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A Hatton-Brown Publication

Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. 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 44 • Number 8 • October 2019 Founded in 1976 • Our 457th Consecutive Issue

Publisher: David H. Ramsey Chief Operating Officer: Dianne C. Sullivan Editor-in-Chief: Rich Donnell Senior Editor: Dan Shell Senior Associate Editor: David Abbott Senior Associate Editor: Jessica Johnson Associate Editor: Patrick Dunning Publisher/Editor Emeritus: David (DK) Knight Art Director/Prod. Manager: Cindy Segrest Ad Production Coordinator: Patti Campbell Circulation Director: Rhonda Thomas Online Content/Marketing: Jacqlyn Kirkland

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

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ISSUES

Jonathan Martin Will Be Missed

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BURT LUMBER

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ARIZONA’S CHALLENGE

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Georgia SYP Sawmill Hits Its Stride Forest Service Program Has Possibilities

EDUCATING THE WORKFORCE

Canadian Sawmill Firms Get Together

Classified Advertising: Bridget DeVane • 334.699.7837 800.669.5613 • bdevane7@hotmail.com

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INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR

Advertising Sales Representatives: Southern USA

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MACHINERY ROW

Randy Reagor P.O. Box 2268 Montgomery, AL 36102-2268 904.393.7968 • FAX: 334.834.4525 E-mail: reagor@bellsouth.net

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Stepping Out Of Their Comfort Zone Engineering Firms Come Together

MAIN EVENTS Looking Ahead To 2020

COVER: Burt Lumber in Washington, Ga. has been in the middle of several projects, one of them a new linear edger line. Story begins on PAGE 14. (Photo courtesy Greg F. Smith Co.)

Midwest USA, Eastern Canada 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 Member Verified Audit Circulation

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

International Murray Brett 58 Aldea de las Cuevas, Buzon 60 03759 Benidoleig (Alicante), Spain Tel: +34 96 640 4165 • + 34 96 640 4048 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.

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THEISSUES

Dan Shell Senior Editor

ARIZONA SEEKS HUGE FOREST INVESTMENT 14

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umber-producing companies make investments all the time to capitalize on targeted resources and wood baskets. What kind of investment would it take to handle 1.097 billion BF of mostly small logs and 152 million cubic feet of biomass in five years? And that’s in a wood basket spread across 200,000 acres with a wide variance in volume distribution.

And there are currently only two relatively small sawmills and a 28 MW biomass power plant to process any of it. Oh, and there are also very few logging and log hauling companies in the state thanks to poor forest policies in the past. And remember this is only five years of a 20-year contract.

That’s what the Forest Service (FS) in Arizona, along with state officials and anxious local communities, want to know: What company or organization can take on landscape scale forest restoration activities across 800,000 acres and process and handle billions of board feet of logs and many million cubic feet of biomass and efficiently execute a far-reaching 20-year stewardship contract? Part of the FS’ 4 Forests Restoration Initiative (4FRI) that seeks to restore up to 2.4 million acres across four national forests, the Phase 2 4FRI contract’s request for proposals was released in mid September, covering up to 800,000 acres over 20 years. The contract’s initial five-year harvest plan has identified 1.097 billion BF and 152 million cubic feet of biomass (enough to fill the Rose Bowl seven times) in approved and ready-to-go task orders.

This comes on the heels of 4FRI’s Phase 1 contract initially awarded in 2012 with an aim to restore 250,000 acres over 10 years that, for a variety of reasons but mostly lack of infrastructure and biomass markets, has actually restored less than 20,000 acres in six years. With Phase 2, it’s obvious what the FS is trying to do: provide a solid 20-year commitment in resources to hopefully draw the kind of investments required to process the material coming off hundreds of “task order” projects spread across hundreds of thousands of acres.

There’s a real impetus on the part of federal and state and local officials to find a way to make these projects happen, and lots of options are on the table, from things like a state renewable energy policy and political will to utilize more biomass to developing the collaborative public-private partnerships that can marshal the tremendous manpower and resources required.

In some of the Phase 2 contract materials, the FS says it’s seeking “proposals that are sustainable, innovative and cost-effective,” and, acknowledging the scale of the contract, noted that “teaming and partnering between large and small businesses is authorized and encouraged.”

According to the FS, proposals need to provide detailed technical, financial and business information that demonstrate an understanding of wood supply, biomass treatments and both physical and logistical operating conditions.

An early partial list of entities that asked for contract information include familiar names such as Campbell Global, Godfrey Forest Products, Neiman Enterprises, Wellons, Novo Biopower, Summitt Forests and a host of others.

TP We wish them all success: The forests of Arizona depend on them.

Contact Dan Shell, ph: 334-834-1170; fax 334-834-4525; e-mail: dan@hattonbrown.com TIMBER PROCESSING

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NEWSFEED

MARTIN LED IN MANY WAYS

Jonathan Martin dies at 70 in Louisiana after illness.

Martin accepted a Rotary Club award in June.

By Rich Donnell onathan E. Martin, an inJ dustrial engineer who led the transformation of his fami-

ly’s small sawmill operation into a multi-facility producer of OSB and plywood, all the while growing the company’s timberland portfolio into one of the largest privately held in the U.S., and doing this with a strong Christian message, died Friday, September 20 surrounded by all 11 of his immediate family at home in Alexandria, La. He was 70.

Martin died from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable lung disease. He had battled it since early 2018 and he and his wife, Maggie, had provided regular updates on his condition and treatments through the CaringBridge web site. Until not long before his death, Martin also continued to 6

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make posts on his facebook site. Two of his last were: “Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it,” Proverbs 4:23; and “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” 1 Cor. 16:13-14.

Martin was always known throughout the wood products industry as a builder of plants, but his and the company’s philanthropic givings through the Martin Foundation stretched even further to social outreach, educational and cultural causes. Since 1993, under his leadership, the Martin Foundation funded hundreds of scholarships and millions of dollars to help various charities. Over the past 15 years, he raised more than $2.5 million for Homeplace, a ministry of the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home that serves homeless

mothers and children in northeast Louisiana through an annual golf tournament which he started. Martin said such benevolence began with his grandfather and company founder, Roy O. Martin Sr. “Giving back is simply something this family has been raised to do,” Martin said. “To whom much is given, much is required.” (Luke 12:48)

As recently as this past June, Martin received the Alexandria Rotary Club Service Above Self award. “This is the best award I’ve ever received,” he said during his acceptance speech. “You get out and help other people, as many as you can. You don’t have to look hard to find people who need help.”

Martin died as chairman of the board for the parent company, Martin Sustainable Resources L.L.C., of which RoyOMartin and Martin Timberlands are subsidiaries.

He had succeeded his father, Ellis Martin, as president and CEO in 1994. Ultimately those titles went to Roy O. Martin III, Jonathan’s younger first cousin. The twosome became almost a singular face of the company over the past two decades.

A native of Ringgold, La., Martin graduated from Culver Military Academy in 1965 and earned a bachelor of science degree in Industrial Engineering at Louisiana State University in 1971. Having worked since he was 10 during summers and school vacations for the family business his grandfather had founded in 1923, Martin began full-time work in 1971 at the Castor, La. sawmill, which his grandfather and father had built in 1933

Left to right, Terry Secrest, Jonathan Martin and Roy O. Martin III in September 2018 in front of the first board produced at Corrigan OSB.

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NEWSFEED and rebuilt in 1939. Also in 1971 on June 4 Martin married Maggie Burnaman and they began a 48-year journey.

Martin became manager of the Castor mill and his prowess for project upgrades quickly became apparent. The first time Martin appears in Timber Processing magazine is in 1979 when the Castor mill is featured. “Not me or anyone else can control or outguess the lumber market. So we just wake up every Monday morning with the attitude that we’re going to do the best job with what takes place that week. That’s our philosophy,” the 30-year-old Martin said.

His father had recently become president of the company, with his grandfather passing away in 1973.

Shortly after that article appeared, his dad decided to build a plant for producing oriented strandboard, a new homebuilding sheathing panel product composed of wood flakes, and he put Jonathan in charge of the project. “I didn’t know what OSB was in 1981.

There were only a few plants to see, mostly in Canada.”

Working closely with com-

pany VP of manufacturing Jerry Buckner, Martin directed the design and construction of the plant in LeMoyen, La. The company owned a considerable amount of low grade hardwood and it became the plant’s raw material. Production at the South’s first OSB plant began in 1983. Martin and Buckner soon built and started up a hardwood sawmill in LeMoyen in 1984 to process the high grade hardwood out of those hardwood stands.

The Martins exited the pine sawmill business when it sold the Castor mill in 1992, but the volume of pine on its company timberlands was in abundance and they begin thinking about building another sawmill. But when they took a closer look at the timber resource, the emerging technologies and some unique product opportunities, Martin and Buckner opted to construct a southern pine plywood mill in Chopin, La., the first one to be built since 1981.

It peeled its first block in February 1996. By then Jonathan had succeeded his dad as president and CEO. Over the next 23 years the company continued to refine

“Jonathan inspired thousands of people across the many areas of his successful life. He had a deep knowledge and understanding of the OSB business and inspired our team to be world class in safety, customer service and production. Jonathan taught all of us to drive for excellence while being humble. He cherished his relationships with family, employees, customers and suppliers. We will work tirelessly to carry on his legacy.”

—Terry Secrest, Vice President of OSB and Corporate Safety Director, RoyOMartin

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“Johnny was simply an icon and pillar in our industry who was bigger than life. He had a bandwidth that encompassed every facet of this profession.

Over the years, Johnny steadily built a network of friends and colleagues that will never be surpassed. He took the time to make personal relationships and foster them through the good times and bad. After 33 years working alongside him, he never failed to surprise me with his constant energy, zest for life, and quest to improve. Never still or content, Johnny navigated the way that brought our company, and us, to places we never dreamed.”

—E. Scott Poole, Executive Vice President and COO, RoyOMartin

and expand the plywood plant multiple times, and by 2019 plywood production had soared to 510MMSF annually.

A few years later Martco ownership and management went on an executive retreat with the purpose of developing a vision statement and defining its core values. They came up with the RICHES program (Respect-IntegrityCommitment-Honesty-Excellence-Stewardship). Martin said the move coincided with an evolving change in himself.

His management style had graduated from somewhat hottempered to controlled, even relaxed. “I perceived for a number of years that we had to change from a family ‘dictator’ form of management to a professional style of management.” A management team pulled from inside and outside would lead the company forward. And they would be doing so from a new 40,000 square foot two-story head-

quarters that opened in 2001, a showcase of hardwood products and a library that houses the ever-growing company history archives.

“I don’t think I had a vision we’d be where we are today,” Martin said at the time. “But I always felt we’d be more than just a sawmill operation. We keep moving the rock every day, whether we move the rock a half inch or move it a lot farther.”

The company continued to grow its timberland ownership, approaching 600,000 acres, and it gained attention when its timberland-management operations attained certification by the Forest Stewardship Council. Martin liked FSC’s emphasis on biodiversity and interfacing with surrounding communities. “It’s given us a different image,” he said. “We’re the only people I’m aware of that has a FSC certified pine forest.”

