Companies providing equipment and other services to the Hardwood lumber industry saw challenges in the economy in 2020 but pushed ahead. These firms also have seen challenges in the trajectory of the industry – but have pushed ahead. For 2021, equipment manufacturers and chemical producers see opportunity. Adding hi-tech solutions to sawmills can help the mills’ bottom line – and enable these equipment and services providers to continue pushing ahead.
George Barker
Biolube
Fort Wayne, IN
Biolube Inc., provides trouble-free Lubie® spray application equipment, saw lubricants, moulder bed lubricants, grinding coolants, pitch cleaners and other specialty products that allow sawmills to increase their bottom lines with the most environmentally friendly products available.
For 2021 the Lubie bandsaw lubricant line, both Hardwood and softwood, is being reformulated to give higher performance without increasing cost. A new line of lubes for guided gang saws will be introduced.
We continue to see strong growth in the pallet industry with emphasis on longer band life with higher feed speeds.
Lance Johnson
ISK Biocides, Inc.
Memphis, TN
I consider 2020 to have been a very successful year for us because we were able to attain respectable results in a tough environment. I expect the industrial side of our business should only get better in 2021. It may be tough to repeat the strong sales we had in our retail products in 2020 as many consumers took the opportunity to work on their house while they were supposed to be working from home.
We held our own with our industrial (lumber treating) products, but our retail products really thrived.
In 2020 we launched a new anti-sapstain chemical called 22 Express. We are very pleased with the results, although the roll-out was slowed somewhat by COVID-19 travel restrictions early in the season.
The LTL carriers stayed busy and filled to capacity almost immediately at the start of the recovery, so we did experience more delays than normal in our LTL shipments this year. We had no major issues with international shipments, neither in raw materials coming in nor in finished goods going out.
Our angle on this is as an importer rather than exporter. While additional tariffs are a concern and would be painful, I personally see them as a short-term issue and have much more concern over our reliance on China in the long term. The chemical industry is reliant on China for many components, and I believe the trade issue as well as some global shortages incurred in the last couple of years have shed some much-needed light on the situation. I hope it will bring some changes to the global supply chain.
Paul Cleereman
Cleereman Industries
Newald, WI
Cleereman Controls offers Proportional Controls, Linear Controls, 3D Scanning Optimizer, Stave Mill Controls, Trimmer Controls, Edger Controls, Auto Saw Guide, Start/Stop Console, MCC Electrical Starter Cabinets, Debarker Controls and Automated Log Lines.
Cleereman Industries is a solution-based company that offers everything from single piece equipment sales to turn-key style sawmills. We have our own in-house engineering department for both Cleereman Industries and Cleereman Controls which allows us to handle everything from start to finish. We can custom build our equipment to meet our customer’s needs. With the recent addition of the controls company we have been able to design a lot of the electrical control panels and starters into our equipment packages and save our customers a lot of money and time on their electrical costs. The combination of Cleereman Industries and Cleereman Controls has taken us to another level of customer service.
Cleereman Industries is constantly striving to make improvements on our current lines of equipment, and our research and development department is always working on new or improved equipment for our industry. Just in the last few years we have added Cleereman Controls Company along with our new Stave Mill equipment lines and Debarker lines.
Cleereman Industries is in the final design stages of our new Cleereman Optimized Edger system for the smaller to mid-sized sawmills. Cleereman Controls division has been working on a new type of scanning system for our optimized edger that will fit in existing mills. Our new design will fit into existing Edger locations at a price point that the smaller to mid-size sawmills can afford. This should be quite appealing to a lot of sawmills in this industry.
We observed mills looking for more of a “turn-key” type project rather than looking after the project themselves. Whether, the project is a complete, new mill project or an upgrade to an existing mill, owners have relied on the supplier to do most or all of the project, from design to start-up. Customers appreciate the ability to do “one stop shopping” and it helps projects run smoother with a lot less people directly involved. Cleereman Industries can provide everything from start to finish to our customers.
Stefan Dracobly, president of Cleereman Controls is constantly looking at the latest technology available to the sawmill industry. Stefan says the research and development department at Cleereman Controls is constantly testing new products and technology. Stefan lists some of his thoughts below:
- Scanning: Newer scanners are coming out with higher density scan data. In conjunction with faster, newer computers, this data can be more easily utilized to increase our accuracy of the scan and minimize mistakes created by nebulous scan data.
- Reporting: With report databases the norm, getting the data to sawmiller is important. This can be done by printing, emailing or texting.
- PLC: With internet access in the sawmills, engineers can remotely attach to control systems for remote monitoring, troubleshooting and upgrades from anywhere in the world. This saves the customer the cost of an in person service trip.
- PLC: More and more remote IO devices are being created to minimize the need for multiple runs of cables. These new devices allow multiple sensors and valves to be connected to a local centralized device that then has a minimal amount of cabling back to the main cabinet.
