After 14 years as president and CEO (CEO) of Tolko, and more than 40 years with the company founded by his grandfather Harold, Brad Thorlakson has transitioned to the role of executive chair of the board. Further to this transition, Pino Pucci has assumed the role of president and CEO.

Pucci joined Tolko in 2015 as vice president, sales, marketing and logistics. With 35 years of industry experience, his innovative approach to leadership continues to inspire and challenge his teams to be their best and deliver results.

Pucci was appointed chief operating officer in September 2023. In that period, he prioritized listening and engaging with operational employees across the business, introducing Tolko’s new five-year strategy and becoming more familiar with Tolko’s production workforce, teams and assets.

“Pino’s unwavering commitment to safety, people and values have him well positioned to lead Tolko into the future,” Thorlakson says. “Tolko will remain a private, family-owned business and the family remains committed to the long-term success of the company.”

“I’m honored to build upon the generational legacy of the Thorlakson family,” Pucci says. “For over 65 years we’ve maintained a strong customer and people focus. This, coupled with Tolko’s values, have been the foundation of our success and are what will lead us moving forward.”

Following the launch of five new models in its 25th anniversary year in 2023, Irish material handling specialist Combilift has announced the launch of the new Combi-CLL (Container Log-Loader), a customer-led solution for the timber industry.

The concept and operation of the Combi-CLL is based on that of the Combi-CSS (Container Slip Sheet), which has been successfully deployed across numerous industries for the mechanised loading of long products such as packs of timber. This not only reduces the risk of accidents to the workforce and product damage but is incredibly fast compared to other methods—a 40 ft. container can be fully loaded by one operator in under six minutes.     

The 30 ton capacity electro-hydraulically powered Combi-CLL offers the same benefits when it comes to speed, safety and product integrity. It was designed to address the requirements of exporters of softwood and hardwood logs, the nature and shape of which make them much trickier to handle than palletised or packed products. Logs can be individually lifted and pre-loaded into a robust, high-sided metal “tub” before the patented push-pull mechanism powers the tub into the container. Once inside, the hydraulic dropdown hatch is closed and locked into position to hold the logs securely in place, and the tub is retracted to allow the logs to settle within the container.

Visit www.combilift.com

Slovenia-based Ledinek has embarked on a significant expansion across the Atlantic by supplying a new glulam production line to SmartLam North America for SmartLam’s mass timber manufacturing operation in Dothan, Ala.

The SmartLam facility in Alabama has been producing cross-laminated timber and glulam since 2019, and has been using a Ledinek X-Press to produce CLT billets. Now, with the addition of the new, highly automated line for producing glulam, SmartLam will significantly increase its production capacity. The new glulam line is expected to start up in September.

With an annual capacity of 100,000 m³ = 42.300MBF, SmartLam’s Ledinek glued beam line will reportedly be the largest of its kind in North America, and will represent Ledinek’s first major complete undertaking in the U.S. market, highlighting its expanding influence internationally.

Ledinek has supplied SmartLam with the Kontizink H 4000 longitudinal fingerjointing machine and the Stratoplan planer. The delivery also included several types of presses, such as the Z-Press for wide face lamination, the high-performance Rotopress, and the multi-functional Flexipress. Additionally, Ledinek provided a band saw for longitudinal cutting of glued beams, a cosmetic station with an integrated turning unit for eliminating visual defects, the Superles 1300 planing machine for glued beams, and the XXL-Cut saw for cutting to length. All necessary material handling, from the entry of board packages to the stacking unit for finished beams, was also supplied.

Ledinek managed the entire electrical and software package, leveraging the expertise of engineers from its European headquarters.

In 2022 SmartLam announced it would invest $62 million to build a new dedicated glulam manufacturing facility of 140,000 sq. ft. with an annual production capacity of 84MMBF. Smartlam is also adding equipment to the CLT plant operation to reach 2 million cu. ft. of annual production, including a new high speed fingerjoint line with a radio frequency curing tunnel; new Costa 12 ft. wide panel sander; two, 10 tons cranes; a spray booth with 250 ft. of roll casing to semi-automate the CLT packaging line; and will be installing a new Hundegger UFA 3600 CNC that should be operational in early October. 

Building on the success of the Alabama project, which began its commissioning phase in May, Ledinek started delivering equipment in June to another custom-made laminated beam factory in Pennsylvania for Rigidply Rafters. This facility will feature the an advanced laminated beam line capable of producing straight, camber and curved beams in a fully automated production flow.

Ledinek has adapted several machines to meet the specific requirements of the American product range. For split beams, Ledinek has developed a press capable of producing columns up to 24 in. x 78 in. in cross-section in a fully automated process.

To ensure efficient and continuous reliability, Ledink reports it will open a branch in North America and establish itself as a long-term partner for existing and future clients in the laminating timber industry.