About this same time the

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NEWSFEED company began al capacity of its chaplains 850MMSF. The program, bringstill-at-the-time ing in a fullsurging hometime chaplain building market and making and the compaspiritual consulny’s available tation available pine pulpwood to employees on its timberwhenever and lands drove the wherever they project forward. needed it. In fuMartin lured ture years the Buckner out of 30-year-old Martin as Cascompany would tor sawmill plant manager, retirement to implement an work with VP 1979 employee-based of engineering health and wellness program, and project manager Adrian and later a Women In ManuSchoonover. Buckner was exfacturing Day celebrated cited about “un-retiring” but every October under the even more upbeat about Marmotto: “We believe in tin himself. “I think it’s really Women in Manufacturing.” going to give Johnny an opIt didn’t take long for Marportunity to get involved in the tin to dive into another conconstruction. Johnny still has struction challenge—this one the fire.” The mill began proannounced in 2004, a new duction in 2007.

OSB plant to be built in OakThe company opted to dale, La. with a monster annu- close the OSB plant in

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LeMoyen. While recognizing the importance of building the new OSB mill, Martin had some bittersweet moments given it was LeMoyen where he stepped up as a skillful project man. “The decision to shut down Lemoyen and start up Oakdale was very pivotal.

It was also like taking part of my heart out.”

The company continued to stay on top of its safety culture, regularly winning awards in the APA—The Engineered Wood Assn. Health and Safety program.

Martin’s father died in 2013 at age 96. Ellis Martin’s passion to grow the company through expansion of plants and timberlands was always part of Jonathan’s makeup as well, and the son had one more big project in him.

In early 2015 the Martins selected Corrigan, Texas as the site for a new OSB plant.

They had looked at Corrigan back when they built at Oakdale, and didn’t forget its enticing wood basket, the potential of the labor pool and a healthy logging force. Martin again relied on Schoonover to lead the construction. The plant produced its first board in April 2018.

Not long after production began at Corrigan, the company announced it would expand the timbers sawmill adjacent the plywood mill in Chopin, a project which was completed earlier this year.

Thus the last major project Martin experienced was a sawmill one, bringing him full circle from his first years in the family sawmill business. A year before his death, Martin said, “I’ve worked in this business since I was 10 years old picking up sticks in a sawmill. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do and that’s all I

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NEWSFEED Young Entrepreneur of The Year award for the Gulf Coast region, and served as President of the Hardwood Manufacturers Assn., and as Chairman of APA— The Engineered Wood Assn. APA awarded Martin its Bronson J. Lewis Martin at new Chopin plywood mill, 1997 Award in 2015, recstill want to do.” ognizing lifetime leadership At his death Martin had led and outstanding contribution RoyOMartin in nearly $1 bilto the industry. lion in capital projects during Martin also served on vari49 years with the company. ous boards for LSU’s College Under Martin’s leadership, of Engineering and College of the Martin family of compaBusiness, as well as the nies received the Louisiana Louisiana Technical and ComLantern Award, which recog- munity College System. Martin was never shy about his nizes help in building the fondness for LSU (especially state’s economy, and was its sports teams), not only with voted the Best Overall Business by the Central Louisiana his substantial donations, but Chamber of Commerce. Mar- literally wearing it on his sleeve as he frequently aptin received the Ernst &

peared and spoke at events while donning the school colors with a purple sports coat and yellow tie.

However, asked last year what gave him the most satisfaction in looking back at a career full of accomplishments, recognition and charity, Martin replied: “I have two fine Christian daughters.”

Martin is survived by his beloved wife of 48 years, Maggie Burnaman Martin, PhD, two daughters and sons-in-law, Natalie and Darryl Monroe of Alexandria, and Amanda and Benn Vincent of Baton Rouge, and six grandchildren who brought him tremendous joy: Ryan, Raegan, Parker and Pierson Monroe, and Noah and William Vincent.

He is also survived by his brother, David (Phyllis) Martin, and sisters, Bonnie Nelson, Susan (Charles) Potter, and Mary (Randall) Fowler,

nieces and nephews, and more than a hundred relatives whom he loved.

Martin was an active member of Calvary Baptist Church where he had served as a deacon and sang in the choir. His faith in Christ shaped and directed his life. Stewardship of his assets for the benefit of others was foremost on his mind. He sought honesty and integrity in his dealings with others. His values were passed down from his parents, the late Virginia and Ellis Martin, and were formed by his late grandparents, Mildred and Roy O. Martin, Sr. A memorial service was held Saturday, September 28 at Calvary Baptist Church.

The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, memorials be made to the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home, Rapides Symphony Orchestra or a charity of choice.

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NEWSFEED GP BEGINS GURDON UPGRADES Georgia-Pacific is investing $70 million in upgrades at its lumber and plywood operations in Gurdon, Ark. Some of the improvements include an advanced merchandiser, new panel assembly stations with state-of-the-art scanning systems, an upgraded power plant and software and security enhancements. Work on the projects will be completed by 2020. The investments will sustain the more than 700 jobs at the two facilities.

“We are making state of the art improvements that will transform our Gurdon facilities, greatly improving the utilization of raw materials and overall operating efficiencies, making jobs more meaningful, and turning us into an even stronger competitor,” says Mike White, Western Regional Operations Manager.

The company is also contributing $100,000 over five years to Gurdon and Clark County schools to help install a multi-use playing field that will be used by the three schools and the city for community events.

“The Gurdon schools have been such a cooperative, helpful and successful partner in ensuring we have the talented people we need,” says Carrie Wilkins, Regional Human Resources for GP’s Plywood and Lumber divisions. “We want and need them to continue to be successful, so our aim is to contribute meaningfully to our schools every year.”

CANFOR RESEARCHES GREAT PACIFIC OFFER Canfor Corp. announced that a Special Committee of Canfor’s board of directors has retained Greenhill & Co. as financial advisor. Greenhill is preparing a valuation of the common shares of Canfor.

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Additionally, the Special Committee has retained Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt as its legal counsel.

The Special Committee was formed to review and evaluate an unsolicited offer

by Great Pacific Capital Corp. in which Great Pacific suggested it would be willing to acquire all outstanding common shares of Canfor (excluding those already directly or indirectly owned by Great Pacific) at a price of $16 per common share. The Special Committee of independent directors is composed of Conrad Pinette, John Baird, Barbara Hislop and J. McNeill (Mack) Singleton.

Great Pacific CEO Jim Pattison owns a significant share of Canfor stock and is also a minority owner in West Fraser.

“The elimination of the significant administrative expenses incurred in maintaining a public company listing in Canada will allow for reinvestment of these funds into stabilization of the company’s operations,” Great Pacific said in a statement . The statement also said that Canfor is facing strategic and capital decisions that are “best suited to a private company with a long-term focus.”

COLLINS NAMES VP OF OPERATIONS Chris Verderber is rejoining Collins Companies in the newly created role of VP of Operations. Verderber began his career with Collins in 2008 as the operations manager in Chester, Calif. after leaving Rough & Ready Lumber Co. He has been in Eugene, Ore. since 2018 working for Seneca as VP of Manufacturing.

“Chris knows our culture and is reloaded with new experiences after Collins,” comments President and CEO Eric Schooler. “I am excited that Chris will bring a new

voice and enthusiasm to the leadership at Collins. His structured analytical approach and experiences is something I feel is imperative to the continued growth at Collins.”

OLESON SAW ADDS WEST COAST FACILITY Oleson Saw Technology (OST), a division of York Saw & Knife (YSK), announced the addition of a West Coast band saw manufacturing facility in Post Falls, Idaho. Oleson Saw has secured a 50,000 SF manufacturing facility to produce its wide band saw product line.

The new facility will complement operations at its East Coast York, Pa. location.

“We will be able to better serve our current customers located in the Western United States and British Columbia, as well as a large unserved audience in this same region,” comments President/CEO Mike Pickard. “We will continue the use of high-pressure water jet cutting and full flood CNC grinding on our band saws.”

Oleson anticipates the Idaho facility will be fully operational by the end of the year and include investment in Iseli machinery.

WEYCO SELLS MICHIGAN LAND Weyerhaeuser Company announced an agreement to sell its 555,000 acres of Michigan timberlands to Lyme Great Lakes Holding LLC, an affiliate of The Lyme Timber Company LP, for $300 million in cash.

“This transaction in our Northern region encompasses a diverse mix of hardwood and softwood acres and is part of our ongoing effort to strategically optimize our timberlands portfolio,” says Devin Stockfish, president

and CEO of Weyerhaeuser.

“Weyerhaeuser’s Michigan timberlands have been managed for decades by an expert team of professionals, and we look forward to working with them,” adds Jim Hourdequin, managing director and CEO of The Lyme Timber Company.

“We’re excited to be investing in a region known for the quality of its hardwood timberland, mill capacity, and logging and trucking infrastructure.”

Founded in 1976, The Lyme Timber Company is one of the oldest private timberland investment management organizations in the U.S. Its portfolio includes major forestland holdings in New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee, Florida and California. Core timberlands are third-party certified through either the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

U OF IDAHO HONORS MARC BRINKMEYER Marc Brinkmeyer, owner and chairman of the board of Idaho Forest Group, and past chairman of Western Wood Products Assn., has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Idaho. The university recognized Brinkmeyer for his contributions to the forestry and wood products industry and awarded him the Doctor of Natural Resources degree.

U of I awards honorary degrees to individuals deserving of honor by virtue of scholarly distinction, noteworthy public service or significant contributions to Idaho.

Ray Barbee, WWPA President, offered his thoughts on Brinkmeyer’s achievement: “It is gratifying to see this honor bestowed upon Marc for all the time and effort he has invested in the forest products industry, as well as his many humanitarian contributions.”

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Left to right, Barry Goolsby, Burt Goolsby and “Little” Burt Goolsby are excited about nearing the end of a major upgrade effort.

MOVING

ONWARD By Patrick Dunning

Addison Burt organized Burt Lumber Co. in 1957.

Improvements at Burt Lumber are hiking recovery and production.

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WASHINGTON, Ga. n the past five years, Barry Goolsby, 55, co-owner and President of Burt Lumber Co., brother Burt Goolsby, 59, co-owner and Projects Manager, and Burt’s son and mill manager, “Little Burt,” have implemented a series of improvements to their southern yellow pine (SYP) mill and are now seeing past the finish line.

Concrete is currently being poured for a new continuous dry kiln, provided by American Wood Dryers. At 180 ➤ 18 14

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GETTING AN EDGE UP Burt Lumber Co.’s latest new equipment startup is a Greg F. Smith Co. G-Machines three shifting-saws edger with JoeScan scanning and Nelson Brothers optimization. Moving clockwise, beginning above, lumber infeed to linear edger line; lumber moves through opposing scanner configuration; lumber comes through edger and waste pieces drop away; good lumber conveys forward; and heads downstream to a chipping reman saw box; which usually reduces 2 in. thickness to 1 in. The edger line started up the last week of June.

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Secretary Niki Fain, sitting, and office manager Candy Hopkins

Cone-Omega chipping canter is a workhorse.

14 ➤ ft. wide and 250 ft. long, Barry believes they’ll nearly double their production from 45MMBF to 80MMBF upon completion of the new kiln.

But the latest completed project picked up momentum after a conversation at a local restaurant and some scribblings on a napkin. Barry felt the time had come to replace their existing edger

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and liked the linear edger concept. In early summer 2017 he observed one at Claude Howard Lumber in Statesboro and shortly after was at the 2017 Atlanta Expo and ran into Bill Howard and thanked him for allowing Barry to visit the mill. Also in the conversation was Greg Smith, who was involved in that edger installation and had now formed

Greg F. Smith Co. “I knew Greg from a long time back and he just knows what he’s doing,” Barry says.

Barry and Smith spent the afternoon at the show talking about what might work for Burt Lumber. They went from Atlanta to Washington, went through the mill to scope out the layout and get measurements, went to a local Mexican

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Salesman extraordinaire, David Hardy

Burt Lumber has been selling its 1 in. boards green.

restaurant, sat down with a napkin and worked out the process.

