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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 45 • Number 8 • October 2020 Founded in 1976 • Our 467th 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 Classified Advertising: Bridget DeVane • 334.699.7837 800.669.5613 • bdevane7@hotmail.com Advertising Sales Representatives: Southern USA Randy Reagor P.O. Box 2268 Montgomery, AL 36102-2268 904.393.7968 • FAX: 334.834.4525 E-mail: reagor@bellsouth.net
Renew or subscribe on the web: www.timberprocessing.com
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THE ISSUES
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NEWSFEED
Hatton-Brown Teams Up With SFPA U.S. Gives Thumbs Down To WTO
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REX LUMBER AT TROY
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MONTROSE FOREST PRODUCTS
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GEORGIA’S BURT LUMBER
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SAWMILLING DOWNSTREAM
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Company’s Fourth Sawmill Is Rolling
Neiman’s Colorado Mill Upgrades Back End
Latest Installation Getting Big Results
Green End Sawing And Scanning Technologies
MACHINERY ROW
Familiar Face Launches FiberPro
COVER: Rex Lumber’s greenfield sawmill in Troy, Ala. has emerged successfully on the other side of a challenging startup. Story begins on PAGE 14. (Rich Donnell photo)
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. Copyright ® 2020. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. Periodicals postage paid at Montgomery, Ala. and at additional mailing offices. Printed in U.S.A.
Postmaster: Please send address changes to Timber Processing, P.O. Box 2419, Montgomery, Alabama 36102-2419 Other Hatton-Brown publications: Timber Harvesting • Southern Loggin’ Times Wood Bioenergy • Panel World • Power Equipment Trade
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THEISSUES HATTON-BROWN WILL PRODUCE CONFERENCE DURING SFPA EXPO 14
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outhern Forest Products Assn. (SFPA) and Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. announce a collaboration on a sawmill conference to be held in conjunction with the Forest Products Machinery & Equipment Exposition scheduled August 11-13, 2021 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga. The conference portion of EXPO will take place August 11-12. The Forest Products Machinery & Equipment Exposition is presented and organized by the Southern Forest Products Assn., a non-profit trade association that represents southern pine products and services. Since 1950, EXPO has provided a space for both hardwood and softwood sawmillers to gather, showcase new technology, network, and learn about the industry’s latest products. The conference will offer a variety of speakers and educational sessions as an addition to the EXPO experience. Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. publishes Timber Processing magazine along with several other trade magazines in the forest products sector. An affiliate, Hatton-Brown Expositions, produces the Timber Processing & Energy Expo (TP&EE). Like EXPO, TP&EE is held every other year, with the next one scheduled September 28-30, 2022 in Portland, Ore. SFPA EXPO brings the latest technologies. “The addition of a strong conference and seminar schedule will complement our machinery-focused EXPO,” comments Eric Gee, SFPA EXPO Show Director. “Hatton-Brown has tremendous experience organizing and producing comprehensive conferences and are always abreast of the newest developments in lumber manufacturing. We are excited to be collaborating with another industry-focused group to offer an unparalleled conference and trade show experience to our attendees.” “SFPA’s EXPO in Atlanta has always been one of our favorites. We’re excited about putting this conference together and hosting a lineup of expert speakers,” comments Rich Donnell, editor-in-chief of Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. “Attendees will be able to take home new information and insights that will enhance their sawmill operations. A lot has already transpired since the previous EXPO in 2019 and there will certainly be a lot to talk about.” Donnell adds that the Hatton-Brown editorial staff (the conference committee) will begin addressing the structure of the conference and the subject matter in November. They will also begin soliciting speakers and moderators. “Meanwhile anybody who is interested in submitting a proposal for a presentation is invited to do so,” Donnell says (rich@hattonbrown.com). “We’ll also have an important announcement in the near future about a special presentation to be made during the SFPA EXPO in Atlanta.” TP
Contact Rich Donnell, ph: 334-834-1170; fax 334-834-4525; e-mail:rich@hattonbrown.com TIMBER PROCESSING
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NEWSFEED U.S. SAYS WTO RULING MISFIRES U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer says a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel report applies an “erroneous Appellate Body interpretation” and would shield Canada’s massive lumber subsidies from U.S. action imposing countervailing duties to support the U.S. softwood lumber industry and its workers. “This flawed report confirms what the United States has been saying for years: The WTO dispute settlement system is being used to shield nonmarket practices and harm U.S. interests,” says Ambassador Lighthizer. “The panel’s findings would prevent the United States from taking legitimate action in response to Canada’s pervasive subsidies for its softwood lumber industry.”
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The U.S. is weighing its options in response to the WTO ruling. The United States has expressed concerns for 40 years about what it claims are unfairly dumped and subsidized imports of softwood lumber products from Canada, and there is a long history of litigation over the issue at the WTO and in domestic courts. In 2017, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) found, for the third time in three decades, that the Canadian federal and provincial governments are subsidizing Canadian softwood lumber producers mostly through inaccurately determined and depressed stumpage costs, allowing Canadian producers to sell subsidized softwood lumber in the U.S. market and causing material injury to U.S. softwood lumber producers.
However, a WTO panel says the U.S. Dept. of Commerce repeatedly acted inconsistently with the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) and recommended that the U.S. come into conformity with its obligations under SCM. WTO concluded that the U.S. DOC was flawed by rejecting proposed private stumpage and log prices in Ontario as a valid stumpage benchmark; by rejecting proposed British Columbia Timber Sales (BCTS) auction prices as a valid stumpage benchmark; by rejecting proposed auction stumpage prices in Québec as a valid stumpage benchmark; by rejecting proposed TDA (Timber Damage Assessment) log prices in Alberta as a valid stumpage benchmark; by erroneously finding that the Nova Scotia benchmark price reasonably re-
flected the prevailing market conditions in Alberta, Ontario and Québec; by not having proper basis to conclude that stand-as-a-whole pricing was not a prevailing market condition in British Columbia; and numerous other calculations by U.S. DOC that WTO said were inconsistent. British Columbia Lumber Trade Council (BCLTC) applauded the WTO ruling as vindication of Canada in its challenge to the U.S. DOC’s 2017 subsidy determination. “For more than three years our industry has paid billions of dollars in countervailing duties that today’s decision confirmed should never have been paid in the first place,” says Susan Yurkovich, President and CEO of BCLTC. She says the WTO ruling is a scathing indictment of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce’s subsidy findings and the bi-
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NEWSFEED ased process it followed in reaching them. “For three decades we have been saying that the U.S. trade remedy process is flawed. Unfortunately, this is just the latest chapter in the ongoing attack on the Canadian lumber industry.” The U.S. Lumber Coalition stated the WTO panel report represents the latest example of judicial overreach within the WTO seeking to undermine the U.S. trade laws, which makes it harder for U.S. producers to address unfair trade. “Canada’s unfair trade practices in softwood lumber are well documented, and the harm these practices cause to the U.S. forestry industry and workers is undisputed,” says U.S. Lumber Coalition Executive Director Zoltan van Heyningen. “The WTO panel with this report, like other WTO Appellate Body and panel reports, has
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added to U.S. obligations and diminished U.S. rights, addressing issues it has no authority to address, taking actions it has no authority to take, and interpreting WTO agreements in ways not envisioned by the WTO members who entered into those agreements.” “While this decision is not binding upon the United States, and thus has no immediate effect on the ongoing Commerce Department proceedings, these deeply flawed WTO panel reports undermine the credibility of the entire WTO system and are harmful to U.S. workers and their communities who depend on the full and effective enforcement of the U.S. trade laws,” adds U.S. Lumber Coalition Co-Chair Jason Brochu. “The U.S. government must reject this blatant attempt by a WTO panel to diminish U.S. rights and the panel’s attempt to deviate and expand from
original WTO obligations.” This past May, a NAFTA panel unanimously affirmed a U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) finding of harm to U.S. lumber producers caused by unfairly traded Canadian softwood imports. In November 2016, the Committee Overseeing Action for Lumber International Trade Investigations or Negotiations (COALITION) petitioned the U.S. Dept. of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission to restore fair trade in softwood lumber between Canada and the U.S. In November 2017, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce determined that Canada subsidizes softwood lumber products and that exporters from Canada have sold softwood lumber in the U.S. at less than fair value, distorting the U.S. softwood lumber market. U.S. DOC promptly placed subsidy and
dumping duty rates of varying percentages on several Canadian lumber producers. In December 2017, the U.S. ITC agreed that the U.S. lumber industry is materially injured by the subsidies.
