American Forest & Paper Assn. announced the creation of a new Forest Products Group designed to enhance AF&PA’s support of wood manufacturing and product promotion. Aubra Anthony, President and CEO of Anthony Forest Products Co., El Dorado, Ark., has been elected Chairman of the group.

Because of his ability to make the transition from a principal in a family owned sawmill to a general manager of a corporate group of sawmills—his leadership skills continuing to excel and mature—and because of his active devotion to the betterment of his state’s forest product industry, Dan Levesque is named Timber Processing’s 2004 Man of the Year.

In 2003, Metcalf Lumber Co. invested more than $2 million in mill-wide upgrades to enhance yields and update processing technology at its southern yellow pine mill here. At the primary breakdowns, Metcalf Lumber installed a new McDonough optimized carriage on the large log side and new Cone Machinery infeed and Tree-D optimization at the canter on the small log side.

One of BC’s prime economic generators is in a fight for its very survival. The BC Coastal forest industry contributes $4 billion in wages and benefits to workers and families and more than $2 billion in tax revenue to various levels of government. But few people realize the industry is in a steady downward spiral that began more than 15 years ago.

The International Paper mill in Whitehouse, Fla. has ordered two Iggesund Tools Progressive Outside Wing Edge Repositioning (POWER) heads for its canter line. A direct replacement for step knife heads, the POWER heads increase the proportion of acceptable chips, simplify knife changes and reduce maintenance requirements, according to the participants.

Better Built Dry Kilns, Inc. features a selection of package and track loaded dry kilns, which can be high or low pressure steam fired in direct or indirect format. The product selection also includes dehumidifiers in various sizes. The best-known and most popular dry kilns are side loading or forklift-loaded package models that Better Built custom designs based on the user’s output requirements, space availability and investment costs.