At Large
Industry Developments
The LSU AgCenter’s Wood Durability Laboratory, part of the Louisiana Forest Products Development Center (LFPDC), recently received accreditation from three organizations that establish standards for testing wood products, according to Dr. Todd Shupe, who directs the lab.
“We passed a number of test standards,” says Shupe, a professor in the LFPDC, part of the School of Renewable Natural Resources.
The lab now is accredited by the International Organization for Standardization, the world’s largest developer and publisher of international standards. The LSU AgCenter facility can now perform 13 ISO-certified tests recognized by the American Wood Protection Assn., ASTM International and the Window and Door Manufacturers Assn.
Feature
All For One by David Abbott
In March 2006, Morgan Lumber Co. was the featured cover story in Southern Lumberman, a sister publication of Timber Processing. As the issue found its way to readers throughout the eastern U.S., the players at Morgan found their minds elsewhere. On February 11, the 70+ year-old-company suffered a disastrous fire at its planer mill. The origin of the fire is still undetermined, but the results were anything but vague. The entire planer operation was crippled. Since Morgan dries and planes 100% of its average 26MMBF annual production of southern pine, this could have been a catastrophic setback.
The damage was greatly minimized, though, according to Ken Morgan, 60-year-old third-generation president of the family-owned company. Insurance aside, Morgan’s own local competitors pitched in, and that, he believes, is the real story of the fire. In fact, Morgan and his general manager, Don Bright, 32, are reluctant to shine a spotlight on the fire or the rebuild at all. What was unco
Are You A Leader Or A Follower? by John McAlister
Are you really that concerned with the sagging U.S. economy? Ok, the economy is dissatisfactory right now and will probably get worse before it improves. I could go on and on about why we should be looking skyward to see when it will all fall around us, but I will refrain. Instead, let us all say a little prayer, and then we can strategize, roll up our sleeves, and get our hands a little dirty so that we can take full advantage of what is staring us right in the face!
Yes, my friends, what is staring us blindly in the face is opportunity—plain, old-fashioned opportunity. As a financial advisor to some of the most successful family business entrepreneurs in the United States, I am active helping them sort out various opportunities for future growth, development and financial planning. Why you ask? It is simple really: Successful people view a struggling economic climate the same way as a good spring rain washes away the pollen and other winter debris. In other words, weaker
Planer Mill Upgrade by Dan Shell
Faced with operating an older, less efficient planer mill at its large waterfront sawmill complex here on Washington’s Puget Sound, Simpson Timber made plans four years ago to build a new planer facility that used parts of the old one while significantly expanding planing capacity. Simpson also upgraded related areas, such as drying, lumber storage and loading.
“It was a very old, inefficient mill that required a lot of people to operate and was in major need of an upgrade,” says Bob Miller, Simpson Quality and Process Engineer.
Variation: Quiet Thief by Jeff Franklin and Peter deLeeuw
To improve profits, it pays for mill owners and managers to keep looking for ways to improve recovery. Improved recovery gives you more lumber without buying or processing additional logs. Looked at another way, it reduces log costs per MBF of lumber production. However you look at it, if you can improve recovery without making anything else worse, it’s a great way to boost profit.
A good place to look for additional recovery is measuring the variations in your process, reducing them if possible, and taking full advantage of the accuracy that you have.
Machinery Row
Equipment & Supplier News
AWMV Industrial Products will be exhibiting a number of new products at the Richmond Expo, scheduled May 16-17 in Richmond, Va. The new 4250SCH stationary carriage headrig, built for AWMV by Cleereman Manufacturing, remains stationary, while the 17 degree slanted sawhead moves back and forth through the log. Featuring a 50 HP motor and 42 in. band wheels, it offers high-speed processing, high yields, and low operating costs. The cutting head is also available in a vertical configuration as a stand-alone head saw for existing moving carriage systems. In addition, the new TVS (twin vertical band saw) will be shown; it is the heart of a new small log processing system soon to be released by AWMV.
Newsfeed
Hard News In The Making
In the midst of one of the worst declines in housing construction in modern times, Western mills will face difficult lumber markets in 2008 before seeing signs of recovery in 2009, according to a new forecast issued by Western Wood Products Assn.
The lumber trade association said housing starts should reach just 968,000 in 2008, less than half the total from three years ago and the worst year for new construction since World War II. Single-family starts will be off 60% from 2005 totals.
Opening Faces
HAWAII HARDWOODS by Rich Donnell
EDITOR’S NOTE: Jim Quinn, a Timber Processing Man of the Year while with Collins Companies, is today a Member Manager with Hawaii Island Hardwoods LLC. He gave the keynote presentation during the Wood Technology Clinic & Show in March in Portland, Ore. Here’s most of it.
Product Scanner 10
New Products & Technologies
Wulftec/Maillis Strapping Systems introduced its LMB-250 Lumber Press—an automatic strapping system tailored to the lumber and panel industries. The LMB-250 features hydraulic compression platens for greater consistency and reliability, allowing for up to 25,000 lbs. of top and side compression using an oversized dual rack and pinion equalizer system. Top and side compression ensures stable, tight loads that will retain high tension during transportation. The LMB-250 is easily integrated into existing production line to create a seamless packaging system.
The Issues
Don't Miss The Turnaround by Dan Shell
Markets are down, fuel prices up. With lumber prices hitting low after low, following the bad news surrounding the U.S. housing market, it’s tempting to sound the alarm, batten the hatches and hunker down like a turtle on the freeway, with eyes, ears and appendages tucked inside a protective shell.
Yet the truth is your competitors are suffering too, which makes the same recessionary playing field a level one for all. An even greater truth is the activities and processes that make your mill a strong one in good times are the same when times are tough. The goal for surviving an economic slowdown is the same as when markets are good: build the strongest business you can.