TP&EE showed that the Northwest lumber industry is still a factor.

PORTLAND, Ore.
Timber Processing & Energy Expo (TP&EE) attracted 1,000 non-exhibitor personnel to the show floor and nearly as many exhibitor personnel during the event held September 25-27 at the Portland Exposition Center.

It was the sixth TP&EE (held every other year) produced by Hatton-Brown Expositions, an affiliate of Timber Processing magazine, which served as the media host.

“We knew it would be a challenge with the event hitting in the middle of a soft market, but actually the numbers were almost identical to the 2022 event, which was held during what was still the post-COVID boom, so we’re grateful,” comments Rich Donnell, Show Director and Editor-in-Chief of Timber Processing.

About 80 wood producer companies sent personnel to comb the aisles of 180 exhibitor companies that were displaying technologies on 45,000 square feet of booth space. Those producer companies ranged from the likes of Sierra Pacific Industries, which operates 18 sawmills and reman facilities all over the Northwest, to companies with a single facility “just down the road.”

SPI, Hampton Lumber and Weyerhaeuser sent many dozens of personnel and numerous other producers sent a fair share as well. One of them was Vaagen Brothers Lumber, based in Colville, Wash.

“We had a great time at the Expo and we were able to have 14 attend this year!” comments owner Duane Vaagen. “It’s nice to see the latest and greatest in the industry and how we may improve our business. This Expo is like us touring a dozen sawmills and seeing what’s out there that we haven’t seen or imagined. The last two years have really been flat markets, which makes it tough to be motivated and optimistic, but attending the show allowed us all to look forward to potential improvements—like a bunch of kids in a candy store! This helps us to see where we’re headed.”

Donnell adds that the show held its own despite the loss of probably 20 lumber production operations in the Northwest since 2022. “Myself and our editors have visited many of those operations through the years, so it was disheartening to not see some of those company jackets on the show floor,” he says. “For example during the show we learned that Pyramid Mountain Lumber was moving ahead with an auction of its equipment at Seeley Lake, Mont. We were hoping the sawmill might be rescued. They were always a great supporter of our event and our magazine.”

Donnell says the Northwest sawmill industry is probably 20% of what it once was in the 1980s in terms of number of wood production companies. “It’s a continuing trend, but we feel that the wood products industry in the Northwest still has a significant presence, and we’re determined to keep TP&EE alive to anchor that presence.”

One southern yellow pine producer who made the trip was Andy Pollard of Pollard Lumber in Appling, Ga. Pollard’s family joined him on the Hatton-Brown media presentation stage where Timber Processing magazine presented Pollard the 2024 TP Person of the Year award.

Pollard, who was the co-inventor of the curve-sawing gang and inventor of the dual path continuous dry kiln, became the 36th annual recipient of the award, dating back to 1989. He reflected on attending the Portland machinery show 29 years ago in search of a new optimized gang saw for his sawmill, but didn’t like what he saw on the floor. He ran into Chris Raybon of Hi-Tech Engineering and told Raybon he wanted to be able to straight saw and curve saw. Raybon told him he knew a guy who could build such a gang saw, and that was Ron McGehee.

Some months later the group sat down and hashed out an agreement to build the first curve-sawing gang. “I bet a million dollars on the idea and it worked,” Pollard said. “But the real inventors are the people doing the software and hardware, not me.”

Some months later the group sat down and hashed out an agreement to build the first curve-sawing gang. “I bet a million dollars on the idea and it worked,” Pollard said. “But the real inventors are the people doing the software and hardware, not me.”

Despite the soft market, apparently considerable business was conducted, as the early results from a post-show survey of exhibitors revealed that nearly 70% of exhibitors said there was a good possibility that discussions at the show would help them gain an order soon, or they had already confirmed an order at the show or shortly thereafter.

“I thought it was the best looking show floor we’ve ever had,” Donnell says, noting many exhibitors put up big machines and the degree of technology was at its highest.

TP&EE also hosted the Sawmill Productivity & Efficiency Conference. The morning session focused on Sawmill Byproducts and featured as speakers Dane Floyd of Biomass Engineering & Equipment; Karl Aicher of Grenzebach; and Aaron Edewards of Evergreen Engineering.

The afternoon session was about Artificial Intelligence Implementation and featured Anne-Marie Levesque of Comact; Norvin Laudon of MiCROTEC; Robert Weithofer of Valutec; and Gilles Gauvin of Carbotech.

The next TP&EE will be held September 23-25, 2026 at the Portland Exposition Center. The exhibitor space renewal program will begin next April.