Carriages — Air Setworks, Hydraulic Setworks and Linear Positioning; Carriage Drive — Hydraulic Drives, Hydrostatic Drives, AC Regenerative Drives; Log Turner – Standard, Bottom Pivot, Versa Turner, Cornerless Operators Cabs/Control Booths, Track Frames, Carriage Rail (30#, 40#, 60#, 80#), Cable Tightener and Sheaves, Airbag Tightener, Hydraulic Tightener, Cable Sheaves, Saw Husks, Arbors and Mandrels, Saw Guides, Log Decks, Stop and Loaders, Log Troughs, Drop Belts, Husk Offbearer Belt, Chain Transfer Deck, Rollcases, Belt Conveyors, Unscrambler, Transfer Deck, Semi-Circle Systems. The firm also offers: Resaw Systems—Runarounds, Infeed Tables, Outfeed Tables; Edger Line — Board Edger Feed Systems, Accu-Cut Trimmer, Double End Trimmer, Carriage Power Units, Log Turner Power Units, Custom Power Units, Conventional Sawmill Packages, ST54 Lumber Pro Thin Kerf Bandmill, ST64 Lumber Pro Thin Kerf Bandmill, and Debarker.
Frances Cooper
Cooper Machine
Wadley, GA
2020 has been a year of highs and lows for Cooper Machine. The beginning of the year was slower than normal with machine sales, while part sales and upgrades were up. But since the summer, machine sales have really increased. COVID-19 has definitely been a challenge for us. Since the pandemic started, we had employees and their families affected by COVID-19, including the Cooper family, but fortunately everyone was able to weather the storm. It slowed down production a bit, but with safety protocols in place we are full steam ahead.
Our biggest seller is of course the Scraggs that we are best known for. You get so much more life out of a Cooper Scragg. We’ve had orders for both our Tandem Sharp Chain Scraggs and Overhead Scraggs. We now have several options for the controls including A&E’s PLC and optimization. We are also busy building Edgers and have great reviews on our Optimized Edgers, which for the price, have a payback of 1-2 years depending on your mill layout.
In 2020, we introduced an Optimized Slab Edger with hogging heads. We can also mount chipping heads on it as well. Using A&E optimization and controls it gives you the recovery that you need. We anticipate that our customers will continue to want to automate equipment to minimize labor. This is why we are doing more automation of our equipment.
For the rest of 2020 and 2021, we expect the pallet industry to continue to improve. While there are quite a few mills going out of business, as you can see with all the auctions happening, we are seeing several new pallet and softwood mills (especially larger pine) being started up in certain pockets of the country. We expect this to continue into 2021.
The Cooper name stands for quality and service, and as more customers are looking at ways to optimize their mills, cut down on labor and get more out of every log, we expect business to continue to be good.
For more information on our offerings view our website at www.coopermachine.com, contact Frances Cooper at 478-252-5885 or email us at info@coopermachine.com.
Dan Mathews
SII Dry Kilns
Lexington, NC
For over 50 years we have put our experience to work for our customers while building long-term relationships. SII is a full-service dry kiln manufacturer offering custom designed package kilns, track kilns, large capacity center fan wall package kilns, heat treaters, cross flow pre-dryers and fan sheds. We also offer vacuum and thermal modification kilns through WDE Maspell, the world’s most respected name in vacuum drying. All of these products are designed to help you improve your bottom line. We continue to develop solutions to optimize your dry kiln performance with products such as the SII “Kiln Dry” Computerized Control System and the most widely used in-kiln weight-based monitoring system, “Sample Watch.” Additionally, we have recently totally redesigned our steamers to eliminate run-off and utilize closed loop steaming with little or no live steam spray required.
It is no secret that the Hardwood industry has faced many challenges over the past few years. Capital expenditures for drying equipment were very limited for the first half of 2020; however things began to loosen up somewhat in the last half of the year. Tight markets traditionally mean refurbishment of existing equipment versus buying new, and 2020 has certainly seen much of that. We have seen continued interest in replacing outdated systems from other manufacturers and expect that trend to continue into 2021. Some markets such as staves and pallets were still active in purchasing new drying equipment. In the southern states we have seen Hardwood mills purchasing equipment for drying yellow pine and/or utilizing Hardwood kilns for drying pine. We expect that this trend will continue into 2021.
The SII Computerized Control System provides you with the tools for real-time kiln management utilizing in-kiln moisture measurement with “Sample Watch” our integrated weight-based platforms and/or moisture probes. “Utility Watch” as a part of your control system is a powerful tool to help you manage your energy load when approaching “peak load” thereby reducing your electrical costs. Operating in the background, the SII “Steam Management” system allows you to prioritize the steam load for your kilns, which in turn allows you to maximize your drying operations when available steam drops below your normal operating range. These systems combined with the support offered by SII Dry Kilns provide you with the tools you need to improve your profitability and maximize product quality.
