Weyerhaeuser Co. will close its Bauman sawmill in Lebanon, Ore. on March 30, affecting 70 positions. The mill’s planer line will continue to operate. Rob Taylor, Weyerhaeuser’s lumber technologies vice president, comments, “Because this mill processes only large Douglas fir logs that are becoming increasingly difficult to purchase, and because the timber market is being eroded by more cost-effective, alternative engineered lumber products, we made the decision to close the mill after careful consideration of all the options.”

A commitment to team-based projects has produced impressive results at MeadWestvaco’s Southern Wood Products sawmill here in far east central Alabama, almost on the banks of the Chattahoochee River. Combining the team approach with several smaller but important capital improvements the past five years, mill personnel have been able to increase production 16% to 153MMBF while reducing cost per MBF a significant 12%.

Recent advancements to USNR’s Lunden Stickering Stacker system have made it the most comprehensive solution to the challenges of high-production lumber packaging on the market today. USNR’s advanced level of automation enables just one stacker operator to control the entire sorter from the stacker outfeed, providing unprecedented efficiency and control.

Tolko Industries Ltd. is building a $35 million I-joist plant near Edmonton, Alberta, in Sturgeon County. Contracts have been awarded for site engineering and the building structure. Site preparation is expected to begin this spring, with first production planned for late 2007.

Wood-Mizer Products, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind., is embarking on a year-long celebration to commemorate 25 years in the portable sawmill industry. Beginning in February, Wood-Mizer is hosting 17 events across the U.S. and Canada. To make the trip from one corner of North America to the other, the company has outfitted a 53 ft. semi trailer that will serve as a traveling stage and museum.

USNR Pineapple Rolls are located on the planer infeed table. The spiral design of this high-speed feed roll grabs each board from the infeed chains and pulls it up against the linebar. Boards are then fed down the bridge and into the planer. USNR Pineapple Rolls are made using advanced machine manufacturing techniques to stand up to the demanding sawmill environment.