LA ENDURES HURRICANE LAURA The first major hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, Hurricane Laura, made landfall at peak intensity in Cameron, La. on August 27. The storm was the 10th-strongest U.S. hurricane to make landfall by windspeed on record. The storm caused the deaths of at least 36 people in the U.S. (71 overall). As a Category 4 hurricane, Laura tied the 1856 Last Island hurricane as the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in Louisiana. While most of the
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NEWSFEED severe damage was in south Louisiana, farther inland, loggers and mills had troubles with downed power lines, split and cracked trees and no access to supplies. In most affected areas, power was out for an average of five days. Some areas were still without power in mid-September as storm surge and rain knocked grids completely off. Loggers across north Louisiana were quick to respond to community needs according to Louisiana Loggers Assn. Executive Director Toni McManus McAllister, adding that in many places across the state, loggers were the first to respond and jump out to help and clear roads and houses of debris; things were tough, she says, but notes how resourceful loggers are by nature and therefore how resourceful their communities are even under extraordinary conditions. The
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storm inflicted an estimated $10 billion in damages along the Louisiana-Texas border near the Gulf of Mexico and northward. Annmarie Sartor, communications officer with Drax Biomass, says she grew up in south Louisiana and never imagined a hurricane would do so much damage this far north. The home to Drax’s headquarters, the city of Monroe, didn’t fare well in terms of wind damage and numerous old oaks littered the streets. While Sartor says she was surprised by the damage, each of Drax’s production facilities at LaSalle and Morehouse, La. were idled as a precautionary measure; however they are now back up and running once power was restored to the area. Drax’s Amite BioEnergy plant in Gloster, Miss. remained operational throughout the down-
time associated with Hurricane Laura. Sawmill LaSalle Lumber, located next to Drax’s LaSalle facility, did not suffer any physical damage, President Richie LeBlanc reports, addding that unfortunately some employees had minor damage to their homes, but most importantly all were safe through the storm. LaSalle’s ownership group includes Hunt Forest Products, which operates a plywood facility in Pollock, La. LeBlanc says the hurricane crippled the power grids and both Pollock Plywood and LaSalle Lumber lost production time as a result. “Bottom line is we were very fortunate,” he says. Following the direction of other Louisiana mills, RoyOMartin stopped production at three facilities 12 hours before Laura moved ashore. Terry Secrest, vice president of manufacturing and product sales,
says the move was to protect employees, sending them home to be safe with their families. “The storm devastated much of southwest Louisiana and impacted our two Louisiana manufacturing facilities: our Oakdale OSB plant and Chopin plywood and timber mill. Both plants had some minor wind damage, but overall, they fared well. The largest impact was the loss of power for about five days,” Secrest continues. RoyOMartin’s large OSB facility in Corrigan, Tex. was not impacted and restarted the next day. No RoyOMartin employees or their families were harmed.
TIMBER OWNERS RECEIVE RELIEF Alabama forest and landowner groups welcomed news of $10 million in state coron-
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NEWSFEED avirus relief to help forest owners impacted by the pandemic. Alabama Farmers Federation President Jimmy Parnell thanked Governor Kay Ivey and State Forester Rick Oates for working to provide relief for landowners who sold timber at reduced prices due to market disruption. “COVID-19 has hit Alabama’s forest industry hard,” Parnell says. “Prices have decreased for timber used for lumber as well as pulpwood used to make paper. We appreciate Gov. Ivey recognizing the importance of private forest landowners to our economy and environment. This funding will help lessen the blow for those who sold timber this spring.” Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC) will administer the Assisting Alabama Timber Owners Impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic pro-
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gram. It will provide payments to landowners who harvested timber during the months of March through July 2020. The payment rate will be $1 per ton of timber sold. Initial payments will be limited to not more than $10,000 per applicant, pending evaluation of program participation and available funding. “The Alabama Forestry Commission understands that forest landowners in the state have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus. These assistance payments will not make landowners whole, but they will help,” Oates comments. “An even more important effect of this program will be that this money will not sit in people’s bank accounts. It will help landowners better care for the forest resources with which they are entrusted, and in doing so will be reinvested in the economy.”
NEW CLT LINE FOR STORA ENSO Stora Enso is investing EUR 79 million in a new production line for cross-laminated timber (CLT) at its Ždírec sawmill in the Czech Republic. The investment will further enhance Stora Enso’s position as a global provider of high-quality engineered wood and as a market leader in CLT. Production is scheduled to begin during the third quarter of 2022. Estimated annual production capacity will be approximately 120 000 m3 after ramp-up. “This investment enables us to accelerate our growth within the mass timber construction market. CLT is showing significant growth potential in the market, with characteristics that make it possible to build higher, lighter and yet
Stora Enso is adding to its CLT production capacity.
stronger than ever before,” says Lars Völkel, Executive Vice President, Stora Enso Wood Products. Construction is expected to start during the first quarter of 2021. Stora Enso has received all required permits for the project. Currently, Stora Enso has three CLT production units with a total capacity of 270 000 m3: Gruvön in Sweden and Ybbs and Bad St. Leonhard in Austria.
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GETTING UP
TO SPEED By Rich Donnell
Rex Lumber’s greenfield sawmill operation is starting to find its groove, and with big SYP logs.
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TROY, Ala.
ex Lumber is pushing hard toward production capacity at its new southern yellow pine sawmill here. Given the amazing hike in lumber prices over the summer, the mill is finding its footing at the right time. General Manager Jason Gulledge will be the first to tell you the mill has another 20% or so to go, and they’ve encountered a few hurdles along the way, but nobody seems to be complaining. Troy is Rex Lumber’s (and the McRae family’s) fourth sawmill, in addition to SYP mills at Graceville and Bristol, Fla. and Brookhaven, Miss. Once Troy reaches its goal of 300MMBF annual production, Rex Lumber will be flirting with 1 billion BF of combined annual output. Rex Lumber has always been recognized for its modern sawmills and regularly upgrading them with the newest technology. It has also specialized in tearing down old mills and building new ones on site, but management felt the time was right for a greenfield sawmill. “Build new and do it the way we wanted,” Gulledge comments, adding that management started kicking it around even before the last presidential election and gave serious consideration to locating in Arkansas. But state and local (Pike County) economic development and the city of Troy “jumped out there and did all they could 14
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Log emerges out of the canter before transition to the double profiling unit.
Fleet of Hyundai rolling stock works the grounds.
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to help us,” Gulledge adds. “And the timber basket is good here.” CDG, based in Andalusia, Ala., assisted Rex Lumber in selecting the site several miles north of Troy and just east of newer Highway 231. CDG performed site work services on the 294-acre site. CDG also performed environmental surveys and obtained environmental permitting. Increased traffic required updates to several nearby roads. Utilizing a Community Development Block Grant and a Pike County Commission contribution of a U.S. EDA grant, several miles of road were resurfaced to accommodate the 140 log trucks traveling to the mill daily. A new three-lane industrial access road funded by the Alabama Industrial Access Committee and the Alabama Dept. of Transportation was constructed. The project also included the resurfacing of a nearby road leading down to Troy. Groundbreaking for the $110 million investment was held in July 2018. By then, earth work operations and site preparation was basically completed on 80 acres. “We didn’t realize how hilly this part of the country is,” Gulledge says. “We did some massive earthmoving to get this site ready.” W.S. Newell & Sons, based in Montgomery, Ala., performed earth work operations and moved about 750,000 cubic yards of dirt. An existing ridge across the site was cut to depths up to 14 ft. Newell used a battery of Caterpillar equipment including scrapers, articulated trucks, excavators, dozers, rollers and motor graders. Newell piled 42,000 cubic yards of topsoil and put most it back into the perimeter slopes and ditches. They also built three holding ponds. Andale Construction put down nearly 32 acres of concrete at a minimum of 8 in. Rex Lumber had been looking into a metal fiber based concrete when it first heard of roller-compacted concrete. RCC has the same basic ingredients as conventional concrete, but it’s a drier mix and it doesn’t require forms or rebar. The concrete firm set up a mixing mill on site to feed an asphalt paver, which placed down the material which was then compacted with rollers. Meanwhile there was the “minor” business of deciding on which equipment to put into the new sawmill. It wasn’t a nobrainer for Rex Lumber, but pretty close to it. Rex Lumber had a lot of good experiences at its mills with Comact technology and has always liked and operated Comact’s GradExpert automated grader. Comact’s parent company, BID Group, based in Canada and also with a
Comact GradExpert automated grader in the planer mill
Above, multi-saw log bucking/trimming; below, pole log transport and processing
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The sawmill operates two 6 ft. twin band stations on the profiling line.
Side board drop-off on profiling line
Optimized edger can receive side cants off the profiling line. 16
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facility in Saint George, SC, had come on strong in turnkey sawmill capabilities, and Rex personnel were able to visit BID-supplied sawmills already in operation in the South. “It takes a lot of pressure off compared to doing it the conventional way, going out and getting your own engineers and construction people,” Gulledge says. “The turnkey is the way to go.” Asked if the BID turnkey approach could compromise certain technologies in the mill, Gulledge responds, “BID is very advanced. There’s nothing else out there that makes us say ‘hey if we hadn’t done the turnkey we would have done it this way.’” It took approximately 11 months from the beginning of sawmill construction to Rex Lumber running the sawmill on June 17, 2019. Gulledge was the project manager for Rex during construction. Rex soon hired an operations manager for the mill, Shane Smith. One big difference in the layout of this BID mill is they flipped the planer mill so that the tilt hoist infeed is fed from the rough dry storage area, and the strapper outfeed discharges to finished storage. There is no crossing of paths between the different rolling equipment sectors. This keeps forklift paths even more segregated and provides for greater safety and efficiency. This is no small accomplishment when you put everything under the same roof of a 150,000 sq. ft. sawmill building. A few other highlights in the operation of the sawmill include: —Running logs up to 29 in. into a Comact 31 in. debarker (other mills have been limited to 20 in.). —Using Cetec bandmills (two twins) compared to circular quads in previous BID turnkey mills. —Running a full profiling line for side boards but having an edger to handle side cants off the profiling line. —BID Comact supplied vision scanning in all sectors of the mill (edger— EdgExpert; trimmer—TrimExpert and planer —GradExpert). —The sawmill stacker is a Comact with overhead robotic stick system (the other mills have BID’s MoCo stacker). When the mill came on it was one of several BID sawmill projects ongoing in the Southeast during an amazing run of activity (that continues today). A big challenge was Rex-Troy started up with three employees who had actually worked in a sawmill, including maintenance. “We were very very green,” says Gulledge, who had served as technical director for Rex Lumber before coming
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Third continuous dry kiln installation is planned for early next year.