Mario Godbout
AUTOLOG
Blainville, QC
AUTOLOG offers: Tally system with backup/failure protection, Stacker, Carriage Optimizer and a full set of optimizer and control systems for the sawmill.
New equipment includes R-TRAC Rotation Tracking System, a revolutionary non-contact rotation measurement system that measures the rotation of a log in real time without interacting with an optimizer. The R-TRAC sends the total rotation measurement to a PLC every 10ms and the PLC can control the log turner in a close loop based on these measurements. R-TRAC allows for you to turn the logs within five degrees every time, the first time. No after correction is needed.
Carriage optimizer upgrades were more common in 2020 and we expect that trend to continue as equipment currently in use is outdated. The new optimizer version gives more flexibility and has a better log modeling, resulting in more recovery. People tend to under-evaluate the return on updating software, but software usually has an improvement rate faster than that of a mechanical upgrade. Updating a 10- or 15-year-old software can give a very good ROI.
Our GEN3 technology provides the users with more tools to help them in their day-to-day tasks. GEN3 was developed with two goals in mind. The first one was to build a better software with best practices, and the second goal was to help the customer with their daily tasks. This provided tools (such as live simulation, keeping previous solution, simulation capacity, display zones, faces measurement, etc.) that help with quality control, testing product basket and minimizing downtime by allowing more offline tests that do not impact production. We also worked on a better modeling of the log (more accurate) which offers a higher yield and a shorter payback.
Steve Hoagland
Pantron Automation Inc.
Belmont, NC
Pantron Automation, Inc. is the North American distributor of high-powered infrared photoelectric systems that are manufactured by the German manufacturer Pantron Instruments, GmbH. The incredibly powerful photoelectric sensors (photo eyes) are used in the most challenging areas of sawmills for detection, measurement, sorting and placement of logs and also for sensing the level of sawdust or pellets in bins.
IO-Link technology is the newest advance in sensors, light grids, measuring grids and proximity sensors. Pantron Automation offers a variety of these IO-Link products where automation in a mill can be all tied in together.
Pantron Automation was and is considered an essential business because of its ties with the wood industry and many other essential manufacturing facilities. We are a small office in Belmont, NC and have managed to do quite well this year and plan to continue this trend.
Again, Pantron Automation offers the new IO-Link technology through the distribution of Contrinex, EGE and Disoric sensors.
Stacy Mellott
Mellott Mfg. Co., Inc.
Mercersburg, PA
Mellott offers a full line of quality log and lumber handling equipment and system designs to provide the best solution for the application. Included are: 6 foot Bandsaw and 7 foot Bandsaw with either vertical or 17- degree tilt, Band Linebar Systems, Tie Dapper, Two Saw Trimmer for Ties and Large Mat Timbers.
We offer replacement equipment by repeat customers and custom machinery projects. Also, due to customer demand we have made upgrades and expanded our tie and timber handling product line. Recent 2020 installations include a Drop Saw Trimmer designed to trim up to 8 inches and pass 12-inch material, Two Saw Trimmer, Tie Dapper and End Plating and Tie/Timber Sorting systems.
There is optimism that business will continue in this direction through 2021. Mellott looks to remain strong in manufacturing through our diverse product line of quality machinery.
Mellott uses the latest “off the shelf” control components from Rockwell Automation and Delta Computer Systems. Machine troubleshooting and logic changes are provided remotely via the internet.
Eric Michaud
Carbotech
Plessisville, QC
We provide innovative solutions to the sawmill industry (softwood and Hardwood) for log and lumber handling or any other material handling. We can offer simple projects such as unique equipment supply to complete turn-key solutions. For log handling, we can provide log decks, log conveyors, log feeders (our well-known Sream Feeder) or a complete log merchandiser. For lumber handling, we have the optimized trim line for sawmills and planer mills, stackers, grading lines for Hardwood, vertical and tray sorters, lumber decks and conveyors and others. Mechanical and electrical installation can be offered as well as the automation and the optimization of our processes.
We plan to expand our offerings in the log handling area by adding optimized log merchandising systems to it.
The trend for equipment purchases will be positive and will continue to increase throughout 2021. The forest products business has been good in 2020 for many sawmillers, I think they will spend some of their profits on the modernization of their operations in order to be ready for the next downturn.
With so many different technologies involved in sawmill processes now and the challenges of finding qualified people in this industry, I think that many suppliers will have to develop tools for mill managers to monitor their operation so that they can be sure that their equipment is performing the way it’s supposed to. Real-time dashboards for key indicators of their different production lines and dashboards and cameras for monitoring equipment status are some examples of software that will need to be developed to help managers do a better job with their processes, operations and maintenance-wise.
Also, Artificial Intelligence will soon become a must and a reference for improving the scanning of logs, cants and boards.
Finally, and probably as important as bringing new technologies to the sawmill world, manufacturers will need to find a way to simplify their equipment so that sawmillers can deal with it with the people they have in their mills. Sophistication is good but, to a certain point, we’re not in the aerospace industry with unlimited resources.
