values and experience from

the last 160 years and combining these with a large portion of innovative spirit and willingness for development. This will also be reinforced in a new, confident company image.

The previous EWD logo, with the letters outlined, will change to three solid, bold letters. They reflect the stability of the company within the market. The company color remains the timeless, elegant grey of the trusted machines and shows technical and classical values.

The new external image can be seen in different channels in the future. Already at the end of 2022 the new EWD Linkedin channel was launched. A TikTok presence is also planned to target future talent. The next step in the plan is an optimized Internet presence, which reflects the relevance of the company EWD online.

“However, in all you will repeatedly find the future company values: Tradition and Innovation, Awareness of the Past and Future Orientation, Stability and Flexibility,” the company states.

McDonough Names Hawley Senior VP

McDonough Manufacturing, Eau Claire, Wis., has promoted Hugh Hawley to senior vice president from vice president of operations.

Hawley, a graduate of the Forest Engineering Program at the University of New Brunswick, having started his career in the sawmill industry immediately after graduation, moved into the sawmill machinery manufacturing industry in 2005, joining McDonough in 2007 as the general manager of the Edger Div.

When McDonough expanded into Canada in 2017, Hawley became general manager of the Canadian division before being named vice president of operations in 2020.

Doosan Changes Name To DEVELON

Doosan will now be called DEVELON throughout the world and will continue providing innovative products and solutions in construction and other heavy equipment equipment industries.

Work began to identify a new brand name to replace Doosan following the August 2021 sale of Doosan Infracore to HD Hyundai (formerly Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co.). The name DEVELON was chosen to convey the company’s drive to develop onward to bring innovative solutions through technological transformation and the development of exceptional equipment and services.

“We believe the new DEVELON brand will help us build on the success we’ve had in North America over the past 30 years and throughout the world for more than 80 years,” says Todd Roecker, vice president of growth initiatives.

DEVELON products and services will help customers and partners become industry leaders in construction, logging, recycling, mining, rental and agriculture. Efforts will also be placed on advancing sustainable development through alternative energy sources of power for construction equipment.

In North America, DEVELON will continue supporting its more than 180 dealer locations while DEVELON North American operations will remain headquartered near Atlanta, in Suwanee, Ga., where the company continues to offer a training center for dealership service technicians. The

company will maintain parts availability through its two regional parts distribution centers: one in Atlanta and a second in the Pacific Northwest. A customization plant in Savannah, Ga. will still play a key role in supplying machines to DEVELON dealers and customers.

DEVELON will continue as a subsidiary in the Hyundai Genuine group alongside Hyundai Construction Equipment (HCE). These two subsidiaries will remain independent construction equipment companies under HD Hyundai.

Con-Vey Promotes Goebel To VP

Con-Vey LLC, manufacturer of automated material handling equipment for engineered wood products, announced the promotion of Jeremy Goebel to Vice President.

Goebel joined Con-Vey as a sales representative in 2013 and quickly rose through the ranks, becoming the sales manager in 2017. With exceptional technical skills and personable nature, Goebel has been instrumental in driving ConVey’s success and growth.

MACHINERYROW

“We are thrilled to have Jeremy take on this new role of Vice President at Con-Vey,” says Dave Larecy, CEO and President, “His vision, commitment and strengths make him the right guy for the job, and we are confident he will help us achieve our strategic initiatives and continue to grow Con-Vey into the future.”

As Vice President, Goebel will continue to lead the sales team, while also managing other department operations. This promotion is part of Con-Vey’s growth plan and the next step in expanding its management team.

Büttner Expands Product Range

As a globally operating supplier of burners as well as drying and energy plants, Büttner—a member of the Siempelkamp Group—is taking the next logical step by establishing a new environmental technology competence center in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and expanding its product range in the field of environmental technology.

Büttner will now be designing and manufacturing dry electrostatic filters to separate ash from hot flue gases in energy plants and wet electrostatic precipitators (WESP) to reduce particles and volatile emissions from the waste air emitted by drying and press systems.

This gives new customers the opportunity to focus on energy efficiency and the reduction of emissions during the planning and design stages of their plants. But the new competence team will also be able to help current customers in regard to the modernization, conversion and extension of their existing plants.

Brett Paved Way For H-B Abroad

Alan Douglas Brett, who in the latter half of his career led the international advertising sales growth of the forest industry trade magazines produced by HattonBrown Publishers, Inc., and whose vigorous life included professional motor cycle speedway racing as a young man and a long stint as sales manager with the Daily Telegraph in London, died January 16

following health issues at his villa at Aldea de las Cuevas, Benidoleig, Alicante, Spain. He was 86.