The mill produces wide lumber and small timbers.
to Troy and has been with the company since 2003. One of three hires who had worked in a sawmill is Operations Manager Smith. Even he might have been a bit rusty, last having worked in a sawmill at Dixon Lumber in Eufaula in the late 1990s before going into maintenance management with Walmart in Troy. Some of the other hires had supervisory and management experience in various fields as well. The mill had always intended to run two 10-hour shifts in the sawmill four days per week and one 10-hour shift five days a week in the planer mill. It added the second sawmill shift in August.
They first brought in the second shift to train with the first shift and let them run an extra hour or two and then stretched it out to several hours. “When you hire everyone for a shift, the first thing you worry about is safety,” Gulledge says. “You want to take the time and have them with people who have already been through the process. That’s why we gradually stretched it out.” The plan is for separate 10-person maintenance crews to each work 12 hour shifts four days per week and another maintenance crew to work the weekends. Employees, which now number 151, encompass 14 counties. Rex had to add
a few more cleanup people than expected especially given the large concrete yard. They’re a little overstaffed in certain places and understaffed in others and Gulledge expects that to balance itself out in time. As the mill completed its eighth month of operation, it ran into “circumstances beyond its control.” A few employees tested positive for COVID-19 though Gulledge says with their background tracing they believe it wasn’t passed at the mill. The positive tests also came sporadically. Not surprisingly the fear factor pervaded the grounds and Rex Lumber as-
Byproduct bins are neatly arrayed.
2x6 by 12 ft. 2Prime
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sisted employees in getting tested, setting up with a company in Dothan and a local doctor’s office. Everyone’s nerves eventually began to settle down. The biggest issue may have been employees suddenly not having care for their children as daycares closed. A related issue was the extra unemployment compensation provided by the federal government above state unemployment payout. Several workers took advantage of it and never returned to work. “It’s hard enough to start up a brand new mill in perfect conditions, but when you’re dealing with some of your staff being gone it makes it tougher,” Gulledge says. “That was probably the case everywhere.” Gulledge believes they’re “on the other side of it” now and the mill continues to push as hard as it can and put out as much lumber as it can. “Prices have been unreal. We’ll take them while we can get them,” he adds. The mill produces 2x4 to 2x12, 8-20 ft. as well as 4x4 and 4x6 small timbers, and is selling some lumber into the cross-laminated timber (CLT) market, including to the new SmartLam CLT plant in Dothan, Ala. CLT-bound lumber must be 15% or less moisture content and Gulledge says it’s not difficult for the mill to integrate the product into operations. “If it’s below 15 we take a look at our parameters for CLT and if it doesn’t make that it goes back into our 2 Prime,” he comments. Rex Lumber is building a new 6,000 SF mechanics shop on site with CLT. It will only require a matter of days to complete the installation.
log bucking optimization and logs proceed to the stem loading deck and positioner before they’re bucked in a fivesaw stem trimmer. This area is set up to handle pole logs as well, with those logs bypassing the stem loading deck and trimmer and running out to a single cutup saw for cutting to pole lengths. Advanced Sawmill Machinery and Quality Mill supplied the belts and kick out pocket for the pole line. An LWF-300 log wave feeder puts bucked logs onto the conveyor for transfer to the log accumulation decks.
Infeed to the primary breakdown line includes a gap control system. A V-flight conveyor takes logs into a flying log turner and onto an Optimized Sharp Chain (OSC) with 6 in. pitch x 2 ½ in. wide severe duty sharp chain. Trueshape C1-Scan scanning and optimization prepare the log for entry into the chipper canter with Lindex chip heads. Quad true-shape C2-Scan scanners and optimization precede the double profilers using Lindex, followed by the first Cetec 6 ft. vertical twin bandmill, the first side board drop zone, a second twin
MILL FLOW Log trucks come across Mettler Toledo scales to a Konecranes 32-ton RPC226 rotating single bite portal crane for unloading, supported by a Barko 595 trailer mount loader. Logging capacity in the area is strong and will have to become even stronger as the mill reaches production capacity. Logs load onto the stem deck with a Rotobec Horizon 920 stationary mount loader and move up a SWF-300 stem wave feeder onto the infeed conveyor and through a cutoff saw for reject and oversize. Logs proceed through a Comact 30 in. ring debarker. While the mill runs the occasional 27-28 in. log, it does process a fair share of 24-25 in. Logs move through an MDI TWA 2000HD metal detector. A V-flight conveyor transports logs through true-shape C1-Scan scanners for TIMBER PROCESSING
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Cetec vertical bandmill, and the second side board drop zone. The line uses ScanMeg photocells and light curtains. A little different twist to this mill compared to most other BID turnkey mills is there is an edger with transverse EdgExpert optimization. Even though the mill processes large logs, the 2x4, 2x6 and 4x4, 4x6 products are still a large part of the market. In addition to dropping side boards, the profiling line can produce side cants, which are routed to the edger, which is almost like a mini-gang for making those products.
So from the profilers you can have two boards going to the trimmer and a wide cant going to the edger. The edger has four shifting saws and the last shifting saw on each side has piggyback saws, allowing for multiple product sawing solutions. From the profiling line the remaining cant proceeds through a true-shape C1 Scan scanner and optimization and into a TBL3 12 in. double arbor curve-sawing gang edger which can make 4x4 as well. Profiled boards and edger boards transfer through a double unscrambler Operations Manager Shane Smith
and rotary lug loader to a TrimExpert trimmer optimizer and PosiLock positioning fence to the electric trimmer. Next is the 65 bay drop bin sorter and Comact single fork stacker and stickers transfer and placer system. A band saw filing room is located adjacent the twin bands. It features four Armstrong shape and sharpeners and an Armstrong manual bench, two Simonds auto benches, a Göckel grinder for knives and a YGE guide dresser. The mill uses mostly Burton and Mason band saws. All round saw work is sent to the company’s saw shop in Dothan, Ala., which also handles considerable saw work for Rex’s other mills. The mill is currently running two wood-fired Deltech continuous dual path kilns. A third one will start construction at the first of the year as the silo is in place as is the foundation and burner pits. Lumber enters the planer mill line at the dual pack tilt hoist through a double unscrambler and to the Miller infeed and electric planer, and transferring to the GradExpert camera-based automated grader. Lumber proceeds to the electric trimmer. Most lumber lengths are cut-in-two, proceeding through a Samuel ink jet grade mark system and to a 65 bay sorter. Two stackers and three Signode BPX strapping stations complete the planer mill. All sections of the mill run with AllenBradley motor control centers with variable frequency drives. Outside the mill U.S. Metal Works provided the byproducts bins for chips, shavings, fines and hog fuel. Most chips are transported to the International Paper mill in Prattville, Ala. and to WestRock in Cottonton, Ala. The mill operates a Stringer chipper station. Rolling stock includes a Hyundai HL980 wheel loader in the wood yard and Hyundai 180D forklifts at the kilns and Carer A80-900X electric forklifts on the dry side. TP 20
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NEW LOG, PRODUCT
PROGRAM By Dan Shell
Neiman Enterprises’ Montrose Forest Products is ready for upcoming log and product shift with new planer mill and other investments.
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MONTROSE, Colo. ontinuing a run of investments in a stud mill facility purchased in 2012, Neiman Enterprises has added a new planer mill to its Montrose Forest Products (MFP) sawmill here, making the operation more efficient and flexible as managers are planning a shift in log supply and product mix in the near future. In recent years the mill has been cutting a significant amount of salvaged spruce and lodgepole pine logs from bee-
tle infestations in the region, yet those log supplies are starting to run thin and deteriorate. “Eventually, the salvage logs will no longer be merchantable,” says Mike Kusar, general manager, adding that the dead material will be supplanted by more green logs. The change in log supply will also mean more 1 in. ponderosa pine material being produced. He adds that the mill will likely remain a majority stud producer into the near future, though 1 in. pine boards will be a significant amount of production.
