Swanson Transfers Springfield Workers

Swanson Transfers Springfield Workers

by | Sep 2, 2014 | Update

Swanson Transfers Springfield Workers

 

As of late July, Swanson Group had not decided whether to rebuild its plywood mill that was destroyed by fire on the afternoon of July 17, 2014 at Springfield, Ore.

CEO Steve Swanson said up to 100 employees from the Springfield plywood mill will transfer to one of the company’s other three plants—sawmills at Roseburg and Glendale, Ore. and a plywood mill at Glendale.

“We are very fortunate that all of our employees avoided injury,” Swanson said. “That hasn’t always been the case in catastrophes of this magnitude.”

Discussions with insurance agents and advisors are ongoing with regard to the rebuilding options. Rebuilding the mill would be at least a two-year project.

Cause of the blaze still hasn’t been officially announced.

About 100 firefighters from seven agencies were dispatched to fight the fire. The complex reportedly included 200,000 square feet of buildings.

Swanson Group purchased the Springfield site from McKenzie Forest Products in 2007 and proceeded to perform major capital upgrades to log merchandising, dryer rebuilds, lathe modernization and a new layup line. The mill ran four multi-opening presses and two MDO/HDO presses. It had more than doubled production capacity since Swanson took over. Georgia-Pacific built the mill in 1960.

Swanson Group dates back to 1951 when brothers Dean and Rod Swanson purchased a sawmill in Glendale and operated it as Superior Lumber. Their father and an uncle had earlier operated a sawmill near Eugene.

 

Latest News

Forest Products Industry Says Goodbye To Walter

Walter Jarck, whose career in the forest products industry spanned 65 years and ranged from logging machinery to engineered wood products, died January 3, surrounded by his children, in North Wilkesboro, NC. He was 92.

Oregon Truckers File Suit Against State

Rob Freres, president of Oregon-based Freres Engineered Wood, a manufacturer of lumber, veneer, plywood and mass timber, has thrown in his support for a lawsuit filed by the Oregon Trucking Assn. and three Oregon-based trucking companies against the state of Oregon for overcharging truckers under the weight-mile tax.

Hasslacher Enters North America

Austria-based Hasslacher group is acquiring a stake in Element5, a mass timber producer specializing in the design, manufacture and assembly of modern engineered timber buildings. Based near Toronto, Can., Element5 employs more than 100 and produces cross-laminated timber and glued laminated timber for the North American market.

Endowment Welcomes New Board Members

U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities announces that Fritz Mason, Paul Hossain and Anna Torma were elected as new directors at the organization’s fall board meeting. “Drawing upon diverse backgrounds, they each bring a distinctive perspective and unique vision. We look forward to collaborating with them to further the mission of the Endowment,” comments Pete Madden, President and CEO of the Endowment.

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Swanson Transfers Springfield Workers

Maloney Drove Composite Board Industry Forward

by | Aug 20, 2014 | Update

Thomas M. Maloney, a pioneer and leader in the development and growth of the composite board industry, died on June 18, 2014 at his home in Pullman, Wash. He was 83.

In 1967, Maloney founded the International Symposium on Particleboard & Composite Materials at Washington State University. In 1977, he authored what many consider to be the “bible” of composite board manufacturing, “Modern Particleboard and Dry-Process Fiberboard Manufacturing.”

He was a long-time contributor to Panel World magazine, with his writings appearing in the column called “Board Talk.”

“Tom always treated me with great friendliness,” says Rich Donnell, editor-in-chief of Panel World. “I always marveled at the wealth of knowledge of our industry Tom had stored up inside. I felt privileged to be able to pick his brain from time to time. I felt even more special when he was planning his symposium and would ask me ‘what does the industry need to know?’ He once told me that some people had some concerns when he first put the subject of ‘formaldehyde’ on the program. ‘We might as well talk about it,’ Tom responded. ‘Everybody else is.’ Tom didn’t hold back.”

Maloney was born February 18, 1931 in Raymond, Wash. and grew up and attended school in Raymond. He attended Washington State College, now WSU, where he earned his Bachelors degree with Honors in Industrial Arts in 1956. He married Donna MacCallum in Seattle and they returned to Pullman where they made their home.

Maloney had a distinguished career as a Professor of Mechanical & Materials Engineering at Washington State University. He was a recognized authority on wood composite materials and led several projects on wood housing. He had more than 37 years of experience in the field and served as Director of the Wood Materials & Engineering Lab at WSU from 1986 to 1995. During his career, Maloney visited plants and research facilities throughout the world and authored more than 400 research reports, articles and book chapters.

