Newswires
Salamanca Lumber Co. Inc. Installs New Stacker
Reinier Taapken (left), Daniel Taapken (right)
Salamanca Lumber Co. Inc. recently installed a new stacker made by TS Manufacturing and according to the Salamanca Lumber President, Reinier Taapken, “It’s been working great for us. We also installed a new Fulton boiler.”
At their Salamanca, NY, headquarters, the company has a total of 23 dry kilns, a 600,000 feet predryer and can process 1.2 million board feet. Red and White Oak in 4/4 through 12/4 is their focus. All thick stock is handled in FAS & Better or FAS One Face & Better.
Salamanca Lumber has customers around the world and over 90 percent of those customers are importers, wholesalers or distribution yards. “We pride ourselves in supplying them with a product that they can re-sale,” said Taapken.
Salamanca Lumber was officially incorporated in 1977 but their Netherlands-based parent company, LTL Woodproducts, began in 1894. LTL Woodproducts is the company’s trading name and is operating as a wholesale distributor and the “T” in “LTL” stands for “Taapken.” Salamanca Lumber has dry kilns installed at their parent company.
There are 38 employees at Salamanca Lumber’s New York facility including Taapken and William Miller, who handles sales and purchasing.
For more details, visit salamancalumber.com.
AHC Hardwood Group Offers New S4S Packaging Option
New 500-board-foot, value-added AHC Packs provide what distributors need for ready-to-shelve inventory.
Recently, to match how smaller yards actually stock and sell, AHC Hardwood Group has “right-sized” S4S Poplar into 500-board-foot AHC Packs — prepackaged, shop-friendly units in random lengths across 1 x 4, 1 x 6, 1 x 8 and 1 x 12. “Developed with distributor input for independents and smaller retailers, the format cuts handling time, simplifies ordering and keeps racks turning without overbuying. Right-sized lumber packs also result in increased sales,” stated Hal Mitchell, president of AHC Hardwood Group.
Hal Mitchell
According to Mitchell, “Since launch, this right-sized packaging has greatly increased S4S sales, telling us that the pack size aligns with how customers prefer to buy and resupply.” Produced exclusively at the AHC Cleveland, GA, facility, the configuration meets distributors’ and independents’ needs for right-sized, ready-to-shelve inventory.
Visit ahchardwood.com for more details.
Hermitage Hardwood Installs TS Manufacturing Course Layer System
Wesley Boles
Hermitage Hardwood Lumber Sales located in Cookeville, TN, is a concentration yard that manufactures kiln-dried Appalachian hardwood lumber. They are heaviest to Red and White Oak, Poplar, Walnut and Ash in all grades and thicknesses 4/4 through 8/4.
A TS Manufacturing course layer makeup system with a Samuel Packaging Systems automatic strapper was installed in early 2025 and began operating recently, according to Hermitage’s Sales and Operations Manager Wesley Boles. The new equipment is expected to increase overall production up to 30 percent daily in addition to minimizing extra manual labor associated with packaging.
The packaging for items sent to customers is also expected to improve regarding precision and uniform presentation, which will allow Hermitage to offer products at an increased turnaround. The deciding factor behind the update is credited to Hermitage’s desire to quicken the rate at which they process kiln-dried lumber.
Hermitage Hardwood Lumber Sales was founded in 1979 and has been at the Cookeville, TN, location since 1990.
For more details, visit hermitagehardwood.com.
DO2 Welcomes Mathieu Laflamme As New Sales Director
Mathieu Laflamme
Dolbeau Oxygene, better known as DO2, a leader in the design and manufacturing of equipment for the forestry industry located in Dolbeau-Mistassini, QC, recently announced the appointment of Mathieu Laflamme as sales director for the DO2 Group, which includes DO2 Industrial as well as its automation division, DO2 Control.
Laflamme has over 20 years of experience in sales and market development, primarily in wood product marketing and equipment for sawmills and planermills. After a quick jump working in the plastics industry in recent years, he is returning to the forestry sector by joining DO2.
“We are pleased to welcome Mathieu to our management team to support our growth and the development of our sawmill and planermill equipment line — such as our new high-performance DO2 Tilt Hoist and our lug loader, in addition to several other machines already well-established in sawmills,” said Patrick Sasseville, VP, DO2 Group.
Founded in Dolbeau-Mistassini in 1936, DO2 is a recognized manufacturer of specialized equipment for the forestry and small-fruit industries, as well as a distributor of industrial gases and supplies. The company is recognized for its DO2 Rapid Wrapper with over 75 units in operation. Meanwhile, DO2 Control develops a wide range of robotic systems tailored to clients’ specific requirements.
Learn more at do2.ca.