Brett sold magazine advertising space for Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.-based Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. and its ber Processing, Panel World Harvesting magazines from 1984 to 2006. He worked from his office and home residence in Box Hill, Surrey, just southwest of London, until in 1993 he and his wife, Rita, purchased their dream home in years of dealing with sales people who were the complete opposite,” recalls David Ramsey, publisher of HattonBrown Publishers, Inc. who hired Brett. “He was a happy man and lived his life as such. He came from a tough childhood but lived his life his way. I shall miss him.”

Hatton-Brown Editor-in-Chief Rich Donnell remembers, “In 1989 I met Alan at the Ligna show in Hannover, Germany, long before Hatton-Brown had its own booth there, and we set up shop on one of the tables of the Hall 2 restaurant and walked the aisles for a week. I soon discovered he was a very persuasive salesman who could close the deal. He also had a great personality and sense of humor that won over his clients.”

Brett was born in Kingston Hospital on December 23, 1936. He was raised by his mother and in his late teen years by an aunt and cousins in New Malden South London.

Brett was a “war baby” and due to the heavy bombing of South London he went to stay with a mining family in Nottingham, but experienced bombing in the industrial Midland as well. The war experience contributed to Brett’s lifelong passion as an amateur historian of World War II, complemented by his lifelong power of memory.

Brett became obsessed with Motorcycle Speedway Racing, as tracks were springing up everywhere due to the wasteland available after the war. In his teen years Brett raced cycle speedway and attended high school at Wimbledon Technical College.

In 1954 he started to race competitively as a professional motor cycle speedway rider and in 1955 he represented Eastbourne and Wimbledon before big crowds throughout Europe. He mixed with many of his childhood heroes and champions— Ronnie Moore, Barry Briggs, Ivan Mauger, Ove Fundin and Peter Cravan.

But in 1956 Brett’s highly promising speedway career was cut short due to a terrible leg injury. He suffered it during a

practice session when the bike in front of him crashed, sending Brett from behind over the top of his bike before a third rider rode over Brett’s leg. However, while in the hospital Brett met Rita Hammerton, who was a professional dancer working at The Windmill Theatre in Soho and they were married in 1960.

His dream of racing motorcycles shattered, Brett entered the newspaper industry and his career progressed to Classified Sales Manager at the Daily Telegraph

were he would work for 20 years.

Brett left the Daily Telegraph and set up his own company, selling advertising for various trade publications, eventually landing with Hatton-Brown Publishers. Brett was a pioneer of “remote working,” running his British business from Spain.

Brett enjoyed his life immensely in Spain, especially helping out the elderly and was a big supporter of the local Careline Theatre, holding the position of Front of House.

Brett’s wife Rita died in 2021 and Brett chose to continue his life in their villa until his peaceful passing, surrounded with love by his family and caregivers. He is survived by his sons and their spouses, Neil (Simone) and Murray (Liz), five granddaughters, and a sister, Jill.

RoyOMartin Goes Back 100 Years

RoyOMartin is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of Roy O. Martin Lumber Co., which was legally organized and incorporated in Alexandria, La. in 1923. Led by Indiana native Roy O. Martin, Sr., the company was born after the entrepreneur’s purchase of an older sawmill and began without a single acre of land. Today, the trade name RoyOMartin represents a group of vertically integrated companies owned by the Martin family, focused on sustainable land and timber management and wood product manufacturing.

“For 100 years, the Martin family has built a business model demonstrating corporate responsibility benefiting its shareholders, stakeholders, team members and our families,” states Roy O. Martin III, grandson of Martin Sr. and Chairman, CEO and CFO.

In addition to being a leader in responsible forest-management practices and overseeing 550,000 acres of highly-productive timberland, RoyOMartin and its subsidiaries operate three manufacturing facilities supported by nearly 1,300 employees: an oriented strandboard plant in Oakdale, La.; plywood and solid wood products plant in Chopin, La.; and an oriented strandboard plant in Corrigan, Texas, which is currently expanding by constructing a second mill at the site.

In 1923, after working in the lumber industry in Indiana, Illinois and Tennessee for 11 years, 33-year-old Roy Otis Martin Sr. wanted to go into business for himself and wanted to buy a sawmill in an area where lumber was reasonably inexpensive. His search took him to Alexandria, where he and his wife, Mildred Brown Martin, purchased the nearly dilapidated Creston Sawmill for $32,000. On November 10, 1923, the Roy O. Martin Lumber Co. was officially organized and incorpo-

ROM timbers sawmill in Chopin, La.

rated, with Roy O. Martin as its president.

The company has thrived through a variety of changes and challenges in its 100 years—from sawmills and lumberyards to retail outlets, creosote treating, real estate, and wood product manufacturing—to become a timber-and-manufacturing industry leader.

In 1929 Martin Sr. made his first land purchase when he bought 6,500 acres in the Black Lake swamp area in northwest Louisiana. Since then, timberland hold-

ings have grown exponentially to become one of the largest private landowners in the state.