Maloney served as consultant to many industrial firms and associations; served as consultant to the United Nations, working on projects for the Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN in Rome, New Delhi, India, Beijing and Shanghai. His other projects and speaking engagements covered Cuba, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Yugoslavia, France, Australia, Mexico, Brazil and Canada. He served as president of the International Forest Products Society and as president of the International Society of Wood Science & Technology.

WSU awarded him its first Faculty Excellence Award for Public Service in 1983 and in 1988 he was honored with the annual award of Forest Industries, given for leadership in developing excellence in the forest product industry. Maloney was also a Fellow of the International Academy of Wood Science.  In 1993 National Particleboard Assn. recognized Maloney for Dedicated Service to the Particleboard and MDF Industries. He received the Bronson J. Lewis Award from APA—The Engineered Wood Assn. in 2007.

Maloney was a devoted member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and a man who took his faith seriously. He was a lifetime member of the Washington State University Alumni Assn. and a member of the Golden Cougar Club. He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather who enjoyed time spent with family. He enjoyed traveling as well as all sports. He was an incredible carpenter, building the family home and lake house as well as all types of woodworking.

He is survived by his wife Donna at the family home in Pullman; his daughter Carol Maloney; his sons William Maloney and Joe Maloney (Lynn); a sister Susan Maloney; and four grandchildren.

The Funeral Mass was celebrated June 25 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Pullman and private interment was at the Pullman Cemetery.

Arizona Project Moves Forward

Arizona Project Moves Forward

by | Jun 19, 2014 | Update

Good Earth Power and Campbell Global (formerly The Campbell Group) officials are implementing the first phase of the ambitious 4 Forests Restoration Initiative (4FRI) across four national forests in Arizona after the original holder of the 4FRI Phase 1 contract couldn’t obtain financing. The unprecedented initiative covers thinning and ecosystem improvement activities on 300,000 acres during the next 10 years (Phase 1), with an overall goal to treat 2.4 million acres in the region.

Pioneer Resources of Montana was awarded the Phase 1 contract by the Forest Service (FS) in May 2012 but couldn’t obtain financing for its business plan, which included a sawmill, fingerjoint plant, furniture component plant and biofuels refinery to process logs and fiber coming off tracts specified in “task orders” generated by the FS and given to the contract holder. The contract was transferred to Oman-based Good Earth Power (GEP) in fall 2013, and in December GEP announced Campbell Global had been hired to manage the woods activities and contractors performing thinning and understory removal.

The big issue in implementing the 4FRI strategy is the lack of forest industry infrastructure in the state. Much of the state’s milling and conversion capacity had closed or downsized after the FS greatly reduced timber sales in the ’80s and ’90s due to old-growth timber and Mexican spotted owl issues. Pioneer had planned to build its facilities in Winslow, Ariz., but Good Earth officials have already received approval from the Forest Service to locate facilities in Williams, which is closer to the initial 4FRI task order project areas in the western part of the state. Most of the initial projects are in the Kaibab and Cococino national forests near Williams.

Officials with Good Earth have yet to announce the actual facilities planned for Williams and would need approval from the Forest Service to significantly alter terms of the original contract. At the press conference announcing the new contract holder last fall, Good Earth Power Global CEO Jason Rosamond said the company would follow the initial wood products facilities plan, but was also exploring wood fuel pellet production and biofuels as well.

Currently, Good Earth is concentrating on efficiently handling log and fiber production from the task order projects and developing a plan for the Williams site. The furniture plant is not being actively pursued at this time.

TP&EE Set For October 15-17 In Portland, OR

TP&EE Set For October 15-17 In Portland, OR

by | Apr 25, 2014 | Update

TP&EE Set For October 15-17 In Portland, OR

 

Hatton-Brown Expositions, LLC, an affiliate of Panel World magazine, announced in early April that the upcoming Timber Processing & Energy Expo to be held October 15-17, 2014 in Portland, Ore. is nearly sold out of exhibitor space. The event will be held at the Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center.

Organizers also announced that attendee pre-registration will open in June.

The 2012 event included 162 exhibitor companies that used up 43,000 square feet to display and demonstrate their machinery, technologies and supplies. More than 1,000 attendees from 115 forest products producing companies and 200 specific mill site operations visited TP&EE. They came from 30 U.S. states, five Canadian provinces and several overseas countries.

The event caters to producers of lumber, panels and heat energy for those ­industries.

Exhibit space on the main show floor is sold out; however, the organizers have opened additional space in a strip that connects to the exhibit floor.

Panel World, Timber Processing and Wood Bioenergy magazines, all affiliated with Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc., serve as media hosts of the event.

The combined attendee and exhibitor attendance in 2012 of approximately 2,000 was buoyed by a brightening economy and pent-up demand for forest products mill improvements. Since then, improving housing markets and forest products demand has continued to boost industry confidence.