Smith turned all of that into a project proposal and only weeks later Barry placed the order for a G-Machines three shifting-saws edger with 150 HP direct coupled saw arbor motor designed for feed rates of 635 FPM (20 pieces per minute).

The design criteria included the ability to saw both dimension lumber and 4 in. cants, and an emphasis was placed on ensuring the system would be operator “hands-off.” Therefore, a unique style of infeed was designed, incorporating feeding a roll bed table via a “disappearing” lug style transfer behind the existing unscrambler.

All network functions are provided using EDRIVE electric linear actuators and a linear two zone scan system provided by Nelson Brothers Engineering.

The EDRIVE components allowed the project to be completed without the use of a hydraulic system inside the mill.

Because of the need for scanning cants, the two zones of scanning incor-

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value improvements—basically smoothing the top and reducing 2 in. thick boards to 1 in.

The new edger line started up the last week of June. “The project was super smooth,” Barry says. “They did a really good job.”

CONTINUOUS KILN

Progress Industries crane was upgraded to electric.

Planer mill rebuild was an in-house job.

The American Wood Dryers project is the first turnkey contract job they’ve done. “It’s nice to have turnkey so you don’t have to figure every single angle of every single piece of it,” Barry says, adding that while it costs a little more than doing it in-house, it somewhat guarantees that the project will move forward and not get bogged down by other issues in the mill that an in-house approach would have to immediately address. The new dry kiln is going exactly where the old one was built in the 1970s.

Nearly 26MMBF is run though the conventional kiln, an Irvington-Moore, that was recently reskinned by KDS after a small fire partially melted the outside.

This means that a considerable portion of production is transported off-site to third parties for drying. Amassing hauling expenses is Goolsby’s bottleneck. “I’m paying way too much in freight, to and from, it’s a big noose around my neck, so this will be a big upgrade,” he says.

Burt Lumber sells its 1 in. lumber green. About 65% of production is 4x4 and 20% is 2x4 and 2x6. Goolsby says the 4x4 market is a bit of a niche considering they’re slower to make and aggravating to dry. They can make #2 lumber out of 4x4s with a bigger knot more efficiently than splitting the 4x4 into 2x4s. They’ll break down a 6 in. cant into a 4x4 and 2x4.

IMPROVEMENTS Miller planer is about to get busier with production increase.

porate four JoeScan heads (JS-25 MX scan heads) in an opposing configuration to allow the system to see around the cants from the top of the belt to the top of the scan zone limits.

Pieces entering the machine are controlled by two air operated infeed pressrolls ahead of the saws and two behind the saws while the arbor/motor assembly is able to move around the centerline of the machine to implement the solution.

The edger takes a maximum piece of 4x20 x 16 ft. long down to a 1x4 x 10 ft. long.

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As the new edger was installed, Burt Lumber purchased a chipping saw box that International Paper had junked. Burt Lumber wanted to place it linearly downstream of the new edger. “So we’re working on the edger,” Barry recalls. “Greg walks over to the old saw box and says ‘I designed that saw box. Was it over at IP?’” It was upgraded into a 150 HP Key Knife multi-segment horizontally mounted reman chip head supported on linear bearings and controlled by a separate EDRIVE electric linear actuator as commanded by the optimizer to provide

Burt Lumber has also replaced the top dog C-Frame carriage system it installed back in 1996. In-place is a Cone-Omega chipping canter station with profiling heads.

It has Nelson Brothers optimization. The mill ran profile heads several months without an edger, though they now prefer the option of running the profiles or the new edger and staying away from downtime.

In addition to the C-Frame replacement, new edger and ongoing kiln project, Burt Lumber also rebuilt the planer mill, which includes a Miller planer, Lucidyne grade mark reader and IrvingtonMoore trimmer. “We’ve become very automated inside the planer mill,” Goolsby says. “We ended up piecing a bunch of pieces together.” About the only new machine in the planer mill is a Signode

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Site of the forthcoming American Wood Dryers continuous kiln

package strapper.

Taking the place of their grandfather’s old one he built in the 1970s, the brothers went and looked at several planer

mills and talked with mill operators. “We used to have 10 people on the line pulling lumber, now we’ve cut the labor in half and run two times as much an

hour,” Burt says. All lumber goes through the planer with the exception of 1 in. Barry adds 1 in. is dangerous to dry because it tends to want to catch on fire.

MILL FLOW Averaging 25-30 log trucks daily, from a 40-mile radius, to the northern end of the pine belt, Burt Lumber Co. doesn’t take any logs larger than 18 in. diameter, preferring 10-12 in. with anything over 16 in. slowing them flow. The Goolsbys have been doing business with most of their log suppliers for more than 30 years.

Plains Logging is their biggest provider.

Trucks are weighed using a new above-ground Fairbanks scale. Goolsby believes it’s much easier than keeping the pit clean with their formerly used inground scale. He plans to keep the inground scale as a courtesy weigh on log trucks, scaling chips and sawdust.

Their Progress Industries crane was purchased in the ’90s and upgraded from hydraulic to electric a few years back. Goolsby says it has helped to reduce costs and increase productivity.

Logs are then fed through a long-running Soderhamn 30 in. ring debarker that’s maintained by Talladega Machinery. The company also plans to invest in a bucking system.

Logs enter the mill and move either to the Cone-Omega canter line or a hybrid chipping system for very small logs. Cants and lumber run through the new edger line and/or a Hi-Tech Engineering trimmer optimizer and trimmer, and then to a HEMCO 26 bay sling sorter. The green end is running 25,000-28,000 BF per hour, and has always run single shift.

The dry kiln schedule in the heat of summer calls for 19-21 hours on 2 in.

Barry says the quicker 2 in. gets into the kiln the better, or a little mold may surface.

With their primary market being along the east coast, they sell most of their finished products to treaters and some to truss manufacturers. Chips are sold to power (electric) companies for burning into steam to turn the turbine generators. Shavings end up in chicken houses for litter. The mill burns ➤ 24 22

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22 ➤ its sawdust for an old Signode strapper was added to the back end.

Energy System boiler.

Burt Lumber does not dress its own saws. Instead, they use Quality Saw Works.

Burt says the folks at Quality Saw are a tremendous help, coming by the mill twice a week to service saw blades and recommending popular brands. Saws are ordered blank and tips are put on them. Being around saws his entire life, Goolsby can tell when they aren’t running right based on their sound.

But in terms of manufacturing the Little Burt, who started out in the planer saws, he admits it’s a special skill to mill 10 years ago, has taken on a larger have. “It’s a little bit of some white role, handling day-to-day operations as magic,” he says. mill manager.

“He’s the mill manager,” Burt says. “I did it for 30 years and I’m stepping away ADMINISTRATION a little. Barry and I focus on projects we If you haven’t noticed yet, the brothers have going on. If Little Burt gets in a are very hands-on. Barry handles log bind and can’t figure something out I’ll procurement (“I thought I was going to help him but other than that he pretty vet school”), electrical upkeep, PLCs and much handles it.” finances, while Burt manages the emFamily-oriented, the two grandsons ployees and oversees the mechanical and were passed the torch from their grandfamaintenance of the mill. ther, Addison M. Burt. He started the As the brothers began stepping back, mill during the transitional stage between

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ground mills to stationary mills and built a stationary mill in the late 1960s.

Burt Lumber employs 50 and the Goolsbys are proud to emphasize that the average tenure is over 20 years. Office manager Candy Hopkins has been on board for 30 plus years and missed only a handful of days. Welder Harrell Collins is another 30year employee. Ricky Partlow is a longtime millworker, Ricky Simpson has turned into an electrical technician and Robert Lee Jones manages incoming log separation. David Hardy has been invaluable as their lumber salesman, following a career with a couple of large corporate lumber firms.

A never-ending area of emphasis is safety and Burt regularly gathers the workers for meetings to discuss operations and keep everyone up to date. The new equipment that has come into the mill has the necessary safety features, such as lock-outs that have more “can’t miss” presence.

“It’s better than the old way we used TP to do things,” Burt says.

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NEED TO

INVEST By Dan Shell

The federal 4 Forest Restoration Initiative is going super big and long on resource commitments in seeking a major investment in Arizona forest infrastructure.

F

ollowing a move by state officials to vote down a proposal to expand biomass utilization for electricity production—further hindering efforts to thin millions of acres to reduce wildfire danger—all attention in Arizona now shifts to a massive new 4 Forests Restoration

Arizona’s forest products infrastructure needs huge investment to aid restoration projects.

Initiative (4FRI) Phase 2 stewardship contract that seeks to mechanically thin and treat up to 818,000 acres across four national forests in the state.

According to a federal notice for the far-reaching and unprecedented project, the Forest Service “intends to achieve landscape-scale forest restoration

There’s plenty of opportunity in a Phase 2 20-year stewardship contract, but major challenges abound.

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through the award of one of more Multiple Award, Firm Fixed Price, Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ), Integrated Resource Service Contract(s) with Options, Multi-year task orders with Economic Price Adjustment and Rate Redetermination for mechanical forest restoration services across northern and central Arizona.”

4FRI’s Phase 2 is one of the first to utilize a new 20-year contracting authority, and the solicitation seeks to treat a minimum of 30,250 acres/yr. over a 20year period. In doing so, the Forest Service is looking to solicit a major forest industry infrastructure and facilities investment to handle the massive volumes of small logs and fiber coming off the 4FRI Phase 2 Stewardship contract.

A five-year timber harvest plan that accompanies the Phase 2 solicitation materials identifies up to 101 projects across 203,301 acres that are estimated to yield 1.097 billion BF in logs and more than 152 million cubic feet of biomass material that must be removed or otherwise handled or reduced on site.

And that’s just the first five years.

Considering that the 4FRI Phase 1 Stewardship contract has restored less than 15,000 acres total in six years, the Phase 2 contract’s size and scope may seem the wrong way to go, “But there’s no other choice but to offer a wood basket long enough and reliable enough” to generate a major investment, says Pascal Berlioux, executive director of East Arizona Counties who has been involved as a stakeholder with 4FRI since its inception more than 10 years ago.

Berlioux is one of a group of individuals who have been working under NDAs with the state of Arizona and the Forest Service to help evaluate proposals and answer any questions those interested might have about the contract.

Another individual familiar with the 4FRI process says the vastness of the contract and investment required is too big for all but the largest forest products companies—and he doesn’t think they’ll bite.

In one example, he cited trying to accurately estimate costs dependent on log and fiber volume distribution across such a wide and variable area is mind-boggling, and the personnel and equipment and facilities issues are too big for one company.

Considering that some of the task order projects will consist of nothing but biomass, or have little or no merchantable volume, and that the winner of the bid will have to create logging, trucking, log and fiber utilization facilities and sales and marketing of products from scratch—and find quality personnel to

The biggest challenge is how to handle the huge amount of biomass that will be coming off the Phase 2 contract—more than 152 million cubic feet in the first five years alone.

There’s only one major biomass market in Arizona, and state officials voted down a proposal to add more.

Phase 2 identifies up to 101 projects across 203,301 acres that are estimated to yield 1.097 billion BF in logs and more than 152 million cubic feet of biomass that must be removed. And that’s just the first five years. both manage operations and do the work—and it’s a tall order indeed.

“In Arizona, it’s an all or nothing kind of deal,” he says. “It becomes a real challenge because you have to develop an entire fiber infrastructure, and the Forest Service complicates it with re-

quirements for roads, wildlife issues and brush removal and disposal.”

