Two Northwest sawmills have a new lease on life after being purchased last year by Portland, Ore.-based Hampton Affiliates in a deal that has helped revitalize employment in Washington’s Cowlitz River valley. The Randle and Morton mills were part of Pacific Lumber and Shipping prior to the purchase by Hampton, which also included a strategically located reload facility and a third mill at Packwood, Wash. that has since been shut down with the equipment being auctioned off.

In rural central Wisconsin, Ralph Hamel, President and owner of Ralph Hamel Forest Products Inc., recently completed construction and startup of one of the premier lumber operations in the state. Hamel’s vision in 1996 was to replace his original circle sawmill built in 1970 with an updated and more efficient operation while also keeping a tight rein on capital investment.

Crown Pacific Partners is no longer pursuing the sale of the company because of current market conditions. However, the board has authorized active exploration of other strategic options, including the sale of selected non-strategic assets and the conversion of the company to a real estate investment trust (REIT).

Willamette Industries is getting serious about this certification business. So serious, in fact, that the Portland, Ore.-based company hosted a luncheon during the International Woodworking Fair here to demonstrate just how serious the company is about both forestland and product certification.

Hugging the western flank of the Cascade Mountains on the edge of Oregon’s Willamette valley, “We’re not tied to the dimension market; we don’t want to live and die with those guys beating their brains out trying to sell KD 2 in. hemlock or fir,” says Tim Mangan, Plant Manager at Willamette Industries’ Lebanon sawmill. “We’ve built a pretty good pocket of business by specializing in timber cutting.”

Robbins Lumber, Searsmont, Me., is reducing the amount of wood wasted in the milling process by using Walking Floors conveyors made by Keith Mfg. Co. The conveyor system meters biomass chips, sawdust and mill waste. Tipping trailers unload directly onto the Walking Floor system, which then feeds the material into the fuel house. The fuel house has two Walking Floor conveyors designed to transport sawdust and biomass.

Claussen All-Mark introduces the Com-Unit, an enclosed, combination end sealing, edge sealing, stenciling and automatic painting unit. Com-Unit offers: 1 person per shift operation for the above functions; uniform paint application; uniform package appearance; and a safer environment by containment of fumes and over-spray. End and edge sealing eliminate loss due to wood expansion.