PROJECT Following earlier upgrades to the sawmill from 2013-2015 and with the expected changes in product mix, the need for investing in a new planer mill was obvious: The existing facility was vintage 1980s-90s technology and systems and dated to the 1950s. “It was plain old,” Kusar says. “With the startup we gained decades of automation and technology.” Started up in December 2019, the new planer mill was a USNR turnkey project, although with Newman PM-1600 28 knife planer (2,400 FPM), feed table and bridge. The mill features additional components such as MDI metal detector, SCS moisture meter, Samuel lumber printer and SLP-25 high speed lumber press and TDS end wax spray system. Dust control is handled by a Western Pneumatics cyclone, baghouse and related conveyor systems. The project included a set of Peerless 62 unit truck bins refurbished by Crown Machinery. A USNR QuadCam lug loader singulates boards into the grade-trim-sort line. Downstream from the Transverse High Grader (THG), lumber flows to a USNR back-to-back trimmer with multi-track positioning fence. Passing the grade printer, lumber flows to a USNR 30 bin pusher lug sorter controlled by USNR’s WinTally Sorter Management that feeds to a USNR low profile electric stacker. The greenfield planer mill project features a 55,000 sq. ft. clear-span building,
New planer mill enables better q uality and more efficiency after sawmill improvements and gives the fl ex ibility to pursue a wider product line with new 1 in. sawing program. 22
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40 ft. at the eaves, and includes a large control room, break room and office. Timberline Erectors handled installation through USNR, and MFP did the building and excavation with local contractors Hershberger Construction and D&S Underground. EC Electrical Services handled the lion’s share of the electrical work. The building is equipped with natural gas radiant heat. After starting the new planing facility up at the end of 2019, MFP worked the kinks out through early spring 2020. In addition to the new technology and higher levels of computerization, perhaps the biggest change was the new USNR Transverse High Grader (THG) automatic lumber grading system. Head grader Mark Martinez—now in charge of quality control—trained on the THG system prior to installation, so he got acquainted with it beforehand, and USNR personnel worked with the crew at the mill as well during early startup. “By the time we began production in the new planer mill, Mark was familiar with the machine and the software,” Kusar says, noting the good teamwork as the project started up. “As soon as they got to know the operating centers and machines, the planer mill crew caught on quickly, and really exceeded my expectations,” Kusar says, adding that before the planer project started he met with the crew to emphasize it was an upgrade to get excited about, to make the mill more efficient and make everyone’s job more secure. Indeed, while the green chain and a few other positions were eliminated, between attrition, redefining the remaining planer mill jobs and shifting personnel to other areas, no one was laid off. Costs are also a big factor: The sawmill is currently running 54 hours a week, and before it was almost a given that the planer crew would be working overtime to keep up. Instead, the new planer mill is running 40 hours a week, sometimes less. Kusar says he’s excited about the planer project results and the future: Grade recovery is up, and the mill is getting much better trim decisions that weren’t possible before with a two-saw PET machine. And with the crew familiar with the new technology and equipment, making the switch to 1 in. products should be even easier, he believes.
Automatic grading system provides grade uplift and lets crew concentrate on quality.
Planer project was USNR turnkey, but with Newman planer, infeed and bridge, along with MDI metal detector.
Head grader Mark Martinez trained on grading equipment and software before installation.
NEIMAN INVESTS The new planer mill at Montrose is just the latest chapter in a story of smart investments since Neiman Enterprises bought the facility eight years ago. TIMBER PROCESSING
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USNR scanning and optimization packages at the sawmill were Neiman’s first upgrades at Montrose.
First phase was new scanning and optimization packages for the primary and secondary breakdown equipment that included USNR Smart TriCam and LASAR scanning and MillExpert log and carriage optimization, plus BioLuma 2900L scanning with MillExpert optimization and new infeed table at the edger. Soon after those upgrades were made in 2013, MFP turned its attention to the back end of the sawmill and added a new
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optimized trimmer, sorter and stacking line from USNR, monitored and controlled by USNR’s MillTrak lumber flow control system. The new trim-sort-stack line included a multi-track fence, MillExpert optimization fed by BioLuma 2900L laser profile sensors and the new MyMill mobile control system that allows control access from anywhere in the mill via mobile device. Another big investment at the sawmill
as part of general improvements and safety upgrades at the time is a Clarke’s Sheet Metal PyroGuard CXL spark detector system—a key component when sawing so much salvage wood. In anticipation of the shift in log supply and product mix, in early 2019 MFP invested in a new USNR 1,200 HP straight line double gang to replace the older one. The mill needed a faster machine with bigger capacity, and to produce 8 in. cants as well with the new green log mix and 1 in. products. In addition to investing in extending a natural gas line to the mill soon after it was bought, other innovations and investments at the mill include a new parts storage room with computerized inventory system, and also a small crane system that moves planer heads from the grinding room to the planer quickly and safely. Employing 95 at the mill, plus providing an economic ripple effect by working with local vendors and suppliers, loggers and other contractors, etc., Montrose FP is a key part of the western Colorado economy. During a 2018 luncheon, Neiman and Montrose FP was singled out by the Montrose Economic Development Corp. for investing in the mill and local econo-
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Montrose FP key personnel, from left: Dennis Long, planer operator; Allen Satur, rolling stock mechanic; Lupe Quezada, shipping lead; Homer Justus, dry end supervisor; Dallas Wright, plant superintendent; Bob Calvert, head saw filer; Shawn Findley, sawmill supervisor; Mike Kusar, general manager; and Brent Woodland, purchasing manager. Not pictured, Lance Woodland, maintenance supervisor
my. One official noted the facility has an annual $36 million economic impact in the greater Montrose area.
MILL FLOW The mill accepts logs down to a 6 in. top. A vintage Dart log stacker unloads trucks and decks logs, while a Cat 980
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wheel loader feeds the mill. A Deere 2154 knuckleboom places logs on the respective large-small log infeeds. Large logs up to 30 in. are processed through a Salem 35 in. ring debarker. Small logs, generally 15-16 in. and under, flow to a Valon Kone 450 debarker. Operators make bucking decisions. Small logs first pass under a USNR
scanning-optimization system, then are processed through a Swecan twin sharp chain (Omega Solutions) that includes a set of CM&E chipping heads recently re-fitted with a Lindsey knife system, and two 52 in. bandmills. The line produces 4-, 6- and now has the ability to create 8 in. cants with the new double straight line edger and emphasis on 1
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in. lumber. Cants are processed through a Cetec horizontal twin resaw (5 ft. band mills), while sideboards go to the USNR six-saw board edger with USNR scanning-optimization package. Large logs flow to a slanted headrig featuring USNR-Log Boss carriage and 7 ft. Lesson-Burpee bandmill, with USNR scanning and optimization. The headrig produces cants up to 8 in. that are processed through the new 8 in. USNR double cant gang edger. The converged lumber flow is handled by a USNR revolving lug loader,
and boards move over an SCS moisture detector that makes a green-dry sort before going to the USNR trimmer with scanning-optimization package and multi-track positioning fence. Lumber then flows to the USNR 32-bin sorter with MyMill Tablet upgrade and USNR stacker. Lumber is dried in two vintage 104 ft. double-track Irvington-Moore kilns with recently updated Wellons controls systems. Kilns are heated by a natural gasfired 600 HP Cleaver Brooks boiler. The mill operates with Simonds band
Montrose saws run with carbide, Stellite and swage-tooth tips depending on application.
saws and round saws (except Peerless saws on the gang), supplied by Missoula Saw. According to Bob Calvert, head filer, circle saws run with Stellite tips (trim saws run carbide), while band saws run with swage-tooth tips. Guides are basic USNR babbit. Key filing equipment includes Armstrong benches, Vollmer CHCV 840 grinder and Wright tipping machine. Band saws are changed every five hours (10 hour shifts), while round saws are changed at the end of every shift.
FUTURE This fall, MFP is beginning to log the first of several recently purchased green ponderosa pine timber sales. Kusar says he’s looking forward to the change, but it will also mean a learning curve across the mill as the former stud facility begins making 1 in. pine boards. There are already discussions of adding a moulding machine at the planer mill to produce pattern stock. Maintaining residual markets in western Colorado remains a challenge, but Neiman Enterprises has already received permitting to add a pellet-producing operation at Montrose. The company already runs a successful pellet operation at Spearfish under its popular Heartland Pellets and Black Hills Gold brand names. TP 28
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BURT LUMBER MAKES THE GRADE New grading system produces immediate results.
WASHINGTON, Ga. ince taking the sawmill reins from their late grandfather—Mr. Addison Burt—Barry and Burt Goolsby have been on a continuous journey of improvement and automation throughout their southern pine operation. Having worked alongside Mr. Burt in the mill since their early teenage years, they had firsthand experience to support their vision for where to take the mill. In just the last 10 years, they, along with help from Burt’s son, Little Burt, who manages the mill, have installed new dry kilns, replaced the edger system, updated the canter line and completely overhauled the planer mill—rebuilding the Miller planer, rebuilding the Lunden stacker, and installing a new Signode strapper. Each of these projects was done step-by-step with an eye toward increasing production volumes (today at roughly 60MMBF), improving quality and ensuring the safety of their long-tenured workforce. “We’re proud of what our granddaddy built, and through a series of improvements we’ve been able to increase production volumes two or three times from where it was just 10 years ago, ensuring that what he built will be around for many years to come,” says Burt Goolsby, co-owner and Projects Manager of Burt Lumber. So it was no surprise when in the fall of 2019 some good-natured razzing of Timber Automation’s Matt Eirvin (a Mizzou grad) about the upcoming football game between Missouri and Georgia transitioned into a discussion about another way to automate and improve operations in the planer mill: by adding an auto grader. Being a certified grader himself, Little Burt knows the difficulties associated with relying on manual grading. “It’s a tough job that requires a combination of experience, judgment and knowledge of the various grading rules. You have to make important decisions in a very short period of time.” Like so many mills, Burt Lumber was struggling to find good, qualified graders. If a grader did not make it into work, Little Burt would find himself on the line filling in, when he knew there were other priorities he wanted to address. In addition to grade uplift and reduced trim loss, Little Burt also knew they would be able
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Timber Automation VAB auto grader has reduced trim loss, uplifted grade and enhanced speed. Projector system displays, in real time, all relevant quality control information provided by the auto grader.