Another challenge, he says, is the risk involved in making such a huge investment while relying on timber 100% owned by the government.

Instead, he foresees the contract being operated by several companies in some type of public-private partnership in more manageable pieces.

The first 4FRI Phase 1 contract seeking to treat 300,000 acres in 10 years was awarded in 2012. However, Montanabased Pioneer Forest Products couldn’t gain financing for its plan that included a sawmill and biofuel plant. Good Earth Power took over the 4FRI Phase 1 contract in 2013, and despite investing in trucking capacity and sawmilling capacity and fiber handling, contract fulfillment has been hampered by lack of markets for biomass, which makes up 60% or so of contract volume.

Yet because of logistics, infrastructure issues and biomass market options, the company had treated less than 15,000 acres total as of early this year. ➤ 31 TIMBER PROCESSING

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More biomass utilization capacity is needed.

27 ➤ Good Earth acquired a sawmill at Heber, Ariz. and invested in debarking, planing and kiln capacity. Its location is good for projects on the east side of the state. Meanwhile, Good Earth opened up an “interim” small sawmill at Williams, Ariz. and is now building a high-production mill on a nearby site.

The 150MMBF annual production mill is under construction and should start up in 2020.

of $3-$4 per month.

Key issues for handling biomass include the need for more facilities to utilize more volume and that are also located in areas closer to much of the 4FRI work north and west of Flagstaff. Alternative methods to traditional biomass utilization are also being investigated: ● Northern Arizona University is testing the export of bone-dry chips to South Korea by rail in containers. Researchers at the university are working with a Korean power generator JA International, which is seeking sources of sustainable

biomass for power generation and could take a half-million tons of chips annually for 20 years. ● Meetings of 4FRI stakeholders have included presentations and demos of air curtain burners that would dispose of biomass on site and create ash as a soil additive. Demos show this is one of the lowest cost ways of disposing of biomass, but permitting and emissions questions remain before it could be widely adopted, though most believe it’s a viable system especially for remote or hard to reach projects far from markets.

TP

BIOMASS RIDDLE In seeking to treat and restore landscapes to prevent major wildfires across 2.4 million acres and four national forests in Arizona, the 4 Forests Restoration Initiative (4FRI) is a hugely ambitious project that hinges largely on major investments in the state’s forest industry that languished after federal timber harvests were drastically reduced in the mid 1990s and afterward.

A key part of the 4FRI project is the reduction of small diameter timber and brush, and that’s generating mountains of biomass requiring disposal or removal. Traditionally, this material would go to boiler fuel, maybe some upper grades into chips or pellet wood.

But Arizona is hampered by a lack of industrial boiler installations that could use the material.

Currently, Novo Biopower in Snowflake, Ariz., a 28 MW biomass power plant, is the state’s biggest biomass consumer, but its location on the eastern side of the state makes transportation costs from north and west Arizona problematic.

Also problematic is the recent move by the Arizona Corporation Commission to vote down a proposal to require state utilities to purchase up to 60 MW of biomass power—making it feasible to convert one EGU at a closing Arizona coal power plant to biomass and provide an outlet for more 4FRI volume and better contract performance—after the commission cited additional power bill costs TIMBER PROCESSING

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LASER ALIGNMENT IN SAWMILLS Ultra-accurate scanning lasers can boost recovery and profits. utting aside conventional methods like optical theodolites and wire, a P steadily growing number of sawmills are

aligning their machinery with scanning lasers. These systems offer greater easeof-use, higher accuracy and excellent repeatability over older methods and socalled “pointing” lasers, and can produce significant gains in recovery.

For several years now, David Reed, Sr., founder of Cutting Edge Tooling, LLC, has been implementing laser alignment at sawmills—and winning converts. Based in Russellville, Ark., Reed’s company offers precision machining and alignment services for the forest products industry, and he has been using ultra-accurate scanning lasers to help sawmills align machin-

ery faster and more precisely, improving recovery in the process.

Reed uses laser alignment systems from Hamar Laser Instruments, Inc., headquartered in Danbury, Conn., to align most kinds of sawmill machinery, including sharp chain machine centers and other equipment. He serves corporate and independent sawmills throughout the U.S. and his regular customers include many of the leading names in the industry.

“Like Hamar Laser, we’re alignment specialists,” Reed says. “This is what we do every day, so our focus is very fine-tuned. Producing lumber is very hard on the sawmill’s equipment and foundation, so machine centers in the mills can frequently get out of align-

ment. Some sawmills routinely align their machines using a long wire and datum marks as a centerline reference.

Our lasers can speed up the process of aligning these machines, and we can align them more accurately.”

Reed says the laser enables them to go deeper into fine-tuning the critical areas of cutting tools like feed rolls, centering rolls, chains and spline guides and align the machines more accurately and precisely, with greater repeatability of results.

PERCEPTIONS Reed believes the industry is changing its outlook on how to align machinery. “It took some time to get people to under-

Adjusting straightness of sharp chain transport track thru primary breakdown center with the L-743 Ultra-Precision Triple Scan laser alignment system from Hamar Laser Instruments

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Aligning canter heads and anvils for lead, plumb and offset using the L-743 triple scan laser and A-1519-2.4ZB Wireless Targets. Below, at left, aligning track and rolls of secondary breakdown line; right, aligning bed and press rolls parallel and level on secondary breakdown

stand that using wire is really ‘oldschool’ and that the laser is a superior tool,” he says. “Our sawmill customers see that we can reach our alignment targets faster and more precisely with the laser. Often, they see right away how the laser’s extra precision contributes directly to greater recovery.”

Russell Roberson, president of Omega Solutions, Inc. (OSI), a leading manufacturer of specialized sawmill machinery that is also headquartered in Russellville, agrees and believes that Reed has been in-

strumental in helping many mills make the switch.

“Scanning lasers are becoming the preferred method for aligning machinery in our industry and much of this is due to David Reed and Hamar Laser,” Roberson comments.

Founded in 2000, Omega manufactures primary breakdown and mill floor equipment. The company focuses on precision machining centers and is best known for its patented sharp chain system. Omega also uses Hamar Laser align-

ment systems to install new machinery in its customers’ mills, as well as to align machinery in its own machine shop. Russell refers his customers to Reed for regular alignments after the installation of new Omega machinery.

“We’ve been using a Hamar Laser alignment system for 15 years,” Roberson says. “When anybody sees it in action, they see how accurate it is, how it shows alignment data in real time and how easily the results can be repeated. After that, well, the skeptics become believers.”

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ACCURACY To align most sawmill machinery, Reed uses Hamar Laser’s L-743 UltraPrecision Triple Scan Laser Alignment System. Reed says the system’s high accuracy, repeatability and ease-of-use are what make it really shine. “Cutting Edge Tooling has never used wire in sawmills,” Reed says. “Using the laser gives us the ability to get machines level, true and plumb with an extremely high level of confidence, instead of running a wire that’s got sag to it and other things like wind that affect its accuracy.”

Reed says because it has three autorotating scan planes, they are not limited to setting up the laser at the end of the machine, but can set up in the middle of most machine centers, closest to the cutting tools. From that setup they can check the squareness and cross alignment of the bandmills, as well as the vertical plane of the chip heads, anvils and saw guides. “The laser also makes the center adjustments of any top rolls very easy, like the hourglass rolls in a DLI,” he adds.

The L-743 is used in conjunction with multiple Universal Wireless Targets and transmits alignment data in real time to a

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Wireless PDA Readout or a designated computer, using proprietary software designed for specific applications. Getting near-instantaneous alignment data is a feature Reed finds especially helpful.

“When using the laser, we can read the alignment numbers and make adjustments in real time,” he says.

Reed also likes the laser system’s reliability and repeatability. “Any one of our guys with any one of these lasers can go behind each other and be able to repeat the same numbers, every time,” he emphasizes.

A laser alignment pioneer founded in 1967, Hamar Laser reports it makes the only alignment systems in the world with automatically rotating laser scan planes. The L-743 Ultra-Precision Triple Scan laser planes are flat to .00003 inches/foot (0.0025 mm/m).

“The laser planes are the references from which the measurements are made,” Reed says, “so these let us align machines with extreme precision.”

RECOVERY At the end of the day it comes down to recovery, and precision machine alignment contributes directly to greater

recovery in a number of ways. Although specific results will differ from mill to mill, many of Reed’s customers have shared with him significant improvements in recovery, as well as saw blade deviation and other machine parameters after laser alignments. Depending on the size of the mill, even relatively small improvements in recovery can have a big impact on profitability.

Roberson provides some figures for a typical mill: “The raw material accounts for 60 to 75 percent of the cost of finished lumber,” Roberson says. “The manufacturing process accounts for the rest, so maximizing recovery is highly important.

If a sawmill with $100 million in sales increases recovery by just two percent, that’s $2 million. So, obviously, precision alignment can pay for itself very quickly.

Even a $2 million upgrade would pay for itself in just one year.

“It’s extremely important to cut accurately and you can only do that with a machine that’s lined up accurately,” Roberson adds. “A properly aligned piece of machinery will always have a higher recovery rate than the same machinery that is not aligned properly. When David does an alignment, even when the sawmill is not replacing their old machinery, ➤ 38

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34 ➤ his customer will see a measurable increase in recovery about 90 percent of the time.”

In addition to better recovery, laser alignment offers other benefits. “After an alignment I hear people say that there is a notable difference in the sound of the machine,” Reed says.

“This is because the centerline flow is smoother.

This not only improves recovery, but also lengthens the life of the saw blades and other wear parts, helping to reduce overall machine downtime. Laser Aligning log carriage track and knees alignment also allows some operators to run their machines at Alignments provide a good idea of higher speeds and tighten their gaps for the condition of the machinery because increased production.” broken or worn parts are fixed in the

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process, Roberson notes.

“Machinery that’s aligned properly and regularly not only picks up recovery, but aids in reliability. It runs better, lasts longer and doesn’t break down as often.”

“Based on my customers’ results, they see that better recovery and other benefits can make precision alignment pay for itself very quickly,” Reed says. “Most sawmills have accepted lasers. We don’t have to convince anyone anymore. We have been very busy.”

TP Article and photos submitted by Price Communications for Cutting Edge Tooling and Hamar Laser. E-mail Scott Price: sprice03@snet.net.

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LEVERAGING THE WORKFORCE Canadian-based sawmill companies are all-in with educational program.

By Ellen Cools s anyone in the forest sector can tell you, the industry is facing a A labor shortage. But four competing for-

est product companies in British Columbia have joined forces to address this challenge head-on by developing a new educational program, in collaboration with the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), focused on industrial wood processing.

Those four companies are Interfor, Canfor, Tolko and West Fraser. In 2016, senior representatives from each company met with BCIT to discuss the possibility of creating a new lumber manufacturing program. Two years later, a pilot cohort consisting of employees from each of the four companies started the program, now known as the Associate Certificate in Industrial Wood Processing.

Christina Burke, Interfor director of learning and development.

At the initial planning meeting, Therrien created the Sector Advisory Group (SAG), a working committee that included representatives from the founding companies, which helped shape the curriculum and guide the program’s development.

“We circulated a fairly comprehensive survey to a broad range of companies within the forest sector, asking, ‘What are the most important topics to you? What do you want your employees or potential employees to know more about?’” Therrien says. From there, BCIT created a proposal for the four partner companies, and industry then helped narrow down the

course topics.

