Industry News – April 2025
Lumber Resources Welcomes Alex Gonter-Dray
Lumber Resources recently welcomed Alex Gonter-Dray. Gonter-Dray is a lumber salesman and purchaser that is focusing on the markets of USA, Western Canada and Export. Lumber Resources is located in Quebec City, Quebec, and has a team of eight seasoned sales professionals. The company is partnered with a concentration yard that has 500,000 board feet of kiln capacity and has certified heat treatment for most international markets. Lumber Resources also markets thermally modified hardwoods and softwood lumber for domestic and export customers.
Lumber Resources purchases 6 million board feet and sells 6 million board feet annually in addition to its industrial lumber sales. They offer Yellow Birch, Hard and Soft Maple, White Birch, Ash, Red and White Oak, Aspen and Basswood in thicknesses of 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4 and 10/4 and in grades Select and Better, Nos. 1 and 2 Common. They are FSC certified for most species.
Gonter-Dray had his first job in the hardwood industry during the summers of high school stacking wood in the dimension plant at Yoder Lumber and during college summers he built log homes and worked in cabinet shops.
Gonter-Dray has degrees in Fine Woodworking and Industrial Technology from the University of Rio Grande and master’s in business administration from Bluffton University, both located in Ohio. Since college he has held positions as a manufacturing engineer for a wooden spool/reel manufacturer and has over 24 years in the hardwood industry with positions of purchasing, sales, director of sales, operations manager and general manager.
Gonter-Dray is active in his community with the Knights of Columbus, volunteering at his church and has held numerous leadership positions for youth sports organizations and school organizations.
Gonter-Dray and his wife Becky have three sons ages 20, 18 and 15. In his spare time he enjoys woodworking, traveling, spending time with family and watching his kids participate in their extracurricular activities.
Lumber Resources is a member of the National Hardwood Lumber Association, Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen’s Association, Canadian Hardwood Bureau and the Canadian Wood Pallet and Container Association.
For more information, email agonterdray@rlumber.ca, call 973-573-7470 or visit www.rlumber.ca.
Midwest Hardwood Company Welcomes Shannon Forrest
At Midwest Hardwood Company in Maple Grove, MN, Shannon Forrest is a member of the sales and purchasing team. His responsibilities include managing sales in Southeast Asia and India, and handling kiln-dried purchasing on the United States East Coast. Producing 80 million board feet of hardwood lumber at their three sawmills and two concentration yards, the company has customers worldwide. They offer the following species in thicknesses of 4/4 through 8/4: Hard and Soft Maple, Cherry, Birch, Elm, Beech, Ash, Aspen, Basswood, Walnut, Poplar and Red and White Oak.
Midwest has the ability to develop specialized or proprietary grades for their customers and offers other value-added services such as width sorting, ripping and surfacing. Midwest is also actively producing rift and quartersawn products. Prior to joining Midwest Hardwood in September of 2024, Forrest was employed at Robinson Lumber Company located in New Orleans, LA. He started his career in the forest products industry in 1997 as a trader at Baillie Lumber Co. in Hamburg, NY.
Forrest graduated from Saluda High School in Saluda, SC, before earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Resource Management from Clemson University in Clemson, SC.
His hobbies include hunting, fishing, hiking and boating. He also desires to visit all North American national parks. He has been married to Amanda Forrest for 26 years and has three sons: Jacob, Caleb and Joshua.
For more information, email shannonforrest@midwesthardwood.com, call 763-226-5085 or
visit www.midwesthardwood.com.
Collins Kane Hardwood Completes New Kilns Installation
Collins Kane Hardwood, located in Kane, PA, has recently completed the installation of three new SII 65,000-board-feet package dry kilns. These state-of-the-art kilns are designed to significantly enhance the quality of lumber produced by the facility; the faster drying times and improved ability to hold set temperatures and depressions result in brighter, flatter lumber. This significant investment provides greater energy efficiency and optimizes log usage, aligning with the company’s long-standing commitment to forest sustainability.
“This capital outlay is just another demonstration of the Collins commitment to providing quality products, resourced responsibly,” stated Jason Stanley, Operations Manager of Kane Hardwood.
A long-standing fixture in the hardwood lumber industry, Collins Kane Hardwood operates a sawmill, pre-dryer, dry kilns and a planing mill. The facility processes 18 million board feet of lumber annually and dries 14 million board feet of both domestic and export lumber. Their extensive range of species includes Black Cherry, Hard and Soft Maple, Red and White Oak, Poplar, Ash and Birch.
Collins Kane Hardwood offers a diverse array of products, including rough and surfaced lumber in thicknesses ranging from 5/8 through 12/4, as well as green and kiln-dried lumber in thicknesses of 4/4 through 12/4. In addition to their standard offerings, the operation specializes in custom-sawn timber, railroad ties and switches. They also provide veneer logs in lengths ranging from 6 to 16 feet. All of the facility’s products are FSC-certified and LEED compliant, as well as Living Futures compliant and FSC-controlled wood. Products are shipped by truck, van or rail.
Founded in Pennsylvania in 1855 by T.D. (Teddy) Collins, the company has maintained a long-standing commitment to land and resource stewardship. Collins manages over 370,000 acres of FSC-certified land across Pennsylvania, Oregon and California. With five manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and a retail yard in California, Collins continues to uphold its reputation as a family-owned forest products company. Their product portfolio includes hardwood, softwood NAF and Declare Label Particleboard, and engineered wood siding and trim.