Attendees can pre-register for free, or can pay $10 for the registration along with a beer and hot dog ticket.

The event will also feature a Workshop Day. In 2012, more than 200 people attended 16 seminars. Presentation details and admission costs for the workshop will be announced soon.

TP&EE will again be held in Hall D, which encompasses 72,000 square feet inside, and an abundance of outdoor space as well. The overall Expo Center sits on 60 acres and includes five halls with 330,000 square feet.

Portland Expo Center is conveniently located off Interstate 5 between downtown Portland and Vancouver, Washington. It’s only minutes from the Portland International Airport and has immediate access to the Max Light Rail.

Visit www.timberprocessingandenergyexpo.com.

Latest News

Hoffman Companies Acquires Besse Forest Products Group

The Hoffmann Family of Companies (HFOC), a Florida-based family-owned private equity firm, has acquired Besse Forest Products Group, the longstanding Michigan-based family-run company with 10 manufacturing facilities, including four sawmills, a lumber drying concentration yard, four veneer mills and a cut-to-size plywood mill.

Boise Announces New Investments

Boise Cascade has announced new investments in Alabama and Louisiana in support of its engineered wood products (EWP) growth strategy.

Hunt Modernizes Lathe Operations

In a significant step toward modernizing their production line, Hunt Forest Products in Pollock, La. is receiving new lathe controls and BlockLogix optimization from USNR, as well as a Bosch valve upgrade to the lathe spindles and replacing the lower portion of the core drive.

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Gary Raemhild Dies At 67

Gary Raemhild Dies At 67

by | Apr 25, 2014 | News, Update

Gary Raemhild Dies At 67

 

Gary Allen Raemhild, a major figure in the development and implementation of air emissions control technology for the panel industry, died March 21 in Seattle, Wash. He was 67.

Raemhild led Geoenergy International to the forefront of particulate control technology in panel products operations. Since 2012, Raemhild was a member of the senior management team for TSI, Inc., which brought in Raemhild to lead its launch into emission control systems.

Born in Naselle, Wash., and after graduating from high school in 1965, Raemhild attended the University of Washington where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. During summers between his university years, he worked in the woods alongside his father for Penttila Logging Company of Naselle.

During his time at UW, Raemhild was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. After his undergraduate studies, he pursued UW graduate education in air resources engineering. During and after graduate studies, Raemhild teamed with his faculty mentor, Professor Michael Pilat, to present more than 10 scientific papers at national and international meetings. Raemhild received his Master’s degree in August 1972.

In the summer of 1972, Raemhild accepted an offer from the Technical University of Munich for employment as a Scientific Fellow in the Institute for Nuclear Reactor Safety, where he collaborated with Klaus Liesch to develop a model for determining the heat transfer within the nuclear power reactor core in the event of a ruptured cooling pipe. This work resulted in the publication “Heat Transfer in the Core Region of the Nuclear Power Plant During a Loss of Coolant Accident” with Raemhild as primary author.

In early 1988, Raemhild and longtime friend Steve Jaasund executed a management agreement that led to their majority ownership of Geoenergy International Corp., a company founded in 1982 that had commercialized the E-Tube Wet Electrostatic Precipitator (wet ESP), designed to remove blue haze particulate emissions from plywood veneer dryers. Under the new ownership, the Geoenergy technology quickly became the standard piece of pollution control equipment for the panel industry.

“We could see the capabilities of the technology, the value in its patents, and the market potential,” Raemhild told Panel World magazine during an interview in 1999. During the mid-90s, Geoenergy, based in Kent, Wash., also developed products complementary to the wet ESP.

AH Lundberg Associates ultimately purchased the proprietary information from Geoenergy in 2002 and formed the “Geoenergy Division.” Raemhild and Jaasund headed up the division, and carried on the business of supplying air pollution control systems to the wood products industry while also branching into other industries.

Raemhild enjoyed the outdoor sports of trout and salmon fishing, bird hunting, clam digging, golfing and was an expert downhill skier, stemming from his youth when he and friends would venture off in his Corvair convertible for night skiing.

He is survived by his wife, Meran, children Lauren, Ian and Garrett, and a sister, Beverly Malone (Richard) and nephew, Michael Malone.

A memorial service was held March 29 at the Hoffner, Fisher & Harvey Funeral Home in Seattle.

 

Latest News

Forest Products Industry Says Goodbye To Walter

Walter Jarck, whose career in the forest products industry spanned 65 years and ranged from logging machinery to engineered wood products, died January 3, surrounded by his children, in North Wilkesboro, NC. He was 92.

