MiCROTEC Appoints Ofer Heyman As New Corvallis CEO
MiCROTEC, a global leader in innovative scanning solutions for the wood products industry, is pleased to announce the appointment of Ofer Heyman as its new Chief Executive Officer in Corvallis, OR. Heyman brings a wealth of experience and a background in the industry, making him a valuable addition to the MiCROTEC team.
Prior to returning to MiCROTEC, Heyman served an impressive 17-year tenure at Lucidyne Technologies, acquired by MiCROTEC in 2020. Beginning as an image processing engineer in 1999, Heyman assumed roles like senior product and project manager, director of business development, and ultimately, director of operations from 2014 to 2016.
Frank Jöst, MiCROTEC Group CEO, expressed his enthusiasm about Ofer’s return, “We are happy that we convinced Ofer to come back to Corvallis and support us as we continue the MiCROTEC vision for the North American Market.” MiCROTEC looks forward to leveraging Heyman’s leadership and industry experience to further strengthen its position as a pioneer in wood scanning solutions.
MiCROTEC is a global technology partner for the wood processing industry, constantly developing new approaches and solutions to add value to the sawmilling and wood processing industry.
For more information, visit www.microtec.us.
Merrick Hardwoods Welcomes Chad Hinton
Merrick Hardwoods located in Somerset, KY is pleased to introduce Chad Hinton as the Hardwood Flooring Sales Manager. Hinton is replacing Diana Gurley who recently retired after 35 years with the company. In his new role Hinton will oversee all of Merrick’s unfinished Hardwood flooring sales. Merrick produces unfinished solid flooring in both Red and White Oak, Hard Maple and Hickory.
Hinton graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. Upon graduation Hinton entered the United States Air Force where he served his country for six years as an Airbourne Systems Engineer. He returned to Somerset, KY and worked for four years with a convenience store distribution company as the Equipment Service and Sales Manager.
Hinton and his wife Sarah have one son. He is an avid golfer and plays as much as possible.
For more information visit www.merrickgroup.com or call 606-561-4146.
Patrick Lumber Manufacturing Adds Sawmill With U.S. Forest Service Grant
Patrick Lumber Manufacturing (PLM) has begun work to add a sawmill at its manufacturing facility located in Philomath, OR. The mill is being funded in part by a $1 million Community Wood Grant provided by the USDA Forest Service. Patrick’s project is one of nine projects in Oregon to receive grants totaling more than $4 million during FY 2023 through the forest service’s wood innovations and community wood grants programs. The programs’ primary purpose is to support local economies while directly contributing to improving forest health and reducing wildfire risks to communities.
The new mill will be tooled to cut Hardwood lumber, an unusual move in Oregon where the vast majority of mills process softwoods. The forests of Oregon and Northern California contain large volumes of Oregon White Oak, Pacific Maple, Tan Oak, Madrone, Chinquapin, Myrtle and Oregon Ash.
Hardwoods have become a nuisance for land managers working to improve forest health and are an increasing component of wildfire-threatened overstocked stands. “We saw a real opportunity here,” said Patrick Lumber CEO David Halsey, “We can produce and market products that are in demand while also making it possible for forest managers to more economically perform activities that further the health of our forests.” Halsey believes the mill will be the only commercial-sized Hardwood mill in western Oregon that isn’t primarily cutting Alder.
The mill likely will be the only commercial outlet for Ash trees threatened by a recent Emerald Ash Borer outbreak in NW Oregon. Logs for the mill will be supplied from private, tribal, state, and federal lands.
In addition to milling underutilized Hardwoods, Patrick will produce long-length Alder lumber that other manufacturers are unable to supply to the market. The majority of species Patrick intends to process at the mill are highly valued for their unique grain patterns and physical properties. The company expects most of the lumber it makes will find its way into end uses such as wood flooring, wall paneling, moulding and millwork, countertops and butcherblocks, as well as niche markets such as guitar heads and necks and picture frame manufacturing.
When complete, the mill is expected to produce about 150,000 board feet of Hardwood lumber per month, a 4X increase over the smaller mill Patrick had been contemplating before the federal grant opportunity was announced. “The chance for federal support for the project was a game-changer,” Halsey said. “It allowed us to think bigger and consider how we could make a much more significant impact for the community and the forests.”
For more information, visit www.patlbr.com.