The program is also geared toward attracting younger workers. Often, recent high school or university graduates don’t look to sawmilling as a viable career option, and there are only a few schools companies turn to for recruiting.

However, with this program, “we can go to different schools, with people of any type of degree—arts, commerce, history—and if they have the right leadership skills, say ‘We’ll teach you sawmilling,’” Burke explains. “We don’t have a line of qualified supervisors lining up on our doorstep to be hired. It’s really hard to find that skillset, and, with this, we’re able to be creative with how we build that.”

BACKGROUND In the mid-2000s, BCIT provided an intensive, two-year diploma program for the lumber manufacturing sector, says Laurie Therrien, BCIT manager of corporate training and industry services, who facilitated the initial meeting with industry members in 2016. But the diploma program ended in 2009 because there wasn’t enough interest. It was targeted specifically at students interested in entering the lumber manufacturing sector and was therefore subject to the “peaks and valleys” of the industry, Therrien notes.

In contrast, the new associate certificate is only one year, involving five courses, and targets new and existing sawmill employees in Canada and the U.S. And because it’s online, with only a two-day orientation at BCIT in Burnaby, BC, the employees can stay in their communities and continue to work at the mill while they go to school.

For Interfor, Canfor, Tolko and West Fraser, a critical component was improving employees’ overall skills and knowledge of sawmill manufacturing. Often, employees are very familiar with their particular part of the mill, but don’t have as much knowledge about other areas.

The program was initially created as a way to “grow our internal workforce, so we can train and develop our future mill managers internally for more seamless transitions down the road,” explains 40

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Augusto Flores, sawmill supervisor at Interfor’s Acorn division, on the floor using some of his newly acquired skills through the BCIT Industrial Wood Processing Program.

(Photo courtesy Interfor)

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KNOWLEDGE To get the program off the ground, each company provided a subject matter expert on one of the topics, and contributed $20,000 toward the project overall.

The topics include lumber fundamentals, sawmill technology, wood processing tools, quality control and kiln drying.

BCIT’s in-kind contributions included project management and instructional design expertise.

The first course, lumber fundamentals, explains where the companies source and sell the wood. “All of the companies have assets in both Canada and the U.S., and the fiber baskets are different,” Burke says. “So, the first course talks about where we get the trees and the different geographies. We focus on the BC Coast, the BC Interior, Alberta, as well as the Pacific Northwest and then the U.S. South.”

The course also covers how the mechanisms for extracting logs differ in different geographic areas, what kinds of products are produced from each species and what markets they are sold to.

The other four courses within the program emphasize the technical side of operations such as saw filing, which is part of the wood processing tools course.

“That part is really cool because folks who are taking the program need to get out and spend time with the head saw filers, who are the technical subject matter experts. This really allows for expanded knowledge of sawmill operations at the site,” Burke says.

Left to right, Rob Jarvis, director, talent management, Canfor; David Gillespie, plant manager, Tolko; Christina Burke, director, learning and development, Interfor; Augusto Flores, sawmill supervisor, Interfor; Brian Balkwill, vice-president of Canadian Wood Products, Canfor; Laurie Therrien, manager, corporate training and industry services, BCIT; and Wayne Hand, Dean, School of Construction and the Environment, BCIT. (Photo courtesy BCIT)

FEEDBACK The first group of students to take the program began classes in January 2018 and graduated last December. Interfor, Tolko, Canfor and West Fraser handpicked the students, who were asked to participate and give feedback.

The feedback was “overwhelmingly positive,” Therrien says. “They’ve given us some constructive pieces that we’ve been able to use to modify certain aspects of the program.”

Based on the success of the pilot cohort, another six cohorts are following the program. Two began in October 2018, two in January 2019, and another two began in June 2019.

There has been a lot of interest from industry, with many companies asking when they can participate.

“From January 1, 2018 to January 2019, we’ve increased the number of students taking part in the program and the number of companies originally taking part from four to 11, and people are still

The first graduating class of the BCIT Industrial Wood Processing program included employees from Interfor, Canfor, Tolko and West Fraser. (Photo courtesy BCIT)

asking ‘When can we get in?’” Burke says. “We’ve registered 98 students in the program in the first year. So, we’d call that pretty successful.”

STUDENT RESPONSE Augusto Flores and Ethan Griffin, sawmill supervisor and production superintendent at Interfor’s Acorn division, respectively, both took the program. Flores was part of the pilot cohort and Griffin is currently taking part in the program.

Flores says the program content was closely related to his day-to-day job and

also opened his eyes to other parts of the process he doesn’t often see, such as harvesting.

For Griffin, who comes from an operations background in sawmilling as a laborer and started with Interfor in a safety position, the program is helping reinforce the technical skills he needs as production superintendent. He is also developing a network of peers from his class, which consists of Interfor employees from different regions. One of the major benefits is being able to “bounce questions off each other for best practices and continuing improvement,” he says.

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In contrast, Flores’ cohort included students from all four founding companies.

“For me, that was great, that it wasn’t just Interfor employees,” he says. “I got to see how other companies operate, their best practices.”

Although the coursework is completed online, Flores and Griffin met the rest of their classmates at BCIT during their orientation near the start of the program, and then again for graduation. Meeting the other students was very insightful for them, and they believe that these in-person interactions help the other students.

Overall, both Flores and Griffin agree that the course is very advantageous and will help further their careers.

“I’ve got projects that I want to work on that I learned through the program,” Flores elaborates. “It’s a lot more technical, so my eyes are a bit more focused, and it’s helped me focus more on the overall picture—a broader understanding of sawmilling.

“It’s given me a bit more comradery with the trades, if you will, with all the different departments in the mill. Now when I speak to my filer, for example, I

have a lot of facts from this course. It gives me credibility.”

Both Flores and Griffin would encourage their colleagues to apply for the program.

“I think it’s a good investment into people who are young in their careers, and growing, to leverage them to the next position. The information that you’re going to learn here gives you the technical skills that you can apply not only to your mill, but also in the industry as a whole,” Griffin says.

IN THE WORKS Interfor, Tolko, Canfor and West Fraser, along with BCIT, also see the need for more programs like this in the industry. In fact, another program is already in the works.

“The next associate certificate will be launching spring of 2020,” Burke says.

“It’s still in the development phases, but it’s touching on items like operations management, finance, sales and marketing, the economics of the industry.”

In the long run, the four companies hope to develop a diploma program in partnership with BCIT, she says. “The content development was a lot of work, so, going forward, we might look at different funding to hopefully outsource some of that content development.”

Regardless, developing this program has been very cost-effective and beneficial for the companies. Burke says if she created a similar program driven solely by Interfor, it would require a lot of resources and could be at risk during a financial downturn.

“It’s very cost-effective going down the road with BCIT, because we don’t own the platform. They host it, they have the teachers, they run the admissions,” she says. “It costs us $4,250 total for an employee to get 12 months of formal education of up-to-date, very relevant, highly technical sawmill operations training.”

For Therrien, working with the industry has been a “fantastic” experience.

“It’s been almost unprecedented that a group of companies that would normally be quite fiercely competitive in their sector actually come together in an extremely collaborative fashion, and they continue to collaborate because they recognize that, in terms of this education program, they would all win if they tackled this gap collectively,” she says.

TP

This article and photos appeared in Canadian Forest Industries magazine and is published here as part of an alliance program between CFI and Timber Processing magazine.

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WORLDWIDE COMBILIFT STREAMLINES MATERIAL HANDLING Combilift’s latest innovation, the Combilift Container Slip-Sheet (Combi-CSS), has been designed for quicker and easier mechanized loading of products (particularly long ones) into containers. First unveiled during Combilift’s 20th anniversary last year, this product is now in serial production. The Combi-CSS addresses the challenges associated with the combination of forklifts and manual labor often required for this application.

Using a forklift to lift and maneuver the product laterally into the container and another forklift operator to push the load into the container from the end is time consuming and not overly efficient. Following the launch of the Combilift Straddle Carrier a few years ago, feedback from customers in the containerization sector prompted Combilift to look at how these procedures could be improved.

The result is the patented Combi-CSS—a low, freestanding platform with a dual-directional patented hydraulic pulling mechanism, on which a Hardox 500 steel sheet rests. It has a capacity of 30,000 kg and allows a full load of product to be prepared behind the container on the sheet and loaded onto a 20 ft. container in just three minutes (and six for a 40 ft. container).

Once loaded, the sheet is guided into the container by the mechanism underneath, which consists of four hydraulic cylinders moving in sequence. Hydraulic pins on the ends Combilift Container Slip-Sheet loads a 20 ft. container in three minutes. of the cylinders move up, fitting into holes cut into the sheet to secure it, while the cylinders pull the sheet forward, ensuring safe loading by just one operator without any risk of product damage.

When the goods are fully loaded within the container, a hydraulic rear barrier gate, fixed to the end of the platform, swings across the container opening and is locked in place across the entire width of the platform. This holds the material within the container while the metal sheet is slipped out from underneath it.

Combilift MD Martin McVicar comments: “I am confident that companies dealing with containers will embrace this new product, as they did the Straddle Carrier, due to the improvements it offers in terms of safety, speed and efficiency.”

GILBERT PLANER MAKING MARK WORLDWIDE For nearly 20 years Gilbert planers have been known for their exceptional speed and their beautiful lumber finish.

Thanks to the excellent feedback from its many clients across Canada and the United States, Gilbert has quickly stood out worldwide. Of 115 planers sold, 10% were sold outside North America in countries such as Germany, Denmark, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden. Recently, a high-speed planer was delivered to a new mill in Germany.

In recent years Gilbert has increased its sales efforts in the European market in order to continue its expansion. Its participation in numerous events in Europe, including Ligna, has allowed Gilbert to develop its customer base and to sign a contract with a dealer in France. The company also has dealers and agents in Scandinavia, South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. This solid network allows Gilbert to have a better understanding of the different markets and to ensure a strong after-sales service.

The company also has an excellent team of service technicians available 24 hours 7 days to meet customer needs.

In the coming years, Gilbert will continue to ensure a strong presence in these territories. Also, thanks to the investments made over the past year to improve the production capacity of its plant, Gilbert will be able to increase its planer sales worldwide and ensure good after-sales service to all its customers.

Gilbert continues to gain planer sales outside of North America.

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WORLDWIDE SENNEBOGEN LOG HANDLERS DOUBLE DOWN The one thing better than a 730 M-HD log handler is two 730 M-HD log handlers! That’s the decision of the Rettenmeier Holzfabrik GmbH sawmill facility in Hirschberg, Germany. The Hirschberg mill is one of Rettenmeier’s six timber processing plants, where the plant specializes in producing a wide range of softwood construction products, from dimension lumber to laminates.

Every Rettenmeier plant shares a common commitment to sustainable processes for sustainable wood products. Hirschberg’s choice of Sennebogen log handlers is a direct reflection of that commitment.

According to Sandro Egelkraut, Fleet Manager at Hirschberg, the mill saw how the 730 M-HD met all its criteria for both productivity and “green” performance in the log yard—and quickly decided to add a second machine. “These machines are extremely durable and therefore very economical. This is why, in discussion with our Sennebogen representative, we decided to purchase a second 730 M-HD for the sorting line.”

The two Sennebogen E Series machines fit in perfectly with Rettenmeier’s corporate philosophy of “sustainability and a positive ecological balance thanks to the lowest possible energy consumption and the use of resources in wood processing.”

Sennebogen’s purpose-built pick & carry machines achieve low fuel consumption, low emissions and long service life. The two timber handling machines work together in three shifts, handling 1,000 m3 per shift on the sorting line.