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to run the whole system Once installed, the faster if they could autoteam got to work tuning mate grading. in the parameters and Over the next few shortly thereafter sendmonths, conversations being solutions to the trimtween the teams at Timmer. The results were ber Automation, VAB (a immediate. Some might Timber Automation comthink grading timbers— pany), and Burt Lumber which makes up a signifcontinued as they dove icant portion of Burt’s further into the details of production—is easy, and the VAB grading system a grader would not yield and what it would take to much uplift. But the install it. Burt could see team at Burt found it to right away that the linear be just the opposite. design of the optimizer Barry sums up, “This was going to be much has been one of the easier for retrofitting than smoothest projects— a transverse system. They with the quickest paywould need to modify the back—we have ever planer outfeed belt setup, Left to right, Burt Lumber’s Goolsbys—Burt, Little Burt, Barry done. Installation took but that would be it. They place over a couple of liked the simplicity and were also imBoard Tracker system. This contactless weekends, minimizing downtime. Startpressed by the ease of use, confident that system provides virtual board numberup was fast, and we saw immediate bentheir mill staff would not have any probing and tracking in the lugless section efits on day one. We reduced trim loss lems operating it. between the planer and the lug loader. nearly threefold, increased our #1s over With more than 50 systems installed, Boards can be flipped, moved and rear30%, and increased our #2 and better VAB had demonstrated they would not ranged without losing track of their somore than 10%.” In addition to the sighave any issues delivering on what had lution. Plus, it eliminates marking and nificant uplift in value, they also been promised. And after having spent codes on the board as well as the associ- achieved exactly what Little Burt so much time with TA’s Eirvin and ated consumable and ink costs associatthought they would: running faster. With Pierre Compagna, the team at Burt had ed with them. the installation of the grader, they were confidence that the team at Timber AuWith only a 90-day lead time for deable to achieve a 35% increase in speed tomation would stand behind the system livery of the grader and belt modificaand throughput, which multiplies the if anything did come up. “Matt’s and tions, the team at Burt Lumber began ex- value of the associated grade uplift and Pierre’s extensive knowledge of the sysecuting their plan for the project shortly reduction in trim loss. tem, along with stellar recommendations after issuing the P.O. in April 2020. While they continue to reap the benefrom their customers, left no doubt in my Since the VAB is a linear system, they fits of installing the grading system durmind that any situation that might arise were able to complete the installation ing record-high lumber prices, they are would be handled. Success of this project portion of the project over two weekpreparing for their next project: a new was never in question,” says Barry ends—one weekend for performing the planer mill trimmer from Timber AuTP Goolsby, co-owner and President. belt modifications and the second for intomation due later this year. Beyond its economical installation and stalling the grader and board tracker— (Article and photos supplied by Timber ease of use, the VAB grading system with no significant production stoppage. Automation as approved by Burt Lumber.) provides other benefits that piqued their interest. The real-time board viewer makes it simple to understand exactly why each board received its grade. By rotating the board image 360 degrees in all directions, you can quickly find, select and analyze defects and determine whether a tweak to the parameters is required. As an added next step, the system also features real-time simulations. Immediate adjustments can be made on everything from lengths, block values, and trimmer saw positions to grade parameters, fence capabilities, and product priority. Rather than having to wait on historical analysis, the real-time simulator will run a side-by-side comparison of the current recipe vs. the simulation to determine whether and how much additional uplift can be achieved. Production display on planer mill grade-trim line Also of interest was the patented Air TIMBER PROCESSING
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DOWNSTREAM EDITOR’S NOTE: The following companies submitted these editorial profiles and images on their green end downstream sawing and scanning technologies to complement their advertisements throughout this issue. All statements and claims are attributable to the companies.
AUTOLOG
With more than 30 years of experience in the wood transformation industry, Autolog has proven itself to be an instrumental player for creating easy-to-use solutions from the front end to the back end of the mill. As a leader in automation, optimization and vision for the lumber industry, Autolog continues to invest heavily in R&D to ensure they are at the cutting edge of today’s technology to meet the growing needs of their clients. A great example of how Autolog partners with their clients to improve mill performance is their ability to work with any original equipment manufacturer as well as a variety of suppliers and layouts. This offers the customer an automation and optimization alternative to their existing mechanical manufacturer. From primary and secondary breakdown, to planers, stackers, robotic equipment and Industry 4.0 (just to name Autolog’s family of optimizers includes its transverse edger optimizer. a few), Autolog is ready to adapt their solution to cater to that of their customer’s need; this is just one key element to Autolog’s business model. Autolog’s transverse gang, edger and trimmer optimizers offer the highest precision level and reliability with a ¼ in. scan density, along with a user friendly and easy-to-adopt system, enabling operators to quickly and efficiently master its features. This solution is built with the customer in mind because its modular scanner frame offers an easy and cost efficient installation on site: It eliminates the need to open the roof or rent a crane, requires only a few hours to assemble, allows for assembly directly around the chain races already in place and provides the flexibility to add new technology. The 3D sensors positioned at an angle provide an accurate profile reading on all four faces of the board or cant as well as minimize debris and dust thus increasing uptime due to less maintenance.
COGENT CONSIDERATIONS
BOOST (Better Operational Options via Simulation & Testing) is the GPS for a canting sawmill. It enables mill management to confidently navigate to an improved operating posture. BOOST enables a mill to: —Optimize key managerial metrics —Adjust product mix to address changes in the marketplace —Enhance recovery —Improve value extraction —Understand impacts of a different log mix (length and/or diameter) —Evaluate trade-offs (e.g. more 2x10s will usually result in less 2x8 or 2x12) BOOST simulations “heat map” offered by Cogent Considerations —Manage product mix changes without impacting key products. (e.g. more 2x10 without reducing 2x12 volumes) —Relieve bottleneck issues BOOST does this by rapidly developing numerous scenarios. Each scenario mimics a single “run” of logs through your vendorprovided primary breakdown system. A different set of user-defined “control prices” is then used to develop a new scenario. Each scenario contains 25 performance metrics including: • $/MBF • Recovery • Product value, $/mill hour • Machine center utilization • Piece counts/hour (edger and trimmer) From this, a set of analytical tools enables management to select an improved operating posture quickly and confidently. The “heat map” shown displays the results of 121 scenarios/simulations for a dimension sawmill. For this application of BOOST, the user-defined control prices were ranged from 95% to 105% of the base prices (in 1% increments) for 2x6 and 2x8 products. The prices for 2x4, 2x10 and 2x12 were unchanged. Each scenario simulated 9,000 sawlogs five times. The total time to generate all 121 scenarios was 55 seconds (using an 8 core Dell laptop with i7 CPU @ 1.8GHz). Similar heat maps are available for each performance metric. BOOST also enables you to drill down into the details of each scenario to examine up to 25 other metrics (e.g. MBF/hr., boards/log, edger boards/log, profitability, etc.) associated with the scenario. 34
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DOWNSTREAM
CONE OMEGA
Cone Omega, LLC., well known for its innovative primary breakdown equipment systems, also offers a full line of secondary breakdown equipment that includes horizontal and vertical gang saw systems and high speed edger systems. Gang saw options include conventional straight sawing in both horizontal and vertical configurations as well as our unique Curve Canting and Linebar Curve sawing system. Both straight and curve-sawing systems are offered with or without profiling. The edger product line includes 2, 3, 4 and 5 saw all with or without a reman option. Both the gang and edger lines utilize a rugged and reliable feedtable design. Our vertical gangs are for use with our four-sided canter lines. The vertical gangs are offered in a single Cone Omega curve-sawing gang and linebar feed table (VSA) or double (VDA) arbor configuration depending on log size and product mix. Our vertical gangs all feature a unitized main frame with heavy duty components and simple but accurate adjustment for many years of service. The arbor on the linebar side is offered as a bank of fixed saws or a split shifting rack, that allows the user to produce 5⁄4 lumber, 7⁄4 lumber and 4 in. and 6 in. timbers in combination all on the fly. The curve canter chips around the curve to prepare cants for the linebar curve gang that is out of line from the canter. We offer multiple shifting timbers pockets and multiple banks of saws for various board thicknesses all in the same guide configuration. Since the gang is a versa gang style machine it can shift relative to the linebar as needed and the guide banks shift independently of the main box. The infeed roll module in front of the gang includes the patented variable pitch, variable lead linebar system for super accurate sawing around the curve. The edger line features precision adjustment of all components and simplicity of design for maximum reliability. We are now offering our super fetcher feedtable with our edger systems. The super fetcher design uses linear bearings and rails for maximum reliability. With many units in operation our edgers are capable of averaging 35-40 ppm.
