NOVEMBER 2022
Cover: Neiman Puts Gilchrist On The Right Path
GILCHRIST, Oregon – Hitting the ground running as soon as the ink dried on its acquisition of a “Specialty Sawmill” from Interfor in October 2020, The Neiman Family is now nearing the end of Phase I of a five-year plan of key upgrades and renovations to the pine board, paneling and shop facility in central Oregon.
Inside This Issue
THE ISSUES: Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks
I very clearly remember a dinner I had with one of my favorite engineers from the West Coast after a day on the sawmill show floor many, many, many years ago. After a few cocktails (don’t all stories get good once you hear “after a few cocktails”?) and some advice on how I was screwing up my kid’s chance at learning how to ride a bike because I didn’t bend the training wheels, and instead unscrewed them, we started talking shop.
Article by Jessica Johnson, Senior Editor, Timber Processing
NEWSfeed
- Pallet Block Facility Planned
- Auburn University Team Looks At Needle Blight
- Interfor Acquires Two Sawmills
- Center For Forest Business Starts Up
In Person
PORTLAND, Oregon – More than 110 wood producer companies, representing hundreds of mill operations, sent personnel to the Timber Processing & Energy Expo held September 28-30 at the Portland Exposition Center. More than 1,200 (non-exhibitor) attendees from 35 states and 15 countries registers for the event.
Schooler Cuts Down The Net
EDITOR’S NOTE: Timber Processing magazine presented its 34th Annual Person of the Year award to Eric Schooler, CEO of Collins, as he prepared to embark on his new career of “retirement.” The presentation ceremony and reception, which was hosted by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. and sponsored by Real Performance Machinery, occurred during the Timber Processing & Energy Expo.
READ MORE SOON
Forward Thinking
PIEDMONT, Missouri – It wouldn’t be unfair to say that the forest products industry, both logging and milling, is a little behind the times in the part of Missouri where Price Sawmill, Inc., operates. That’s according to Alan Price, 44, President of the company. But far from going with the flow, Price is proactively striving to get ahead of the curve with updated equipment both in the sawmill and in the woods on the two logging crews the company fields.
Article by David Abbott, Senior Editor, Timber Processing
DRYkilns
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following companies submitted editorial profiles to complement their advertisements placed in the Timber Processing November 2022 issue.
- BID Group
- Brunner Hildebrand
- Mühlböck
- Nyle Dry Kilns
- SII Dry Kilns
- USNR
- Valutec
- Wellons
VT Industries Upgrades Mills
Headquartered in Holstein, Iowa, VT Industries, Inc., is North America’s leading manufacturer of architectural wood doors, postformed laminate countertops, and architectural stone surfaces. Since 1956, VT Industries has been committed to providing the highest quality architectural and home building products and services in the industry.
Article supplied by Biele Group
MACHINERYrow
- Packaging Specialist Increases The Cut
- Fulghum Announces Commission Of Crane
- WMF 2022 Covers Supply Chain
- Moelven Expands Drying Operations With Valutec
- Byproducts Bound For Flex Board
PRODUCTscanner10
- Pre-Shredding Machine
- Stacking & Strapping
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Neiman Puts Gilchrist On The Right Path
Article by Dan Shell, Senior Editor, Timber Processing
GILCHRIST, Oregon – Hitting the ground running as soon as the ink dried on its acquisition of a “Specialty Sawmill” from Interfor in October 2020, The Neiman Family is now nearing the end of Phase I of a five-year plan of key upgrades and renovations to the pine board, paneling and shop facility in central Oregon.
President Jim Neiman shared his appreciation for the Gilchrist community, saying it reminded him of his hometown. “This community was built around the sawmill. The people unite to see it succeed, It’s a beautiful thing to experience and an honor to be a part of.”
Long known as a quality pine board and shop producer, the operation was renamed Gilchrist Forest Products by The Neiman Family, and the mill’s mix of ponderosa and lodgepole pine boards, paneling and 6/4 shop fits well with Neiman’s existing product lines, company officials say. The two-line sawmill features an overhead end-dogging headrig for larger logs and a double-length infeed processing line for small logs.
The mill rates as one of the Northwest’s most iconic sawmills, dating to 1938 when it was built by the Gilchrist family that had relocated its lumber operations from Laurel, Mississippi. The sawmilling roots ran deep, as the Gilchrist name in the industry dates to New Hampshire milling operations in the 1850s.
The mill opened in 1938, as commemorative brick work on the boiler house attests. The company town that supported the mill was known for its Scandinavian design and architecture and amenities that included one of the first enclosed shopping “malls,” a bowling alley, theater and more.
Family interests sold the mill to Crown Pacific in 1991, and the remaining few company-owned houses in Oregon’s last functioning mill town were sold to their occupants in 1997-98. Crown completed a small log upgrade in 2000, but declared bankruptcy in 2004. The mill was sold to Interfor in 2006, and the Canada-based company closed the mill in June 2020 citing COVID-related issues. The mill was purchased by The Neiman Family in October 2020.
The Neiman Family operates pine mills throughout the Intermountain region, including Devils Tower Forest Products at its headquarters in Hulett, Wyoming, Spearfish Forest Products and Spearfish Pellet Co. in Spearfish, South Dakota, Montrose Forest Products in Montrose, Colorado and the new Oregon mill.
The facilities produce a value-oriented mix of pine products including boards, paneling, premium studs and 5/4 and 6/4 shop. The pine emphasis extends to the heating pellets and a shavings operation that also deliver premium products.
New paneling line adjacent planer mill has automated many formerly manual production processes.
Not a major production machine, but new radius in u-turn from the planer mill trimmer to the sorter line has greatly boosted uptime.
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