Throughout three generations, the Martin family has remained in management roles. In 1962, company leadership passed to the second generation, with Roy O. Martin Jr. serving as president, followed by his brother Ellis Martin in 1978. The third generation took the helm in 1994 when Jonathan Martin (Ellis’ son) and, later, Roy O. Martin III assumed the top

positions of president and CEO.

Today, organizational leaders still abide by the same principles held by the company’s founder: Respect, Integrity, Commitment, Honesty, Excellence, and Stewardship. Those values, known by the acronym RICHES, guide everyday decisions.

“We will continue to demonstrate respect for each person uniquely created by God; integrity in what we do; commitment to our business, shareholders and stakeholders; honesty in our interactions with others; excellence in our processes, including world-class safety, product quality, employee benefits, training and manufacturing; and stewardship and generosity of our assets,” Martin affirms.

Local Hires Strengthen RVL Weldon Team

Roseburg’s Roanoke Valley Lumber, which will employ 140 once the new mill is up and running in Weldon, NC, announced two new members with local ties to the team.

Brandon Majors joins RVL as an area coordinator for the new mill. A graduate of Roanoke Rapids High School, he comes to Roseburg from Enviva Biomass in Raleigh, where he spent 10 years first as an operator, then as a shift supervisor, and later as an area manager for the chip mill. He brings experience managing daily operations and helping set longerterm strategy, while meeting production numbers.

Cody Fortier, another Roanoke Rapids High School graduate, joins RVL from Lowe’s Distribution, where he served as an operations supervisor for the past two years. He previously worked as a production supervisor for Georgia-Pacific in Emporia, Va. A U.S. Navy veteran, Fortier spent more than three years as a law enforcement officer in the Halifax County area.

Campbell Global Adds

Timberland In South

Timber investment manager, Campbell Global, has acquired more than 250,000 acres of high-quality, commercial timberland across three properties in the Southeastern U.S. valued at more than a half billion dollars. Campbell Global, which was acquired by J.P. Morgan Asset Management in August 2021, has managed more than 5 million acres worldwide for funds and investors.

LUMBERWORKS

Recruiting Services

Executive

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THEISSUES

The appeals court, however, said the state law did not explain what it means to “eliminate” a public waters wetland, and took the liberty to base its ruling that “eliminate” can also mean to “modify” public waters wetlands, and ruled that because the project would alter the characteristics of the public wetlands the city should apply this legal standard and re-assess whether an EIS is necessary.

The Leech Lake Band also said the project needed an EIS because the wetlands Huber planned to fill are a filter for water quality that nearby wild-rice beds depend upon. The court agreed, noting the city did not investigate or explain how wetlands replacement (as the project would entail) or stormwater controls would protect the wild-rice bed and other resources downstream.

The court said the city should reconsider given these rulings and then issue a revised decision on the need for an EIS. Huber’s withdrawal means such an exercise won’t be necessary.

The project would have replaced lost jobs and tax base as the adjacent Boswell coal-fired energy plant shuts down its coal burning units and possibly reconfigures to renewable energy sources.

An important note: The appeal from Leech Lake Band also asked the court to weigh the environmental effects potentially caused by air emissions from the new OSB plant. And asked the court to consider the volume of timber harvesting the new plant would require, saying it would be far more timber than the region can sustain with significant negative effects on wildlife and fisheries.

The city had determined there would be no significant environmental effects from either, given the air emissions permitting requirements and the forest sustainability data offered up by the city and Huber, including the point that even after the plant were to go into operation, regional forests would still continue to experience substantial net growth compared to har-

MAINEVENTS

MARCH

17—OptiSaw 2023, Hotel Le Concorde & Restos Plaisirs Group, Quebec City, QC, Canada. Visit optisaw.com.

22-24—Hardwood Manufacturers Association's National Conference and Expo, JW Marriott Nashville, Nashville, Tenn. Call 412-244-0440; visit hmamembers.org.

28-30—Kentucky Forest Industries Assn. annual meeting, Embassy Suites, Lexington, Ky. Call 502-695-3979; visit kfia.org.

29-31—International Wood Products Assn. 67th World of Wood Convention, Hyatt Regency, Savannah, Ga. Call 703820-6696; visit iwpawood.org.

MAY

15-19—Ligna: World Fair For The Forestry And Wood Industries, Hannover Exhibition Center, Hannover, Germany. Call +49 511 89-0; fax +49 511 89-32626; visit ligna.de. Listings are submitted months in advance. Always verify dates and locations with contacts prior to making plans to attend.

vest. The appeals court ruled in favor of the city as to “no significant environmental effects” and against the Band and the Minnesota environmental group.

In reading through the appeals court decision, you get the impression that somebody was throwing darts to see what sticks. In this case, air emissions and timber harvesting didn’t stick, but several acres of public waters wetlands did. This approach is nothing new to our industry (hello Northern Spotted Owl), but when it happens it’s always impossible to believe—good communities that need the economics take the hit.

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