GREG SMITH COMPANY
The Greg Smith Company of Portland, Ore. manufactures gang and edger sawing systems customized for each user’s specific application under the Gmachine brand. Gmachine gangs with shifting banks of saws, curve-sawing capabilities and closely coupled chipping modules are in high demand as companies strive to increase recovery, simplify manpower requirements and look to expand their markets by creating more product flexibility as markets change and develop. In many cases, incorporating specialized technology allows Gmachine gang systems to be installed as replacements for existing gangs where feeding from two sides would otherwise be incompatible with the room available for installation. All Gmachine designs incorporate the highest quality components to achieve results that reduce maintenance requirements while producing superior results. Gmachine sawing systems are line bored to ensure the highest accuracy and lowest maintenance possible and Greg Smith Co. curve-sawing/chipping gang Gmachine systems incorporate precision ground high performance linear rails wherever needed to eliminate accuracy and maintenance issues associated with outdated designs eliminating high wear bearings and parts that further reduce maintenance requirements. Gmachine sawing system designs incorporate electric linear actuators in all applications where design specifications allow as part of the Gmachine strategy to build machines to perform at the highest standards of speed and accuracy while bringing many other benefits to our customers by reducing installation, maintenance and operating costs and at the same time increasing sawmill safety. A few of our current projects in hardwood and softwood applications include Gmachine sawing systems for a 10 in. curve-sawing/chipping Versatile Gang; an 8 in. linear feed five shifting saw system to cut specialized timbers; multiple linear and transverse feed shifting saw board edger systems and an 8 in. combination versatile gang sawing system incorporating both shifting clusters and individual saws to manufacture southern yellow pine boards and cants. Gmachine sawing systems are getting things done for our customers everywhere. 36
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DOWNSTREAM
JOESCAN
The JS-50 WX scan head was designed from the ground up to excel in the toughest sawmill environments. A smaller package and versatile scanning envelope ensure great coverage for almost every machine center throughout the mill. This newest JoeScan is seeing action in the optimization of: —Bucking & merchandising lines —Lineal & transverse edgers —Trimmer/sorters l Single Model Scanning: In fact, you may be able to run your whole mill using just the JS-50 WX for scanning. There are plenty of benefits to using a single model of scanner throughout your mill, such as: —Reduced need for spare scanners and cables —Simplified calibration training l Unique Sawmill Features: A number of sawmill-focused features JoeScan’s latest JS-50 WX 3D laser scanner delivers make JS-50 WX a breeze to install and operate. Next-generation technol- throughout the sawmill. ogy ensures you’ll get the best recovery possible. New features include: —Single cable Power over Ethernet connection —Dual camera —Quiklock mounting hardware —High speed, high definition sensors l Effortless Ownership: Each JS-50 WX also includes JoeScan’s famous five-year warranty and 10-year support policy, providing you with a frustration-free ownership experience. Across the board, this little scan head truly lives up to the motto “Made for Sawmills.”
LUCIDYNE
Lucidyne is proud to introduce transverse lumber grading in the sawmill and planer mill. The Goldeneye 900 transverse scanner determines the overall quality of green, dry or planed lumber in one pass from all four sides. Because the boards do not have to be turned, the scanner only requires a single scan frame width. This is just one of the innovations Lucidyne will now deliver since the recent acquisition by Microtec. Lucidyne now offers integrated mill-wide board scanning solutions and additional grading tools. The Lucidyne GradeScan remains the flagship scanner, running in more than 65 planer mills throughout North America and Australia, using Lucidyne (Microtec) Goldeneye 900 transverse scanner their patented Deep Learning AI Perceptive Sight platform. Together with Microtec, Lucidyne will continue its tradition of technological advance, bringing new and exciting products to the lumber industry. In addition to expanding their scanning capabilities, Lucidyne offers additional grading tools that can be implemented in conjunction with the GradeScan system, any of the Goldeneye systems, or can be used as a standalone product. For example, the M3 Moisture Meter allows quick and accurate measurement of the lumber moisture content while operating contact free at high speeds. Another tool, the Viscan, determines the MOE of lumber using a laser interferometer to greatly improve the accuracy of MSR grading. The expanded product offerings allow for very exciting opportunities for Lucidyne and all their existing as well as their future customers. These new products will be sold, installed and supported by Lucidyne in Corvallis, Ore.
MCDONOUGH MANUFACTURING
McDonough Manufacturing Co. has been a global supplier of specialized machine solutions since 1888. Built on a foundation of trust, McDonough focuses on mutual honesty, long-term ethics and meeting customer quality expectations. McDonough's complete line of board edgers ranges from some of the world’s fastest optimized edger systems to manual edgers and combination edgers for smaller sawmills everywhere. The OptiFit linear edger has become the most popular edger system for modern hardwood sawmills based on its ability to deliver exceptional yield, short payback and long-term durability. l OptiFit Linear Board Edger—Designed to fit in every hardwood sawmill in the country, the OptiFit linear board edger maxiMcDonough offers a versatile range of edger systems. mizes yield without having to expand your sawmill. This board 38
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DOWNSTREAM edger system will handle everything your carriage and resaw can throw at it and provide your sawmill with huge gains in yield and profitability. l Optimized Linear Board Edger—We are the industry leader in the optimized board edger market with all the unique design features of our linear board edger systems. Field experience and customer consultation that is combined with careful engineering ensure our board edger is the most accurate and easiest to maintain board edger. l Optimized Transverse Board Edger—Available as a dedicated board edger or gang, this machine can also be configured to handle both boards and cants to maximize the return on your investment. With board edger piece counts of up to 40 pieces per minute, this machine is designed to drop into your existing edger footprint with our unique short-coupled outfeed system. Dramatic increases in yield over conventional board and gang edgers make this machine a quick payback candidate for any sawmill. l Manual and Combination Edger—McDonough’s complete line of manual two-saw, three-saw and combination board/gang edgers rounds out our full suite of edger products. These workhorse machines are designed to be durable and accurate. Whether you are looking at installing a new or used McDonough line, or any other brand, your first call should be to the professionals at McDonough—we’ve been doing this for more than 130 years.
MEBOR
Mebor presents its new VR edging and multi ripping line with scanning. The line is based on the strong and proven VR 900 S combination edger & multi rip saw. Boards/cants are scanned transversally using 3D scanning technology. Mebor’s powerful optimization software chooses optimal sizes to cut based on thickness, width, shape of boards and priority of sizes. This results in the best recovery from the lumber. Lumber is automatically positioned on the infeed, sawn to selected sizes, while the waste is automatically separated. The presented version of the machine can process up to 15 boards/minute. Also available are faster and bigger versions, including chipping edgers. The line is fully automatic and may work without an operation. Mebor new edging and multi ripping line with scanning For quality oriented productions, the control system visualizes boards and sizes on the screen, which allows the operator to make additional decisions based on quality.
MELLOTT
Soapstone Sawmill, located in Peach Bottom, Penn., has installed a new Mellott drop saw trimmer. This custom designed drop-saw trimmer has 11 saw ladders to handle 20 ft. material. Soapstone is sawing an estimated 45MBF of lumber a day for crane mats along with 1015MBF of specialty wood on a secondary mill. The Mellott ruggedly built trimmer is designed with the ability to be used for production of crane mat material, trims up to 8 in. and will pass 12 in. cants. Not only is this trimmer heavily built, the innovative saw ladder design allows for quick belt replacement without loss of saw alignment. The trimmer features dual assists springs to raise saws quickly and stacked cylinders for three saw positions (trimming, partially raised to pass boards and small cants, Mellott drop saw trimmer at Soapstone Sawmill fully raised to pass thru ties and large cants). The trimmer is modular and controls packages are designed to fit each particular application. To make installation as seamless as possible Mellott Manufacturing fully tests the trimmer system before shipping. Soapstone Sawmill has also installed a Mellott 6 ft. slant band headrig. Owner Ben Stoltzfus decided on a slant type band sawmill for increased production. The tilted setup makes log turning faster, since the on board turners on the carriage do most of the work so the log turner is not used as much as on a conventional mill. The Mellott bandmill is designed using the same rugged features as their other equipment. Both the Mellott Model 640 and 642 bandmills have 6 ft. diameter wheels designed to use up to a 12 in. wide band saw blade. The Model 640 bandmill uses a 40 ft. long band saw blade. It can be used as the main band saw headrig in a sawmill with the addition of a 30 in. wide offbearing belt or as a vertical resaw with the addition of a linebar attachment. The Model 642 has the columns extended 12 in. and uses a 42 ft. long band saw blade and is used as the main band saw headrig in a 17º slanted sawmill. Mellott Manufacturing offers on-site design and controls engineering capable of meeting the specific needs of each sawmill. 40
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DOWNSTREAM
TIMBER AUTOMATION
Timber Automation's trimmer systems are the most rugged and reliable, handling everything from dimensional lumber to timbers with ease. Because of its robust and durable design, more Timber Automation trimmer systems have been installed for running timbers than any other vendor. Each aspect of the system has been designed for high performance and simplified maintenance. Performance starts with its direct-coupled, lineshaft drive assembly, which eliminates the need for belt changes and motor alignment. Adjustable, cushioned air cylinders are provided for each airlift saw. Aluminum dual action cylinders allow you to set the cushion utilizing magnets; and tools, instructions and data are included with each trimmer to effectively set rod velocity and cushion accuracy. Various saw spacing options are available. While 2 ft. Timber Automation lineshaft trimmer spacing is typical, saws can be configured to as close as 5 in. for special lengths or PET configurations. The trimmer can also be designed for the future addition of odd saws. Finally, with our patented double even ending cut-n-two outfeed, you can achieve the uplift associated with cut-n-two without having to sacrifice speed. From a maintenance perspective, an integrated, pivoting door and folding internal platform provide a working platform when opened. The platform is positioned directly in front of the saws, facing the lineshaft for easy access. Both have locking pins and a pneumatic isolating circuit for safety. Each belt is accessible without having to remove bearings, and split couplings allow access to the saws, which means belt replacements in under two minutes. Integrated spare belt storage allows up to two belts to be stored for each coupling/saw to further reduce maintenance time. Finally, the valves sit on top and outside the box, allowing for easy adjustments, trouble shooting and changing, if needed. Keeping these valves out of the turbulent and dusty trimmer chamber extends part lifetime.