The 730’s 360° swing range minimizes the need for maneuvering between rows of stacked logs, allow faster loading cycles which Sennebogen 730 M-HD log handler at Rettenmeier sawmill. translate into further eco-efficiencies through a day’s production.

Their high-stacking capability, lifting up to 32 ft. (9.7 m) combines with their narrow profile, just 12 ft. (3.6 m) wide, to allow more wood to be stockpiled in less space—another significant saving in cycle times and operating costs.

Egelkraut also attaches great importance to safety at work and again gives a high grade to his 730s. “Since the paths between the stacks are very narrow, the machines need to be especially stable and maneuverable. Those features let our 730s pick and transport loads very safely. And thanks to the sliding door on the side of the cab, entering the cab is also easy and safe for our operators.”

SHARP TOOL CELEBRATES 60 YEARS The Sharp Tool Company’s primary focus is the manufacturing of industrial saw blades/knives and the sale of premium carbide products. We’re a family owned, third generation company celebrating our 60th year in business.

We have extensive knowledge in the sawmill industry.

Over the years we’ve built many filing rooms and helped mills maximize their sawing potential.

We offer a wide variety of saw blades ranging from blades for the primary/secondary wood market to various other industries.

Circular Saws: We produce and offer a wide range of circular saws including, but not limited to: Strob saws, trim saws, truss saws, groovers, rip saws, cutoff saws, pallet recycle saws, custom saws and more.

Wide Bandsaws: We offer a variety of wide band saws.

Using Wet-Grind Technology, our wide bands are precision ground on Vollmer CNC equipment. Using Uddeholm steel, we can supply bands punched and welded, strip form, swaged ready to run or Stellite tipped.

Our specialty is custom saw blades.

Carbide Products: We currently have the largest saw tip/bar inventory, featuring more than 1,000 sizes. With a stock inventory size of more than 10,000,000 parts, we have the carbide you’re looking for. We also have in house

Sharp Tool is in its third generation of custom saw performance.

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WORLDWIDE EDM stations to quickly produce custom carbide parts based on your application.

All of our stock carbide parts are L.B. Toney Braze Treated to ensure excellent braze-ability. We have a variety of different carbide grades to suit your application. We offer a wide range of carbide products: saw tips, bars, blanks, debarkers, strips, notchers, profile knives, insert knives/indexable, profile knives, custom parts and more.

TAYLOR EMPHASIZES INTERNATIONAL MARKETS Taylor is proud to announce a new focus on the international markets for heavy industrial lift equipment. On September 1, Taylor International and Taylor International de Mexico became a direct company under The Taylor Group of Companies.

With this change, Taylor International will bring a new line of products to the world market and deliver a new emphasis on Taylor service, sales and support “Taylor is excited about our new international focus,” comments Robert Taylor, president and COO of the Taylor Group of Companies. “We are proud that these Taylor professionals are joining our family in an even stronger bond than before. Our aim is to take this new opportunity to a whole new level in customer support and service. We want to especially thank Doug and Adam Hulse for their intense support in the international market over the past years, and we wish them the best for the future.”

Doug Hulse, former president of Taylor International, states, “It’s been a fantastic career working with the Taylor family and the Taylor ‘Big Red’ team! Starting in 1983, the people that we’ve met and the countries that we worked in while developing sales channels and distribution around the world have been quite the journey for the Taylor International team.”

For more than 92 years, Taylor has been engineering and building what the customer needs in heavy industrial lift trucks. More than just a slogan, it’s the way that we approach business. From busy ports in South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia to transshipment hubs in the Caribbean Islands to steel mills in Mexico and to oil fields in the Middle East and Africa, Taylor International has the products and support team to meet the heavy material handling equipment needs of operations around the world. At Taylor International, we focus our attention on the challenges your operations face to provide real solutions in an effort to advance your productivity and bottom line—not just for today, but for years to come.

“I am very excited about Taylor International and Taylor de Mexico coming under the umbrella of The Taylor Group of Companies. Taylor is inheriting a group of material handling specialists that are second to none. I look forward to working with this group to continue to grow the international market and better serve our customers in the marketplace,” adds Hal Nowell, director of Sales.

We understand that your business demands consistent, dependable performance from the products you use to the vendors that supply them. It is our commitment to provide the very best, most dependable, longest lasting, and most cost-effective machines on the market today. “You Can Depend on Big Red.”

TS MANUFACTURING WIDENS INTERNATIONAL SCOPE TS Manufacturing has been proudly supplying international customers since the early 1980s, and is pleased to have successful customers on every forested continent worldwide.

With its recent acquisition of majority shareholding of Automation & Electronics Inc. (based in New Zealand) and the addition of MillRight Construction Engineers (New Zealand) as the agent for TS Manufacturing in Austral-Asia, we’re excited to both help introduce innovative technologies like “EdgerView” and A&E Optimization to the North American market while continuing to offer our more known products like trim lines, bandmill lines and other machinery with the backing of local expertise and support.

Recent installations overseas include end waxing in South America, optimized trimmer lines in New Zealand, as well as more minor projects like stick/fillet reclaiming 48

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TS Manufacturing has been a regular exhibitor at the Ligna show in Germany for many years—shown here at the 2019 Ligna with recently acquired Automation Electronics.

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WORLDWIDE and our proven chip screens.

The joint team of TS Manufacturing and Automation & Electronics allows us to further this drive to internationalism through integrated collaboration and communications between the joint four branches, as well as working together to integrate the best of North American and Austral-Asian sawing concepts in the A&E Optimization suite.

For machinery purposes, TS has worked with customers in the past to ensure that our equipment and installations meet the rigorous CE norms as well as converting appropriate machinery to metrification ensuring the equipment can be easily serviced in its operating location with local resources and parts. This process includes the adoption of often times more exacting safety standards, and the subsequent incorporation of the overseas methods into the North American sawmilling environment.

Whether your project is a simple transfer, or a complex turnkey sawmill and merchandising line, TS has the experience and partners to assist you whether you’re in Alabama, Australia or Austria and everywhere in between.

USNR GRADING MINIMIZES EXPORT RISKS Many European lumber producers have recently suffered the consequences of inconsistent grading. Large quantities of lumber have been downgraded upon arrival to the U.S. after quality control.

Dr. Carsten Merforth, mill manager at Mercer Timber’s Friesau (Germany) sawmill, explains the motivation for the investment in USNR’s new grading technology. “Exporting dimensional lumber to the U.S. calls for an accurate grading system that’s able to sort the products according to the grading agency rules of that market.”

The Friesau mill was the first facility in Europe to install a Transverse High Grader (THG). Technical Director Jan Kiesewetter had experience with USNR’s Lineal High Grader (LHG) when he worked at a sawmill in Florida. He felt comAccurate grading enhances European export fortable with USNR’s expertise in scanning and grading systems, and the performance of the software. lumber.

Dr. Merforth succinctly summarized the team’s experience to date. “The THG has solved a lot of problems. I haven’t lost much sleep since the installation.”

He adds, “It is a really smart solution with the spike knot detection, utilizing the end grain sensor and pith locator. We are happy with the product. The THG can calculate internal knots which is important. We want to be the technical leaders in the industry, and I think we are, together with USNR.” The mill is currently upgrading the sawline and also building a new planer mill. After completion of the planer mill, the Friesau facility will operate two Transverse High Grader (THG) lines. The second THG, to be installed in 2019, features the new occlusionless transfer and scanning system. This capability completely eliminates all obscuration caused by transport belts, with 100% of the board surface scanned without a need for turning.

The new planer mill will be faster, at 1200 m/min (3937 FPM) and the new high-speed occlusionless THG will play an important role.

USNR is pleased to be a part of this important project for Mercer Timber and to help achieve its goals.

Coming in November

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CRAZY

KUDZU Fond of the South’s climate, this tenacious vine overtakes whatever it encounters.

This is what can happen when vehicles—even a train—stay put for too long near the lurking plant, which can grow up to 60 ft. in a single season.

Kudzu can transform utility poles into works of art.

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Kudzu infestations have moved beyond the Southeastern U.S., but they are most prevalent in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.

The federal government paid farmers to plant kudzu as part of an erosion control program in the 1930s and 1940s.

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9 KUDZU HEALTH BENEFITS (found on the Internet)

1 – CURB ALCOHOLIC TENDENCIES Kudzu has been used in Chinese culture to curb alcoholic tendencies for over two thousand years. The isoflavanoids daidzin and puerarin contribute to this property of Kudzu.

2 – BREAST CANCER AND MENOPAUSE Kudzu root isoflavones such as puerarin and daidzin are part of a group of dietary estrogens called phytoestrogens. Kudzu root has been promoted as a hormone replacement therapy and its applications include reduction or prevention of perimenopausal symptoms, osteoporosis and breast cancer.

Over time, buildings of all types can be swallowed up in a thick tangle.

3 – CARDIAC HEALTH Kudzu puerarin extract has been suggested to improve vascular structure and function in coronary patients.

Puerarin is also scientifically supported as a safe and effective secondary preventive strategy for adults with cardiac health risks. Kudzu is also effective in the treatment of blood pressure and heart rate, heart attack prevention and the promotion of new blood vessels.

Below, Swarms of kudzu bugs, also natives of Asia, favor all types of bean plants, and can decimate kudzu plants.

They were first seen near Atlanta, Ga. beginning in 2009.

4 – INFLAMMATORY DISEASES Kudzu roots and isoflavone constituents have been found to provide therapeutic and preventative benefits for various inflammatory diseases and diseases related to oxidative stress.

5 – IMPROVE EYE SIGHT Puerarin in Kudzu can facilitate recovery of eye sight in patients suffering from ischemic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.

Above, Kudzu roots can penetrate the soil for more than 15 feet and a single root mass, partly shown here, can weigh more than 400 lbs.

Kudzu was brought to the U.S. in 1876 as an ornamental plant. It was part of the Japanese exhibit at the national centennial celebration in Philadelphia, Pa. Owners of a nursery in Chipley, Fla. are credited with helping spread the popularity of kudzu in the first half of the 20th century.

6 – KIDNEY DISEASES Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a common cause of latestage kidney disease that occurs in 20-40% of diabetic patients which may eventually lead to renal failure. A study including 669 participants found that Puerarin may benefit individuals with DN. 7 – MIGRAINES AND HEADACHES A correlational analysis based on data collected with interviews of participants of a medical study found that 69% saw a decrease in intensity of pain, 56% experienced a decrease in frequency of migraines and 31% a decrease in duration of migraines.

8 – STROKE 35 studies covering 3224 participants have shown that kudzu extract (i.e., puerarin) injections performed better than placebo by showing considerable improvements with neurological deficits following an acute ischemic stroke.

9 – WEIGHT REDUCTION Reductions in visceral fat and overall BMI was seen when kudzu flower extract was consumed in a controlled study involving 81 obese participants.

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MACHINERYROW Weinig Marketing Leader Retires

ment of the trade fairs. In 2004, his area of responsibility grew significantly when he was appointed head of marketing comKlaus Müller has stepped down as head munications. of marketing communications at Weinig.

During his successful career, he activeThe 65-year-old has passed through many ly accompanied Weinig’s rapid developstations. He assumed his first responsibili- ment into a complete supplier for the enty as a trainer in the field of tools with an tire value chain of solid wood processing international sphere of activity. In product with a high level of technical competence. and sales training, he taught young During his time the company’s product Weinig sales people technical knowhow. portfolio underwent technological change Then he was entrusted with the managefrom simple four-siders to high-tech automated machines and from manually operated single machines to fully digital system solutions.