Atlanta Hardwood Corporation Announces Sale Of Crystal Spring Hardwoods
Atlanta Hardwood Corporation, located in Atlanta, GA, which goes to market as AHC Hardwood Group, specializes in providing premium domestic and exotic Hardwoods to customers throughout the U.S. and around the world. Strategically, AHC Hardwood Group has focused on value-added manufacturing.
Atlanta Hardwood Corporation has announced the sale of Crystal Spring Hardwoods LLC to Eby Sawmill based in Clearville, PA.
The long-term tenure and excellent workforce in place at Crystal Spring were very important to Eby. The deal closed in January 2024. This transaction offers growth opportunities for both parties.
According to Atlanta Hardwood Corporation CEO, Jim Howard, “Eby Sawmill has been a long-term valued supplier to our drying yard in Pennsylvania and AHC Hardwood Group will continue to buy lumber from their production.” Howard added, “Our ability to change and adapt to meet the needs of our customers and the evolving landscape of our industry has allowed us to grow from a single drying yard to a world-class, value-added manufacturer.”
Atlanta Hardwood Corporation has been producing premium Appalachian Hardwoods since 1952. Over the past two decades, the company has diversified from kiln-drying yards to value-added manufacturing, offering a diverse mix of Hardwood lumber and finished products, including more than 1,000 moulding profiles, VikingWood® thermally modified Hardwoods and imported Lunawood siding and decking. For more information about AHC Hardwood Group, visit hardwoodweb.com.
SII Dry Kilns Promotes Mary Mathews And Makes An Installation At Gates Milling
SII Dry Kilns, located in Lexington, NC, recently announced the promotion of Mary Mathews to Director of Human Resources and Marketing. The change took effect on January 1, 2024.
“I am very happy to see this change take place for Mary but also for the SII family. She will bring a lot of energy to our marketing and human resources departments. I think my father would be very proud to see his legacy continue to grow” stated Dan Mathews, Chairman of SII Dry Kilns.
Mary has been with the company 12 years and worked in many roles in the company. This experience has given her excellent insight into the various aspects of the overall business. While Mary has been a tremendous asset in inside sales, she will be stepping back from the sales position during the first half of 2024. During this time, she is moving into a more significant role in the company with this change. Mary said, “Our inside sales team will continue to provide the friendliest service in the industry at the fairest prices and fastest response times.”
In other news, SII recently installed two Package Dry Kilns, each with a capacity of 60,000 board feet at Gates Milling Inc., located in Gatesville, NC. The addition of these two kilns has increased the Gates’ drying capacity by a third.
“We are already seeing an increase in weekly kiln rotations, shortened drying time and enhanced quality of certain items, expedited stick rotation and increased availability in kiln-dried lumber. SII provided extensive training as well as timely support in any times of need. Our Dry Kiln Manager learned the SII operating system very quickly and has expertly transitioned the new kilns into our flow of operations,” stated Kelsey Kennedy, Vice President of Operations and Marketing.
According to Kennedy, the company is looking forward to continuing to reduce their lead time and increase the availability of kiln-dried items for their customers.
Gates Milling produces American Cypress™, Poplar, Atlantic White Cedar, as well as other Hardwoods. The company manufactures green lumber and timbers, kiln-dried lumber and finished profiles for interior and exterior applications. With 11 million board feet produced in the sawmill annually, they are able to process eight million board feet through their dry kiln operations per year.
Gates Custom Milling Inc. was established in 1978 as a family-owned operation. First-generation founder, Brian H. Martin sought to remanufacture Atlantic White Cedar lumber into both interior and exterior products. Second-generation owners Mark and Nancy Tuck expanded the company under its new Gates Milling Inc. name into a full-service, fully integrated operation, taking control of all aspects of the milling process from the log to the finished profile. Today, with the addition of the family’s third generation, Gates has grown into one the largest producers of Atlantic White Cedar products in the country, as well as a high-quality producer of Poplar materials and the highly sought after trademarked Gates product, American Cypress™.
For more information, visit www.siidrykilns.com or www.gatesmilling.com.
Woodgrain Acquires Trimco Millwork
Woodgrain Inc., a leading millwork and building products company, recently announced the acquisition of Trimco Millwork. The transaction closed in December.
With the acquisition of Trimco Millwork, Woodgrain will increase its distribution center network to 35 locations, expanding Woodgrain’s national footprint into the Rocky Mountain West. Trimco is a wholesale distributor of moulding, exterior doors, interior doors and other specialty building products with three locations in Boise, ID; Salt Lake City, UT; and Denver, CO.