USNR
Waipapa Pine’s recent investment at the mill in Kerikeri, New Zealand increased efficiency and improved both sawn recovery and grade recovery. The mill wanted to run both green sawn and kiln-dried planed timber at the same time. The new technology involved upgrading the mill’s USNR 4TA36 edger that was bought used. A fourth shifting saw was added and USNR’s BioVision optimizer was installed. The fourth saw accommodates the broad range of widths processed, from 3 in. to 12 in. BioVision uses BioLuma 2900LVG sensors and takes advantage of Deep Learning technology for enhanced defect recognition and classification. The plant’s existing trimline was converted to a combination line to process a random mix of green- USNR THG at Waipapa Pine for green and dry lumber sawn and kiln-dried material, through the addition of a Transverse High Grader (THG). A new Revolver Lug Loader and Multi-Track Fence were added to increase capacity and maintain efficiency and trimming accuracy. The Revolver handles the range of product thicknesses, from 1 in. to 4 in., of green and kiln-dried products. The planer outfeed feeds directly to the green trimline on a separate landing deck. Future plans include installing a moisture meter after the lug loader to identify green versus dry material. This will allow the mill to run green and dry material through the green trimline simultaneously. In the meantime, with a wide range of product sorts, the mill runs dry material in batches through the trimmer line to take advantage of the THG’s grading accuracy. Already seeing a very attractive payback, the mill is eager to implement the additional capability. “The results are outstanding across all key measures within the business,” says Grant Arnold, Waipapa Pine Operations Director. “We’ve seen 4.2% improvement in sawn recovery, 8.3% improvement in grade recovery, and 13% increase in output.” Raw log input costs are reduced and overall value return is improved. This project significantly changed mill operations and the type of work employees perform. Now, 95% of operational jobs are “hands off.” Safety stats have improved, and the company has trained its manual graders in the new technology, giving them a boost in job satisfaction and skills. 42
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PART 1: INTRODUCTION ULTIMATE GUIDE TO MOISTURE CONTROL By Steve Maurer only takes one thing to unravel the process: moisture. Itsawmill Every phase of lumber manufactur-
ing—the sawmill, kilns, planer mill— runs more productively through accurate sensing and controlling of moisture content. Hi-tech moisture sensors connect with advanced hardware and software solutions to determine moisture content. Assisted further by the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), you gain control over moisture content from the sawmill to your customers’ doors. This procedure at the sawmill translates into increased productivity and efficiency at the kiln. By pre-sorting boards, the potential degradation from over-drying is minimized. The drying process is fine-tuned to the moisture content of the lot. One study indicated that by sorting 4x4 in. (114x114 mm) lumber into three optimized groups, overall drying time could be reduced by a full day. That ex-
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trapolated into an approximate $8/MBF increase in lumber value. Besides supplying the kiln with more uniform product, sensors used during the drying process increase overall efficiency. Sensors mounted before, after and during the procedure monitor moisture content continuously. Assisted by connected hardware and software, the fuel, energy and time consumed are constantly tweaked to ensure proper drying temperature and minimize wasted energy costs. When connected by IIoT networks, the process can be monitored remotely. While a company command center—either on-site or remote—uses this information, it has an additional benefit. Accessed by a technical support team, remote troubleshooting and even preventative maintenance keeps operations running smoothly. When the planing operation receives lumber dried to exacting specifications, a more profitable finished product fol-
lows. The entire planing process benefits from sensor-monitored moisture content. Overly dried boards and overly wet lumber are significant profit suckers, caused in part by lost productivity. Finally, sensors located at the end of the planing process have another potentially money-saving benefit. It’s possible that one end of an otherwise perfect board will be above the acceptable parameters for moisture content. A sensor will discover that, allowing the manufacturer to cut the wet section from the board, salvaging its higher grade. If an increasingly profitable lumber operation is your goal—and wet lumber claims, lost productivity, and excessive operating costs are the stuff of your nightmares—hi-tech, IIoT connected sensor systems provide immediate results. TP Next issue: Part 2: Kilns. Article supplied by Finna Sensors and written by Steve Maurer, an industrial copywriter.
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MACHINERYROW McDonough Enhances Machining In Canada McDonough Canada in Mactaquac, New Brunswick has started up a newly purchased Doosan Puma 3100 XLY lathe, a 4 axis model with the ability to turn parts up to 83 in. between centers. Also equipped with live tooling and a servo Yaxis, the lathe will greatly enhance their ability to manufacture turned parts with milled features, tapped holes, angular faces and either square or diamond cut knurling. In particular this machine is purposed toward the high quality, efficient production of the following critical parts for McDonough customers: —knurled rolls —board edger and gang arbors —saw collars —table rolls “This investment shows McDonough’s commitment to the long-term success of our team in Mactaquac as we continue to improve efficiency at that operation,” the company states. In fact this purchase was a recommended action presented to manage-
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ment by the employees in the McDonough Canada shop as the result of a recent improvement project led by the McDonough Business Excellence team in Mactaquac. This new lathe will dramatically improve machining capacity and will help to drive parts to the assembly floor much faster, according to McDonough.
Krauss Goes Pro Again With FiberPro FiberPro is a new company spearheaded by Josh Krauss, who hopes to build upon past success and provide the industry with robust and innovative wood yard and lumber handling equipment systems. FiberPro proudly notes that with his more than 23 years in the industry, Krauss has designed and sold the majority of the high-speed transverse merchandiser systems and drum debarking systems in the Southeastern U.S. Krauss took a brief retirement, but says he quickly realized the industry need for custom processing solutions. FiberPro headquarters is in Hot Springs, Ark. with a remote sales office in
Winlock, Wash. FiberPro reports it has received multiple large orders and has developed a new log feeder system called the Cam Feeder for which they applied for a patent earlier this year. FiberPro’s engineering team reports it has redesigned the popular Log Trimmer Series Merchandiser System for greater safety and reliability. “FiberPro understands our customers’ raw fiber is their greatest single cost, so processing it safely, correctly and reliably is the key to primary and secondary breakdown processing success resulting in higher mill profitability,” Krauss comments. FiberPro’s engineering team is headed by Jeremy Hutson and Andy Raybon and comprises a group of experienced engineers who have worked with Krauss for many years. Fiberpro engineering utilizes 3D SolidWorks for all design, manufacturing and installation assistance. 3D modeling allows for stress analysis and unit interaction for interferences. “FiberPro’s goal is to help the industry with solutions through experience and new innovative designs allowing Fiberpro to be the go-to guys for wood yard tech-
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MACHINERYROW nology and lumber handling solutions,” Krauss adds. E-mail: info@fiberprollc.com; visit fiberprollc.com.
Lampe & Malphrus Plans Upgrade Following the recent successful USNR carriage optimization and profiling gang system projects, Lampe and Malphrus of
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Smithfield, NC is making another major investment in its sawmill trim-sort line to increase its production and operational reliability on a long-term basis. Scheduled to start up in the first quarter of 2021, the new line includes a USNR trimmer optimizer with BioLuma ensors, Revolver Lug Loader, MillTrak lumber flow management, Multi-Track Fence, WinTally sorter management system, and 33-bay sling sorter featuring MyMill
mobile sorter control. “Managing a sawmill today requires quick responses and USNR gives the support that maximizes the output of the machine centers and the interconnectivity for the control of the sawmill process,” comments James Malphrus, President & CEO.
BID Group Adjusts Executive Team BID Group announced that Rick Wilson has moved from his position as chief financial officer to the newly established position of Executive Vice-President, Business Optimization. “Rick and team have done a terrific job of laying the foundation for business analytics and profitability. We now want to accelerate and leverage this work under Rick’s leadership,” comments President and CEO Alistair Cook. As a result of this move, Adam Infanti is now Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer. Infanti comes to BID from a large forest products company where he held financial and operational roles.
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ATLARGE
Search North America Names Senior Recruiter Search North America, a leading wood products-based search, recruiting and placement firm, is proud to announce and welcome Richard Poindexter as a new Senior Recruiter. He joins the Search North America team from the Columbia Forest Products plywood division located in Greensboro, NC.
Poindexter has worked for Columbia for the last 23 years and has experience in management, sales and marketing. He has also conducted numerous presentations and webinars for architects, designers, and green building enthusiasts, helping to educate them on hardwood plywood and hardwood veneer. Poindexter’s home office will be based out of the Greensboro, area, while Search North America’s main office will
remain located in central Oregon. Poindexter graduated in 1995 from North Carolina State University with a BS degree in Wood Products. In 2004, he earned his LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accreditation. As Search North America’s new senior recruiter, Poindexter will specialize in client and candidate relationships in the Eastern and Southern parts of the United States, including Texas. Carl Jansen, Search North America’s Owner and President, will concentrate on SNA’s recruiting efforts on the West Coast. Poindexter can be reached at 336-4568657 or richardp@searchna.com.