For more information about Collins and their products, please visit their website at www.collinsco.com.
Western Lumber Welcomes Tony Geiger As New Industrial Lumber Sales Manager
Western Lumber, based in Medford, OR, recently announced the appointment of Tony Geiger as their new industrial lumber sales manager. Geiger brings more than 20 years of experience in the wood products industry, offering a strong background in leadership, strategic sales and industry expertise.
Geiger’s career includes his tenure as general sales and purchasing manager at Boise Cascade, where he led a high-performing sales team and managed national purchasing contracts. His leadership in coordinating production and building key industry partnerships contributed to the company’s growth and success.
In addition, Geiger brings valuable experience from his time with the family business, Hawkeye Forest Products Inc., where his father-in-law, John Hawkinson, brought him into the industry. Geiger gained deep expertise in hardwood lumber sales from Hawkinson. His combined knowledge of both hardwood and industrial lumber markets will be instrumental in meeting the diverse needs of Western Lumber’s customers.
Geiger and his wife Jennifer are proud alumni of the University of Nebraska, where Geiger competed as a wrestler and Jennifer as a gymnast. They live in Idaho with their three sons and enjoy an active outdoor lifestyle, including mountain biking, wakeboarding, snowboarding and snowmobiling.
“With his strategic mindset, passion for excellence and collaborative leadership style, Tony is well-positioned to drive growth and innovation in his new role”, said a company representative. Geiger will be specializing in hardwoods, pine, fir and cedar, to name a few.
For more information, visit www.westernlumber.com.
Cleereman Industries Makes Installations In Arkansas And New York
Douthit Tie & Lumber in Camden, AR, recently installed a factory remanufacturer LP-48 linear positioning carriage with Cleereman Controls 3-D Scanning along with a new sawyer cab that Cleereman pre-mounted all the controls in to save time installation. A new Cleereman 42-inch Bar Log Turner was also installed.
Cleereman Industries also installed a new Cleereman LP-36 linear positioning carriage with Cleereman Linear Controls along with a new sawyer cab at Valente Lumber in Averill Park, NY. Cleereman premounted all the controls to save time on installation. A new Cleereman 75 HP Hydrostatic Carriage Drive with Cleereman Electric Controls and a dual air bag cable tensioner was mounted onto a new Cleereman Modular Track-Frame, which was also installed, as well as a new saw husk with top saw.
For more information, visit www.cleereman.com.
KDS Windsor Promotes Henco Viljeon
KDS Windsor, located in Hendersonville, NC, recently promoted Henco Viljoen to field service engineering manager.
With over 20 years of experience in lumber drying and technical expertise, Viljoen has been instrumental in delivering innovative solutions and outstanding results, said a company representative.
“As our in-house wood drying specialist, Henco is more than just an expert—he’s part detective with a unique ability to uncover hidden inefficiencies and devise creative, tailor-made solutions to optimize kiln performance. His proven track record and deep industry knowledge make him the perfect fit to lead our field engineering efforts,” said the company representative.
Viljoen’s responsibilities will include overseeing field service operations, ensuring client satisfaction, commissioning projects and driving continuous improvement in KDS Windsor’s products and services.
Viljoen is available to help KDS Windsor’s customers optimize their efficiency for both hardwood and softwood kilns.
For more information, visit www.kdskilns.com.
Cooper Machine Celebrates 60 Years Of Innovation And Commitment To The Sawmill Industry
Cooper Machine Company Inc., located in Wadley, GA, is proud to celebrate 60 years of dedicated service to customers and continuous innovation to the sawmill industry, including the Overhead and Sharp Chain Scraggs.
In addition to Cooper Machine celebrating 60 years, the company also celebrates the company president Robert Cooper’s 60-year commitment and service to their customers and this industry. Cooper Machine was started by Bill and Mary Cooper in 1965 and was run by Robert and Bill Cooper until Bill retired in 2008. The company is currently run by Frances Cooper, who is a third generation Cooper.
Since its founding, starting with Billy Cooper and the first Overhead Scragg, the company has focused on the needs of their customers and making the equipment to fit those needs. Cooper Machine is deeply committed to continuing that tradition.
Over the last several years, the employees at Cooper Machine have continued this innovation by expanding their product offerings with an Optimized Merchandising and Sorting System for the post and pole industry. They created an updated design of the VSA for cutting pallet boards for their pallet customers using circle saws instead of bands, as well as expanding their sawmill product offerings by including EWD sawmill equipment and added Ledinek equipment to their cooperage offerings.
“I want to express my gratitude to the employees of Cooper Machine, without whom this company would not have been successful, as well as our customers and partners for their support over the years. We want to continue to earn that support and strive for the company’s continued commitment to service and adapting to market needs in the future,” states CEO Frances Cooper.
For more information, visit www.coopermachine.com.
Candace Dinwiddie being presented with the J.S.P. Wilson Lumberman of the Year Award by Joe Hyrka.
Candace Dinwiddie Presented With J.S.P. Wilson Lumberman Of The Year Award
The Lumbermen’s Club of Memphis recently held a luncheon at the Tennessee Ballroom at the Holiday Inn in Memphis, TN, where they announced the recipient of the J.S.P. Wilson Lumberman of the Year Award.
Candace Dinwidde of the Tennessee Forestry Association was presented with the J.S.P. Wilson Lumberman of the Year Award. Joe Hyrka of Midwest Hardwood made the presentation.