Kelly Dame, President and Chief Executive Officer of Woodgrain, stated, “We at Woodgrain have admired Trimco for many years and acknowledge the Hoff family legacy, and are proud to continue that legacy as a family-owned company. We believe that we will be better together.”
Woodgrain is family-owned and one of the leading millwork and building products operations in the world with locations throughout the United States and Chile. With 69 years of quality craftsmanship and service, Woodgrain is a leading producer of moulding, doors, and windows, as well as a premier distributor of specialty building products. Woodgrain Inc. is headquartered in Fruitland, ID with six divisions and over 45 manufacturing and warehouse facilities in the United States and South America.
For more information, visit www.woodgrain.com.
Cleereman Industries And Cleereman Controls Builds New Sawmill For Maple Hardwoods
Cleereman Industries along with Cleereman Controls, headquartered in Newald, WI, recently completed an installation and start-up of a 57,000 square foot mill, in Upper Michigan. Maple Hardwoods is located in Pickford, MI, and owned by Luke and his son Andrew Jaroche.
In 2021 at the IHLA Convention in Indianapolis, Andrew and Luke met with Paul Cleereman vice president of Cleereman Industries, and sales engineer Rob Kittle about the possibility of building a new sawmill. After several site visits and meetings with lead engineers, Rod Chitko and Fran Cleereman, at Cleereman Industries about what type of equipment was the best fit for Maple Hardwoods, the decision was made to move forward with the new sawmill.
Cleereman Industries has its own in-house engineering department that 3-D modeled the proposed new mill for Andrew and Luke to approve before getting into detailed building prints. Once everything was finalized the engineering department provided building contractors with steel embedment cement drawings along with electrical drawings. This mill has a Nicholson Ring Debarker feeding two Cleereman Linear Tilt Carriages with Cleereman Linear 3-D optimized controls. Each carriage line has its own Cleereman Tilt Band Mill, Log Turner and Cleereman Carriage Drive with cable tensioner. Once the log is sawn the lumber and cants head through Cleereman optimized board/gang edger. Cleereman supplied Precision Chipper and waste line with overhead truck loading systems, substructures under all equipment and material handling throughout the mill. Another service that Cleereman supplied was the electrical MCP cabinets for the entire mill.
According to Andrew Jaroche, Cleereman Industries along with Cleereman Controls provided excellent customer service and support from start to finish. Andrew would recommend Cleereman to anyone that is considering a new sawmill or upgrade.
For more information, visit www.cleereman.com.
Sawmill MD Installs Danfoss Dust Suppression System
Sawmill MD, located in Crestview, FL, announced that Menomonee Tribal Enterprises (MTE) in Neopit, WI, has installed a Danfoss Dust Suppression System to control the dust on both of their Lumber Pro Bandmills & Edger.
MTE’s tilted Lumber Pro moving headrigs join multiple other mills with moving headrigs that Sawmill MD has installed the Danfoss High-Pressure Mist for dust control. Controlling the dust on the moving bandmills was a bit of a challenge, but the Danfoss System is the most effective and efficient way to control the dust on this style of bandmill.
Using high-pressure water, the Danfoss System controls the airborne dust with minimal use of water due to the patented atomization design of the Danfoss nozzles. By placing these nozzles to intercept the dust and direct it to the waste systems has made a significant impact to the air quality of the facility.
The Danfoss High-Pressure Mist System has had great success in this and other dust control applications. The mills have seen a significant reduction in airborne particles, which improves air quality, working conditions and reduces cleanup.
Contact Mike Ballard or Duncan Ferguson at SawmillMD@mindspring.com for more information on the Danfoss High-Pressure Mist system.
TS Manufacturing Installs Sorter Line With Latest Generation Of AccuPlacer
TS Manufacturing, located in Lindsay, ON, announced the installation and startup of a new complete mill outfeed for Blue Triangle Hardwoods in Everett, PA. The new system replaces a manual pull chain that had become increasingly difficult to staff, hampering mill production.
New machinery from TS Manufacturing included a Dropsaw Trimmer system, a 60 bin Sorter, a Servo electric stacker, TS Mfg.’s patented AccuPlacer Generation 2 Automatic stick placing system and AccuTally sorter controls. The project also included Hardwood Vision Grading and a separate re-entry transfer to introduce purchased lumber into the system while simultaneously handling all of the sawmill production.
Working closely with the Blue Triangle team, TS Mfg. was able to position the line so that it was possible to install and test most of the machinery offline while the mill was running to minimize downtime for the changeover.
