Industry Developments

The decision by EU to use a minimum of 20% renewable energy by 2020 has driven a rapid increase in wood pellet production in Europe. Sweden, Germany, Denmark and the UK are expected to have the fastest growth in consumption the coming 10 years, reports the Wood Resource Quarterly and Wood Resources International.

Demand for wood pellets and investments in pellet plants continue to grow despite the global financial crises and tight credit markets. In some countries, the current slowdown in the economy has actually had a positive effect on the biomass industry because politicians have often favored bioenergy and pellet-heating projects in governmentally funded economic stimulus packages.

Black Hills Main Stay by Dan Shell

With its acquisition of the Pope & Talbot sawmill here in 2008, Neiman Enterprises has the Black Hills region of South Dakota and Wyoming strategically covered with mills positioned almost equal distances apart at the southern and northern ends of the area and in the middle. Adding the mill and its production roughly doubled Neiman’s output of ponderosa pine to almost 200MMBF.

The acquisition was part of a three-way deal contingent upon Interfor successfully bidding for other Pope & Talbot mills when Pope & Talbot, lumber producers for more than 150 years and operators of the first commercial sawmill in Oregon, filed for bankruptcy in late 2007.

Movement Abroad by Rich Donnell

Business is picking up at PJ Lumber Co., a hardwood lumber exporting and reman operation based north of Mobile. Certainly it’s not what it has been, but it’s better than it was.

This magazine last visited PJ Lumber five years ago, and the company then was moving along steadily and profitably. It had completed construction of an 85,000 sq. ft. warehouse and realized another double digit increase in sales volume.

Oh so much has happened since then. At the beginning of this year, at the height of the collapse of the world economies, PJ Lumber shipments were 65% off. The company, which usually ran 14 lumber inspectors, had trimmed that number to five. And it cut employment from 145 to 75.

Hard News In The Making

“Financial Armageddon is probably over,” according to John Robertson, vice president and senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Robertson spoke to a gathering at the Georgia Tech WoodExpo on September 9 at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center in Atlanta. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is one of 12 regional federal reserve banks.

“Considering how close we were to the edge, we’ve moved a long way back from the edge,” Robertson added.

New Products & Technologies

The Brunette electric log sweeps are an environmentally friendly, highly efficient electric log kicker. The electric log kicker eliminates the need for costly hydraulic or inefficient pneumatic kickers.

Electrically driven with a shaft mounted gear motor, there are no more hydraulic leaks and expensive cylinder repairs. The electric log sweep has programmable operating speeds and utilizes a reciprocating crank shaft for a low impact sweeping motion. Modular in design, the sweeps can be made with two or three kicker arms to suit any application.

Here Come those Portland Blues by Rich Donnell

For several years Hatton-Brown Publishers, and particularly its Timber Processing magazine, has served as media sponsor of the Wood Technology Clinic & Show held every other year in March in Portland, Oregon. This included my chairmanship of the small conference that coincides with the machinery expo. This won’t be the case at next year’s Portland show. We offer an explanation here for two reasons: one is to ward off the inquiries we always receive from people about the show who might think we’re still involved in those capacities; and two, to get the facts out there as to why we’re not involved with it as we were.

Ever feel in the midst of negotiation that the other party is trying to whittle you down to nothing? That’s how we felt in recent discussions with the Portland show organizer as to our services and compensation for the next show. But after going back and forth, and frankly caving in a little more each time, everybody here began asking each other, why are we doing t