Oliver Kunzweiler now takes over as head of the central strategic group marketing. He will also assume operational management of marketing for the Solid Wood Division. The graduate mechanical engineer started his career as a development engineer for Left to right, new Weinig Head of Central Marketing Oliver precision tools. This was Kunzweiler, CEO Gregor Baumbusch and retiring Klaus followed by leading posiMüller

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tions in the areas of product management, international sales and marketing at wellknown companies in the automotive supply industry. Since joining Wenig in 2015, Kunzweiler has been responsible for technical marketing.

Mid-South Acquires Stolberg Engineering Mid-South Engineering of Hot Springs, Ark. has acquired Canada’s Stolberg Engineering. Stolberg Engineering will operate from its office in Richmond, BC, as the Mid-South Engineering Stolberg Group, where it will continue to be led by industry veterans Norm Stolberg and Rod Gronlund.

Marc Stewart, president of Mid-South Engineering, comments, “The Stolberg team is widely respected and the company has a rich history over the nearly 40 years it has been providing engineering services to the building products and wood pellet industries. This acquisition really strengthens our team and launches MidSouth into a whole new region.”

Stewart explains that the combination

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MACHINERYROW is expected to allow Mid-South and Stolberg team members to expand their professional experiences by being part of a broader team—both groups will bring additional expertise and services to their respective existing clients and to new clients in wood products related industries. Together, Mid-South and Stolberg can handle the challenges of large-scale industrial projects across virtually all of the wood processing regions in North America.

Gronlund of Stolberg adds, “I’m looking forward to being a part of this larger combined organization. I think our clients will appreciate the greater depth, capacity and range of services that we will be able to offer as part of Mid-South.”

All Stolberg staff will continue to work out of the company’s offices in Richmond and will carry on serving clients with ongoing projects.

Stolberg Engineering was founded in 1980 as an offshoot of Stolberg Construction, which had been building plants and installing equipment for the wood products industry across Western Canada since the late 1940s. Today Stolberg employs 21 engineers, draftsmen, project managers and support staff, including four licensed engineers, and regularly serves clients across Canada, the Northwest U.S., Australia and New Zealand.

Since 1969 Mid-South Engineering has served as a trusted independent consultant to the wood products industry, delivering a full range of engineering services, including civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, and architectural engineering, project development, project management, and construction services.

Mid-South is headquartered in Hot Springs, Ark. and has additional offices near Raleigh, NC, Bangor, Maine, and now with the addition of the Stolberg Group, near Vancouver, BC. Since 2017, Mid-South Engineering has been an independently managed, and wholly owned subsidiary of sawmill and plywood mill equipment manufacturer USNR.

Jesse Griffin realized the significance of accurate log rotation, particularly on logs that need to be turned horns down for sweep. With a rising sharp chain arrangement, it is very important that logs with sweep have two points of contact on the chain. The mill found that the proper contact could only be guaranteed with a PGLR system that would ensure the log was being rotated correctly.

“We’ve seen enormous uplift in pro-

ductivity and yield. We are very satisfied,” Griffin comments. l Canfor’s southern pine sawmill at Conway, SC has been investing to update this site, and installed a new USNR Counter-Flow Kiln to increase its lumber drying capacity. With five existing conventional kilns, the capital investments it had made had caused a bottleneck in the plant’s lumber drying process.

While the new kiln initially used steam

USNR Reports Equipment Startups Griffin Lumber at Cordele, Ga. invested in a USNR Precision Geometric Log Rotation (PGLR) system for their primary breakdown process. The PGLR monitors and corrects the log rotation in real time, and increases recovery by reducing log rotation error.

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MACHINERYROW heat, it was designed to accommodate the conversion to a direct-fired process with the planned installation of USNR’s Green Fuel Burner. Before this new kiln was even started up, Canfor also ordered a new Counter-Flow Kiln for its Darlington, SC facility. l AKD Softwoods wanted to install a new state-of-the-art sawline for its main operation at Colac in Victoria, Australia.

The goal was to lower production costs by improving productivity and recovery, and increase flexibility to allow a greater range of products the mill could produce.

After evaluating other suppliers, USNR became the clear choice for this major project.

The supply includes several unique features such as a reciprocating primary breakdown line, and a profiling horizontal shape sawing system. After only a few months of operation, Shane Vicary, AKD CEO, was well-satisfied with the way it was performing.

“We are ahead of where we thought we would be. The line has been running really well, right from the first day,” he comments.

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New Australia Mill Keeps Wood Moving On one of the few remaining working sawmills in the Gympie Region of South East Queensland, Australia, two SDLG wheel loaders—the LG938L and LG946L—are busy transporting hardwood logs and lumber for Mary Valley Timbers.

“The LG938L and LG946L are value for money with simple mechanics,” says Jason File, partner of Mary Valley Timbers. “With our new mill commissioned, there is a higher demand for our production and these two SDLG wheel loaders have been a great asset to date as they are very reliable.”

With the Australian government expecting growing demand for forestry products and committing $12.5 million for the research and development of the country’s forestry industry, companies like Mary Valley Timbers are relying on robust machinery, like SDLG’s LG938L and LG946L, to ensure smooth operations at their busy sawmill.

On site, Mary Valley Timbers is using

the SDLG LG938L and LG946L wheel loaders with log grapples and forks. The 11 ton-rated LG938L wheel loader is designed for optimum break-out force to improve productivity and efficiency. The machine’s long wheelbase and high tipping load mean it stays stable even on rough terrain. The LG938L also features a Deutz turbocharged engine, which is perfectly matched to the hydraulic pump for further enhanced performance.

The 13 ton-rated LG946L is noted for its versatility and performance. The LG946L’s heavy-duty planetary powershift transmission is smooth and reliable.

Mary Valley Timbers is rolling in Australia

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MACHINERYROW Mary Valley Timbers operates two green mills and stocks all hardwood, pine and hardware for wholesale and retail.

Mary Valley Timbers purchased both SDLG wheel loaders from CJD Equipment, SDLG’s distributor in Australia.

Shandong Lingong Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., (known as Lingong) is one of China’s leading manufacturers of construction equipment, which it produces under the SDLG brand.

U-C Coatings Names Fehr To Lead East U-C Coatings, LLC, a leading manufacturer of wood protection products, announced the promotion of Chris Fehr to Sales Director—Eastern Region. Fehr joined U-C Coatings in February 2017 as a sales representative covering the Great Lakes and Midwest Territory.

In his new role, Fehr oversees the Eastern Region Sales Team as U-C Coatings continues to grow as a trusted partner in the logging and lumber protection, wood products manufacturing and woodwork-

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ing industries.

Fehr has more than 20 years of experience in the forest products industry as a procurement forester, lumber trader and sales director for a number of hardwood lumber companies. He graduated from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Management.

Fuchs Expands Into Carolinas Fuchs, a Terex brand of material handlers, has increased its foothold in North America with the Carolinas now being covered by their long-term distributor, Company Wrench.

Company Wrench has been been the authorized distributor of the Fuchs line of equipment in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida. Since they already have locations in North and South Carolina, it was a perfect match to utilize their expertise in product, parts and service support to expand the Fuchs reach.

Company Wrench specializes in the

sales, rental, parts, service and manufacturing of scrap, demolition and construction equipment and is known for expert machine servicing, customer service and maintenance programs.

Alamo Group Acquires Morbark From Stellex Stellex Capital Management, a middle market private equity firm, has entered into an agreement to sell Morbark, LLC, a leading manufacturer of high-performance equipment and aftermarket parts for the forestry, recycling, tree care, sawmill, land clearing and biomass markets, to Alamo Group for $352 million.

The sale includes all assets and operations of Morbark and its affiliate brands.

Founded in 1957 and based in Winn, Mich., Morbark and its affiliate brands, Rayco, DENIS CIMAF, and Boxer Equipment, produce a full line of brush chippers, stump cutters, mini skid steers, forestry mulchers, aerial trimmers, whole tree and biomass chippers, flails, horizontal and tub grinders, sawmill equipment, material handling systems, and mulcher

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MACHINERYROW head attachments for excavators, backhoes and skid steers.

“Together with Stellex, Morbark has achieved our strategic vision by greatly enhancing operations and implementing lean initiatives and best-in-class manufacturing practices that have resulted in new and improved redesigns, significant reductions in lead times, and improved delivery performance,” comments Dave Herr, CEO of Morbark. “We are grateful for our time with Stellex and look forward to the next chapter as part of Alamo, an ideal suitor given its operating philosophy that will allow us to maintain our brands, operations, and successful momentum while further enhancing various operational synergies and accelerating international growth.”

Since Stellex’s acquisition of Morbark in 2016, the company has successfully completed two acquisitions to expand its product offerings and geographic presence. In October 2017, Morbark acquired Rayco Manufacturing, a Wooster, Ohio, based manufacturer of stump cutters, crawler trucks, forestry mulchers, multitool carriers, and aerial trimmers. In De-

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cember 2018, Morbark acquired DENIS CIMAF, a Roxton Falls, Quebec, based manufacturer of industrial brushcutters and mulcher heads. With these acquisitions and other strategic improvements, Morbark has increased its head count by more than 200 employees and revenue has nearly doubled.

The acquisition, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019, is subject to a number of conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals and other pre-closing requirements.

Upon closing of the transaction, which is expected in the fourth quarter, Morbark will become part of Alamo’s Industrial Division. Herr will continue in his role as Morbark CEO, and Morbark’s day-to-day operations will remain unchanged.

Alamo Group is a leader in the design, manufacture, distribution and service of high-quality equipment for infrastructure maintenance, agriculture and other applications. Its products include truck-and tractor-mounted mowing and other vegetation maintenance equipment, street sweepers, snow removal equipment, excavators, vacuum trucks, other industrial

equipment, agricultural implements, and related aftermarket parts and services. The company, founded in 1969, has approximately 3,650 employees and operates 29 plants in North America, Europe, Australia and Brazil. The corporate offices of Alamo Group Inc. are located in Seguin, Texas and the headquarters for the company’s European operations are located in Salford Priors, England.

Weiler Forestry Comes Of Age Weiler Forestry, Inc. announced the launch of Weiler purpose-built forestry products following its acquisition of Caterpillar’s purpose-built forestry business.

The product line consists of wheel skidders, track feller-bunchers, wheel fellerbunchers, and knuckleboom loaders.

Weiler Forestry facilities now include the former Caterpillar manufacturing plant and warehouse in LaGrange, Ga., a demonstration and training center in Auburn, Ala., the Prentice engineering and product development center in Pren-

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MACHINERYROW tice, Wis., and the legacy Prentice parts distribution center in Smithfield, NC. Founded in 2000, Weiler produces an extensive portfolio of paving products and has a long history of successfully manufacturing purpose-built equipment distributed through the Cat dealer network.

“Over the past several months we have been listening to forestry customers and dealer personnel. We are excited to implement product expansion plans quickly to

better serve the forestry market,” comments Pat Weiler, owner and founder of Weiler, Inc. “I am looking forward to continuing to listen to our customers so we can offer them the products that best serve their needs through the best dealer network in the world,” adds Bill Hood, VP of Weiler, Inc. Weiler entered into a preliminary agreement with Caterpillar, Inc. in Au-

There’s a new brand of logging equipment in the woods.

gust 2018. Weiler stated it anticipates retaining the approximate 270 employees supporting the forestry business, adding to the nearly 500 employees currently employed at the Knoxville, Iowa based manufacturer’s corporate office and manufacturing facility.