For more information on TS Manufacturing’s complete line of sawmill and planer mill offerings, please contact them at sales@tsman.com or 705-324-3762.
Wood-Mizer Installs New System At Deep Woods Lumber Co.
Wood-Mizer recently installed a complete industrial sawmilling system at Deep Woods Lumber Co. in Ohio including a WM4500 industrial sawmill, EG400 industrial board edger, and blade sharpening equipment that maintains their Turbo 7 band sawmill blades in-house.
Deep Woods Lumber Co. mills Hard and Soft Maple, Red, White and Chestnut Oak species. Brandon Wooldridge, founder of Deep Woods, said the Wood-Mizer WM4500 sawmill was the best move he made in 25 years of business. Bryce Wooldridge, a fourth-generation sawyer, said that it didn’t take him long to learn how to operate the new equipment that they installed in the mill. He also noted how the equipment has improved their system regarding material flow and efficiency.
For more information, visit www.woodmizer.com.
A&E Reaches New Milestone With 24th Optimizer Installation
Automation & Electronics (A&E), located in Asheville, NC, a leading provider of industrial optimization solutions, announced the successful completion of its 24th optimizer installation.
The latest installation at a Hardwood mill involved an advanced carriage optimizer upgrade, utilizing state-of-the-art JoeScan scanning heads. This achievement underscores A&E’s commitment to technological innovation and its reputation for rapid, efficient upgrades.
The Hardwood customer, a long-standing client of A&E, now boasts four A&E carriage optimizers and an A&E edger optimizer, all part of a series of retrofit upgrades designed to enhance productivity and precision in lumber processing.
The most recent upgrade, seamlessly integrated during a short downtime window, exemplifies A&E’s expertise in minimizing operational disruptions, according to a company spokesperson. This installation mirrors the company’s experience where optimization and controls upgrades for carriages were completed within the span of a long weekend.
“Our team is thrilled to reach this milestone, demonstrating our unwavering commitment to providing top-tier optimization solutions,” said Joe Korac, president at A&E. “The successful integration of JoeScan technology in our latest project not only enhances operational efficiency but also showcases our ability to execute complex upgrades swiftly and effectively.”
For more information about A&E’s optimization solutions and services, please contact Automation & Electronics at (704) 200-2350 or sales@automationelecusa.com.
BID Group Unveils AI-Powered Linear ResawExpert Optimizer
BID Group, located in Maribel, QC, a pioneer in wood processing solutions, introduced its ground breaking innovation – the AI-Powered Linear ResawExpert Optimizer with vision. According to BID’s representative, this cutting-edge technology redefines wood transformation by combining precision, efficiency, and innovation in the pursuit of maximizing yield.
BID’s ResawExpert is a game changer, especially in Hardwood processing, ensuring every inch of raw material is utilized efficiently, resulting in superior products and significantly reduced losses.
Key features of BID’s AI-Powered Linear ResawExpert are as follows: independent optimization and grading, rotation validation scanner, optimization by units of clear wood, NHLA cutting grades and custom grades, quick and easy installation on an existing line and more.
The innovation doesn’t stop here, the resaw optimizer can be initiated in parallel with ongoing operations, and activation can occur once tuning is completed, minimizing downtime and ensuring a smooth transition to enhanced results.
BID Group is currently implementing the first ResawExpert at a hardwood flooring producer in Quebec. The project is progressing seamlessly, marking a significant milestone.
“We are thrilled to introduce the AI-Powered ResawExpert, a testament to BID’s commitment to driving innovation in the industry. This technology not only enhances the value of our customer’s products, but also contributes to sustainable practices by minimizing waste,” said Simon Potvin, President of Wood Processing at BID Group.
This latest addition to BID’s “AI-Powered Expert Optimizers” product family highlights the company’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of what is possible. In fact, the resaw optimizer complements the already existing range for trimming, grading and edging.
Since 1924, the privately-owned BID Group has been providing industry-leading solutions for its highly valued customers. As one of the largest integrated suppliers to the wood processing industry, and the North American leader in the field, BID Group is your one-stop source for guaranteed, comprehensive, and innovative solutions. The ability to provide complete, smart connected, turnkey manufacturing facilities that includes engineering, project management, equipment, software, installation, startup and after sales parts and services is the BID Group companies’ strategic value to its customers. The company has offices in 17 locations situated to serve the predominant wood processing regions of North America.
Learn more about BID at www.bidgroup.ca.
