Spotlight

The long, drawn-out story of New Skeena Forest Products has come to a close, and the focus has now switched to what comes next for the forest industry in northwestern BC.

 Interfor has added some lumber producing assets, including Crown Pacific’s Gilchrist sawmill, which underwent a $20 million upgrade just a few years ago.

Forest Products’ Dillard, Oregon sawmill has completed a $24 million modernization that makes it one of the largest production mills in the US.

Alberta contractor PineRidge Logging is finding the transition to in-the-woods-chipping challenging, but is willing to go the distance

 40 years on Logging & Sawmilling Journal looks at the development of the Chip-N-Saw, which has played such a central role in the development of high-speed production equipment in the sawmill.

 Logging & Sawmilling Journal provides all the facts and figures for one of Canada’s main forest industry provinces, Ontario.

Ontario contractor Henry Fiset and Sons finds that single shift operations are safest, extend the life of their machines—and deliver results to the bottom line.

 Independent sawmill Galloway Lumber has a strong focus on preventative maintenance, and tweaking its equipment, to keep the operation efficient.

 Canadian sawmills are being encouraged to think “lean” by research organization Forintek, and focus on reviewing overhead and material costs.

 Veteran secondary manufacturer Peter Schmutz makes a strong case for diverting high quality logs to turn out higher value products, creating market opportunities for smaller sawmillers.

A Prentice 490 dual arch skidder is proving its stuff in the steep eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains for Alberta contractor Myles Heisler.