Stiles, Hundegger Announce Alliance Stiles Machinery, a leading provider of integrated solutions for the wood processing industry in North America, and Hundegger USA, a market leader in CNC processing of structural wood components, have announced a strategic collaboration.

Hundegger and Stiles will blend technology and service for a comprehensive single-source solution designed to support the North American mass timber and prefabricated housing industries.

Hundegger is committed to providing customers with innovative technology aimed specifically at adding more value to structural wood components while reducing costs and maximizing throughput.

Stiles brings its national infrastructure of service and support and solutions in automated panelized wall construction from Weinmann. The cooperation between these two industry leaders is laying the groundwork for the future of integrated solutions for structural wood construction in North America, they state.

“With the continued growth and interest in mass timber and offsite home construction disrupting conventional building methods, Stiles and Hundegger are excited to be an integral part of providing solutions to manufacturers within these industries,” says Russ Suor, Executive Vice President of Stiles.

Stiles is a member of the HOMAG Group. Hundegger CNC saws and software provide flexible solutions for processing wood truss components, engineered wood products, timber joinery, log homes, glulam, and cross-laminated timber.

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MACHINERYROW U-C Coatings Purchases Eco Chemical High Road Capital Partners announced that its portfolio company U-C Coatings has completed the acquisition of the assets of the stains and industrial coatings business of Eco Chemical, Inc. Founded in 1991, Seattle, Wash.-based Eco Chemical is a leading manufacturer of water-based stains and coatings used

on pressure treated wood and in the manufacturing of wood products such as fencing, decks and exteriors.

“The acquisition of Eco Chemical deepens U-C Coatings’ position in the softwood market,” comments Jeff Goodrich, Partner, High Road Capital Partners. “It also expands U-C Coatings’ geographic presence on the West Coast and gives customers on the East Coast access to new products for the pressure

treated lumber market.”

U-C Coatings was acquired by High Road Capital Partners Fund II in January 2018. Its acquisition of Eco Chemical follows its acquisition of Contechem in August 2018.

Long-Lasting Bag Filters

Innovative filters provide better performance.

Donaldson Dura-Life bag filters provide many cost saving benefits to baghouse owners in the timber processing industry.

Utilizing a hydroentanglement process that uses water to blend the fibers to create a more uniform material with smaller pores, Dura-Life bag filters provide better surface loading and capture smaller particles with greater efficiency. Dura-Life bag filters can last up to three times longer, provide superior cleaning, and reduce maintenance and operating costs due to fewer bag changeouts.

Leveraging more than a century of technical expertise, Donaldson has developed a comprehensive line of replacement filters that are available for all popular brands of dust collectors. With Donaldson’s Ready 2 Ship program, all instock orders ship within 24 hours. Visit donaldsontorit.com.

Ball Lumber Orders USNR THG Ball Lumber at Millers Tavern, Va. has ordered a Transverse High Grader (THG) as part of its dry mill improvement project. The THG is scheduled to be started up in third quarter of 2020.

THG utilizes a variety of advanced technologies including Deep Learning, which ensures more accurate grading solutions and faster startups.

USNR has deployed nearly 50 automated grading systems with Deep Learning for both green and dry mill applications.

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WOOD PRODUCTS MARKETPLACE NORTH AMERICA

■ Minnesota

■ Ohio

■ Canada

Shoreline Machine Products

19301 St. Clair Ave. Cleveland, OH 44117 800-875-7637 • Fax: 800-875-6866 www.shorelineproducts.com

■ Ontario

Manufacturer of Quality, American Made Crane Mat Bolts Stock bolts – 7/8"-9, 1"-8, 1/4"-7 x 47 1/2 Custom Lengths upon request Larry Arth–Sales Contact us for a free quote today!

50 Years In Business

■ Oregon

Next closing: January 4, 2020 ■ United States ■ Georgia Beasley Forest Products, Inc. P.O. Box 788 Hazlehurst, GA 31539

■ North Carolina Cook Brothers Lumber Co., Inc.

beasleyforestproducts.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

STACKING STICKS 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

■ Kentucky HAROLD WHITE LUMBER, INC. MANUFACTURER OF FINE APPALACHIAN HARDWOODS

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

Ray White

Domestic & Export Sales rwhite@haroldwhitelumber.com Cell: (606) 462-0318

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

■ Tennessee

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

Sales/Service: 336-746-5419

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

FOR SALE

AIR-O-FLOW profiled & FLAT sticks available Imported & Domestic DHM Company - Troy, TN 38260 731-538-2722 Fax: 707-982-7689 email: kelvin@kilnsticks.com www.KILNSTICKS.com

WANT TO GET YOUR AD IN OUR NEXT MARKETPLACE? Call or email Melissa McKenzie 334-834-1170 melissa@hattonbrown.com

08/19

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

LUMBERWORKS GREENWOOD KILN STICKS Importers and Distributors of Tropical Hardwood Kiln Sticks 127

“The lowest cost per cycle” GW Industries www.gwi.us.com

Dennis Krueger 866-771-5040

Jackie Paolo 866-504-9095

greenwoodimportsllc@gmail.com

jackie@gwi.us.com

FOR SALE

58” Precision Chipper, 3 Knife, Horizontal Infeed, Top Discharge, with Screen, Cyclone And More! ............................$18,500 570-222-3986 osawmill@nep.net

13628

EMPLOYMENTOPPORTUNITIES Recruiting Services Executive – Managerial – Technical - Sales

JOHN GANDEE

& ASSOCIATES, INC Contingency or Retained Search Depending on Circumstances / Needs

“Your Success Is Our Business” Serving the Wood Products and Building Materials Industries For more than 26 years.

512-795-4244

Call or Email me anytime! john@johngandee.com www.johngandee.com

Austin, Texas

3220

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

3779

SEARCH NORTH AMERICA, INC. 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

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IT'S YOUR MOVE...

Rex Lumber operates state-of-the-art, southern yellow pine, dimension lumber manufacturing facilities, located throughout the southeast, our family owned and operated company is seeking: SUPERVISORS FOR VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS Supervisors are responsible for leading all aspects of the daily operations of a department, maintaining a safe and efficient workplace for over 20-40 employees.

Supervisors lead the department in high speed, quality production of lumber in a safe environment. As the leader of the department, the supervisor represents Rex Lumber with highest regard to customers, employees and community.

Requirements: 10 years of sawmill or planer mill experience with a minimum of 5 years leadership experience, knowledge of machinery maintenance, financial comprehension, strong communications and organization skills, computer literate, ability to manage and motivate team.

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package. Come join our family business! For a confidential interview please email your resume to the attention of Michelle Schaefer mschaefer@rex-lumber.com or fax to Michelle’s attention

(850) 263-3875

1608

PROFESSIONALSERVICES WORN OR MISALIGNED CARRIAGE RAILS? A Proven Process

Contact Us Cell: 541.760.7173 Office: 770.364.0917 www.acculine-rails.com chris@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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MAINEVENTS OCTOBER

APRIL 2020

1-3—Mississippi Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Hilton, Jackson, Miss. Call 601-354-4936; visit msforestry.net.

10-11—Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo, Omni Hotel at CNN Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 334-834-1170; visit bioenergyshow.com.

2-4—National Hardwood Lumber Assn. Annual Convention & Exhibit Showcase, Sheraton, New Orleans, La. Call 901-3771818; visit nhla.com.

2-4—North Carolina Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Hotel Ballast, Wilmington, NC. Call 800-231-7723; visit ncforestry.org.

4-6—Paul Bunyan Show, Guernsey County Fairgrounds, Old Washington (Cambridge), Ohio. Call 740-452-4541; visit ohioforest.org.

8-10—Arkansas Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Embassy Suites, Little Rock, Ark. Call 501-374-2441; visit arkforests.org.

15-18—101st Annual Railway Tie Association Symposium and Technical Conference, Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, Tucson, Ariz. Call 770-460-5553; visit rta.org.

16-18—Tennessee Forestry Assn. annual meeting, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Knoxville, Tenn. Call 615-883-3832; visit tnforestry.com.

16-18—Texas Forestry Assn. annual meeting, The Fredonia Hotel, Nacogdoches, Tex. Call 936-632-8733; visit texasforestry.org.

NOVEMBER 6-8—Forestry Association of South Carolina annual meeting, Wild Dunes, Isle of Palms, SC. Call 803-798-4170; visit scforestry.org.

7-8—Mid-America Lumbermens Assn. Fall Conference, Kansas City, Mo. Call 800-747-6529; visit themla.com.

15—American Lumber Standard Committee annual meeting, Charleston, SC. Call 301-972-1700; visit alsc.org.

DECEMBER 3-6—Woodex, 16th International Exhibition of Equipment and Technologies for Woodworking and Furniture Production, Crocus Expo, Moscow, Russia. Visit woodexpo.ru/en-GB/.

FEBRUARY 2020 4-5—Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen’s Assn. Convention & Exposition, Indianapolis Marriott Downtown, Indianapolis, Ind. Call 317-288-0008; visit ihla.org.

19-23—Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers annual meeting, Naples Grand Beach Resort, Naples, Fla. Call 336-8858315; visit appalachianhardwood.org.

27-March 2—IndiaWood 2020, Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, Bangalore, India. Call +91-80-4250 5000; visit indiawood.com.

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12-13—Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE), Omni Hotel at CNN Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 334-834-1170; visit pelice-expo.com.

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.

ADVERTISER Andritz Iggesund Tools Autolog Biolube Brunner Hildebrand Calibre Equipment Cleereman Industries Combilift Cone Omega Corley Manufacturing Donaldson Industrial Air Filtration Esterer WD GmbH Evergreen Engineering G F Smith Gilbert Products Holtec USA Hurdle Machine Works Industrial Equipment Manufacturing JoeScan Johnson & Pace Limab Linck Linden Fabricating Lucidyne Technologies Mebor Metal Detectors Mid-South Engineering Muhlbock Holztrocknungsanlagen Nelson Bros Engineering Oleson Saw Technology Pantron Automation Piche Pipers Saw Shop PLC USA Precision-Husky Samuel Packaging Systems Group Sennebogen Sering Sawmill Machinery Serra Maschinenbau Gmbh Sharp Tool Signode SII Dry Kilns Simonds-Burton-BGR Saws-CutTech Smith Sawmill Services SonicAire Springer Maschinenfabrik GmbH T S Manufacturing Taylor Machine Works Telco Sensors U S Metal Works USNR West Coast Industrial Systems Wintersteiger Wood-Mizer Woodtech Measurement Solutions

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PH.NO. 813.855.6902 450.434.8389 260.414.9633 615.469.0745 +64 21 586 453 715.674.2700 +353 47 80500 229.228.9213 423.698.0284 800.365.1331 +49 86 71 5 03 0 888.484.4771 971.865.2981 418.275.5041 800.346.5832 901.877.6251 780.505.1584 360.993.0069 903.753.0663 +46 31 58 44 00 936.676.4958 250.561.1181 541.753.5111 +386 4 510 3200 541.345.7454 501.321.2276 +43 7753 2296 0 888.623.2882 800.256.8259 800.211.9468 833.574.4333 800.845.6075 888.516.9998 205.640.5181 800.323.4424 704.347.4910 360.687.2667 +49 8051 96 40 00 800.221.5452 800.323.2464E 800.545.6379 800.426.6226 800.598.6344 336.712.2437 +43 4268 2581 0 705.324.3762 662.773.3421 800.253.0111 800.523.5287 800.289.8767 541.451.6677 +43 77 52 919 0 800.553.0182 503.720.2361

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