Oregon Truckers File Suit Against State

Rob Freres, president of Oregon-based Freres Engineered Wood, a manufacturer of lumber, veneer, plywood and mass timber, has thrown in his support for a lawsuit filed by the Oregon Trucking Assn. and three Oregon-based trucking companies against the state of Oregon for overcharging truckers under the weight-mile tax.

Hasslacher Enters North America

Austria-based Hasslacher group is acquiring a stake in Element5, a mass timber producer specializing in the design, manufacture and assembly of modern engineered timber buildings. Based near Toronto, Can., Element5 employs more than 100 and produces cross-laminated timber and glued laminated timber for the North American market.

Endowment Welcomes New Board Members

U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities announces that Fritz Mason, Paul Hossain and Anna Torma were elected as new directors at the organization’s fall board meeting. “Drawing upon diverse backgrounds, they each bring a distinctive perspective and unique vision. We look forward to collaborating with them to further the mission of the Endowment,” comments Pete Madden, President and CEO of the Endowment.

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Martco Tows Dryer Into Place

Martco Tows Dryer Into Place

by | Feb 28, 2014 | Update

Martco Tows Dryer Into Place

In December 2013, RoyOMartin towed into place its second fully erect 6-deck jet dryer. Just a year prior, Martco pioneered the concept of fully erecting a million pound dryer and pulling it into place as the most effective means to minimize dryer outage. The duration of dryer outage was essentially reduced from 16 weeks to about three weeks or less.

The first dryer was towed from the outfeed end while the second dryer was towed from the infeed end, confirming the USNR dryer can be pulled from either end.

The accompanying photo was taken just four days after startup, from a time lapse camera that had recorded the dryer erection. Martco’s first 6-deck USNR dryer is located to the right and the latest dryer is in the center of the photo. When the photo was taken, each dryer was processing 45 sheets per minute (1/6 SYP, 110% average moisture) for a combined output of 90 sheets per minute for both dryers.

Each of Martco’s new dryers has the equivalent drying capacity of two Coe 4-deck 24-section Model 72 dryers. In terms of total production, the two new USNR dryers dry more veneer volume than four equivalent length 4-deck jet dryers, basically halving the labor cost to dry veneer, according to the participants.

Veneer exiting the new dryers is confirmed to have uniform moisture content, lay flat, and remain supple; all common expectations of a well-balanced, thermally efficient dryer. Improved veneer quality not only reduces inadvertent degrade and waste, but also improves the rest of the plywood manufacturing process.

With the exception of the dryer roll conveyor (one is right hand, one is left hand), both dryers are identically equipped with the following:

  • Six deck, 144 ft. heated length
  • Special 3/16’s all stainless floating floor
  • Unique expansion rollers
  • Special pivoting and safe door hardware
  • Patented Automatic Dryer Exhaust Controls and balanced cooling
  • Extreme efficiency hot oil heaters
  • Pressurized fan shaft seals

USNR also announces that Richmond Plywood will install a similar dryer late this summer. This new dryer will be nearly identical to Martco’s with the exception that it will be 120 ft. of heated length, and steam heated.

USNR will give a presentation on new dryer technology at the upcoming PELICE show in Atlanta March 20-21 and will participate with its dryer technology in the veneer-based manufacturing workshop.

(Article submitted by USNR. Visit usnr.com)

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Latest News

Forest Products Industry Says Goodbye To Walter

Walter Jarck, whose career in the forest products industry spanned 65 years and ranged from logging machinery to engineered wood products, died January 3, surrounded by his children, in North Wilkesboro, NC. He was 92.

Oregon Truckers File Suit Against State

Rob Freres, president of Oregon-based Freres Engineered Wood, a manufacturer of lumber, veneer, plywood and mass timber, has thrown in his support for a lawsuit filed by the Oregon Trucking Assn. and three Oregon-based trucking companies against the state of Oregon for overcharging truckers under the weight-mile tax.

Hasslacher Enters North America

Austria-based Hasslacher group is acquiring a stake in Element5, a mass timber producer specializing in the design, manufacture and assembly of modern engineered timber buildings. Based near Toronto, Can., Element5 employs more than 100 and produces cross-laminated timber and glued laminated timber for the North American market.

Endowment Welcomes New Board Members

U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities announces that Fritz Mason, Paul Hossain and Anna Torma were elected as new directors at the organization’s fall board meeting. “Drawing upon diverse backgrounds, they each bring a distinctive perspective and unique vision. We look forward to collaborating with them to further the mission of the Endowment,” comments Pete Madden, President and CEO of the Endowment.

Find Us On Social

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The monthly Panel World Industry Newsletter reaches over 3,000 who represent primary panel production operations.

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Subscribe/Renew

Panel World is delivered six times per year to North American and international professionals, who represent primary panel production operations. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.

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