Environmental Protection Agency is postponing until January issuing final rules that could require boilers, process heaters and incinerators to control emissions of toxic air pollutants. The postponement announcement followed EPA receiving a letter sent to it by 41 U.S. senators who expressed concern about potential job losses from strict EPA mandates.

Intermountain sawmiller Dick Vinson says that building a power plant is what brought him to Idaho’s “Treasure Valley” surrounding the greater Boise region, but once he got there, “I saw the area was begging for a sawmill.” The result is Idaho’s newest—and southernmost—sawmill, Emerald Forest Products (EFP).

There may not be too many people in the lumber business today who would describe themselves as “very fortunate,” but Jason Harris, owner of Mayo River Lumber, does. There are several reasons, but for starters, he says the hardwood market has improved this year. “It started probably right after Christmas,” he says. “We noticed poplar started picking up tremendously, as well as red oak and white oak.

In Clement Williams’ world of treating lumber for high quality fencing for the equine and agriculture interests, if the process isn’t broken, there’s no sense in fixing it. His company, General Timber, which he co-owns with his brother, Art, has been producing fencing since the early 1970s. “We don’t change the way we do things,” states Williams. “You’ve got to do it the same way every time to make it work.”

JoeScan, Inc., Vancouver, Wash, a manufacturer of laser scan heads for sawmills and other wood-products applications, reports that fiscal year 2010 marked a year of explosive sales growth for the company’s signature line of JS-20 scan heads. Sales increased 260% to more than 250 units. The company sold 254 scanners to optimization vendors in the U.S., Africa, South America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

BIGonDRY s.r.l., is located in the North of Italy. Founder Bruno Bigon has a continued background in the field of more than 25 years, focusing on product design and development, training, field work installation and customer service. The company has a staff of more than 30, including engineers and highly skilled workers. This organization and experience enables BIGonDRY s.r.l. to advise the client on the best available options.