RoyOMartin Land/Timber Completes 13th Safe Year Louisiana-based wood products manufacturer RoyOMartin announced that its land and timber department has completed 13 years without an OSHA-recordable injury, effective August 2. Logging and forestry have historically been among the most dangerous occupations in North America. Given those statistics and the vast amount of timberland managed by RoyOMartin foresters—nearly 550,000 acres—this accomplishment is especially noteworthy. Keys to the team’s success include reporting near-misses, performing quality safety audits, and making daily contacts, in cooperation with a dedicated team of health, safety and environmental professionals. “This group of professionals leads the way in safety, not only in our workplace, but also in our industry,” states RoyOMartin Vice President of Land and Timber Cade Young. “While following safety protocols and best practices is critical in our line of work, what really sets our team apart is the genuine care and concern they have for one another. Safety is part of our culture, and we carry that mindset throughout our daily activities, wherever they may take us.”
CORE Carbon May Benefit Landowners Finite Carbon, a developer and supplier of forest carbon offsets, announced it will launch the first web-based global platform that enables small landowners to access the carbon offset market. The platform, known as CORE Carbon, will make it possible for ➤ 53 50
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WOOD PRODUCTS MARKETPLACE NORTH AMERICA
■ Minnesota
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■ Canada ■ Ontario Buyers & Wholesalers We produce quality 4/4 - 8/4 Appalachian hardwoods • Red Oak, White Oak, Poplar •
Green Lumber: Air Dried, Kiln Dried Timbers & Crossties
• Hickory, Sycamore, Beech, Gum & Elm • Custom Cut Timbers: Long lengths and wide widths
Sales/Service: 336-746-5419
336-746-6177 (Fax) • www.kepleyfrank.com
■ Tennessee
STACKING STICKS
FOR SALE
Next closing: January 5, 2021
AIR-O-FLOW profiled & FLAT sticks available Imported & Domestic
■ United States
DHM Company - Troy, TN 38260 731-446-4069 Fax: 707-982-7689 email: kelvin@kilnsticks.com www.KILNSTICKS.com
■ Georgia Beasley Forest Products, Inc. P.O. Box 788 Hazlehurst, GA 31539
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
■ Kentucky HAROLD WHITE LUMBER, INC. MANUFACTURER OF FINE APPALACHIAN HARDWOODS
(606) 784-7573 • Fax: (606) 784-2624 www.haroldwhitelumber.com
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
WANT TO GET YOUR AD IN OUR NEXT MARKETPLACE? Call or email Melissa McKenzie 334-834-1170 melissa@hattonbrown.com 08/20
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Call Toll-Free: 1-800-669-5613
EMPLOYMENTOPPORTUNITIES Recruiting Services
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Top Wood Jobs
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ATLARGE 50 ➤ millions of small landowners to generate new annual income through long-term commitments to good stewardship, helping to sustain the legacy of their land for future generations, according to Finite Carbon. When CORE Carbon launches in late 2020, landowners will be able to get a realtime value assessment of how much income their forestland could generate in the voluntary carbon market. If the landowner chooses to enroll their property, they will lock in multiyear payments for the resulting carbon offsets from buyers seeking to offset carbon emissions. There is no cost to landowners to use CORE Carbon. “Good land management decisions made by millions of small landowners can
directly improve their bottom lines while creating clean air and clean water for the rest of us,” says Sean Carney, CEO of Finite Carbon. “This platform aims to deliver $1 billion to family and non-profit landowners over the next decade, supporting folks who want to leave things better than they found them.” bp ventures announced a $5 million investment in Finite Resources, parent company of Finite Carbon, in 2019. CORE Carbon’s initial protocol will make it possible for 1.2 million U.S. landowners with 40 to 5,000 acres, who control a combined 200 million acres, to quantify and receive payments for the environmental benefits of their good stewardship. Visit finitecarbon.com.
Kalesnikoff Announces Three CLT Projects Kalesnikoff announced new mass timber projects at three Canadian educational institutions: Bayview Elementary in Vancouver, BC; Humber College in Toronto, Ontario; and the University of Victoria in British Columbia. “These are among the first major cross laminated timber (CLT) projects that will be built with our local, highquality mass timber products, and we are especially proud to support the development of our education infrastructure products and services,” comments Chris Kalesnikoff, Chief Operating Officer of Kalesnikoff.
PRODUCTSCANNER10 Vecoplan Introduces VPC Precrusher The new VPC Precrusher machine from Vecoplan is designed to size-reduce large, bulky materials quickly for added efficiency in wood processing. Large wood scrap, 4x4 posts and even pallets are quickly and efficiently broken down before they go to the next stage of grinding or processing. Running materials through the VPC first will increase the grinding throughput by at least 50% when used in conjunction
Vecoplan VPC Precrusher has two rotors with a combined 32 breaker arms.
with Vecoplan’s VHZ or VAZ grinder/chipper as a stacked system. The VPC features a lateral shifting capability to help disburse output into the grinder.
Motors are protected from over torque by variable frequency drives. The VPC is a powerful crusher that can handle the toughest of oversized material. Features include: —63 in. x 63 in. infeed area —Two 30 in. D x 63 in. L rotors —15 HP motor on each rotor —Total dimensions 75 in. x 123 in. x 32 in. —11,000 lbs/hr throughput capacity when combined with a VHZ with 11⁄4 in. screen Visit vecoplanllc.com TIMBER PROCESSING
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MAINEVENTS OCTOBER
JUNE 2021
14—OptiSaw Virtual Summit, visit optisaw.com.
4-5—PA Timber Show, Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center, Pennsylvania Furnace, Penn. Call 814-8632873; visit agsci.psu.edu/timber.
19-22—Lesdrevmash 2020, International Exhibition for Machinery, Equipment and Technology for Logging, Woodworking and Furniture Industries, Expocentre Fairgrounds, Moscow, Russia. Visit lesdrevmash-expo.ru/en.
FEBRUARY 2021 8-10—Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen’s Assn. Convention & Exposition, Indianapolis Marriott Downtown, Indianapolis, Ind. Call 317-288-0008; visit ihla.org.
MARCH 2021 3-5—National Wooden Pallet & Container Assn. Annual Leadership Conference, Loews Sapphire Falls Resort, Orlando, Fla. Call 703-519-6104; visit palletcentral.com. 3-5—2021 SLMA & SFPA Spring Meeting & Expo, Hyatt Regency Savannah, Savannah, Ga. Call 770-631-6701; visit slma.org. 4-7—Delhiwood 2021, India Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida, India. Call+91-80-4250 5000; visit delhi-wood.com. 24-26—Hardwood Manufacturers Association's National Conference and Expo, Austin, Tex. Call 412-244-0440; visit hmamembers.org.
APRIL 2021 6-8—American Forest Resource Council annual meeting, Skamania Lodge, Stevenson, Wash. Call 503-222-9505; visit amforest.org. 14-16—International Wood Products Assn. 65th World of Wood Annual Convention, Hard Rock Hotel, San Diego, Calif. Call 703-820-6696; visit iwpawood.org.
MAY 2021 10-14—Ligna: World Fair For The Forestry And Wood Industries, Hannover Exhibition Center, Hannover, Germany. Call +49 511 89-0; fax +49 511 89-32626; visit ligna.de. 14-15—Loggers’ Expo, Cross Insurance Center, Bangor, Maine. Call 315-369-3078; visit northernlogger.com. 16-18—American Wood Protection Assn. annual meeting, Francis Marion Hotel, Charleston, S.C. Call 205-733-4077; visit awpa.com. 21-22—Expo Richmond 2021, Richmond Raceway Complex, Richmond, Va. Call 804-737-5625; visit exporichmond.com.
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AUGUST 2021 11-13—Forest Products Machinery & Equipment Expo, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 504-443-4464; visit sfpaexpo.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 ARS Automation Design Autolog BID Group Calibre Equipment Carbotech International Cardinal Sawquip Equipment Cleereman Industries Cogent Considerations Cone Omega Corley Manufacturing Cutting Edge Tooling Easy-Laser Esterer WD GmbH Evergreen Engineering G F Smith Holtec USA Hurdle Machine Works JoeScan Johnson & Pace Ledinek Engineering Linck Linden Fabricating Lucidyne Technologies McDonough Manufacturing Mebor Mellott Manufacturing Metal Detectors Mid-South Engineering Nelson Bros Engineering Oleson Saw Technology Pantron Automation Piche Pipers Saw Shop Pole Mill Optimizer Premier Bandwheel Progress Engineering Rawlings Manufacturing SCS Forest Products by Finna Group Sering Sawmill Machinery Sharp Tool SII Dry Kilns Springer Maschinenfabrik GmbH Telco Sensors Timber Automation UC Coatings USNR West Coast Industrial Systems Wood-Mizer
PG.NO. 51 29 2 43 37 6 28 39 32 10 55 39 41 39 12 56 32 19 48 21 35 47,51 13 48 45 20 8 51 37 17 47 33 46 46 26 51 18 44 26 24 11 49 3 25 47 9,50 7 27
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