McDowell Lumber at Asheboro, NC is adding vision technology to its existing BioLuma Trimmer Optimizer. The company implemented BioLuma sensor technology in 2019 with laser profile sensors in their existing scan frame. Now the company wants to increase its grade recovery and value by replacing the sensors with BioLuma 2900LV units. This upgrade also adds Deep Learning AI technology to the mix.

McDowell processes a mixture of hardwoods into lumber and pallets. The mill trusts USNR‘s experience with vision technology for hardwood production; the optimizer platform is designed to allow for both shop and appearance grade scanning. This technology is scheduled to be installed in mid-2022.

Metsä Group press release 16 September 2021 at 10 a.m.

Metsä Group is planning to build a new Kerto® LVL plant in its expanding factory area in Äänekoski. The actual investment decision requires the completion of the town plan for the area. The value of the investment would be approximately EUR 200 million. The annual use of subsidies from Finland at the new Kerto LVL plant would be approximately 375,000 cubic metres.

The new Kerto LVL production would be sold to construction industry customers mainly in Europe and Asia. The market outlook for light, environmentally friendly and construction-accelerating Kerto LVL products is excellent, especially in industrial prefap manufacturing, modular construction and traditional project construction. The development of a hybrid element structure combining concrete and Kerto LVL products is also at an advanced stage and will further improve demand.

The annual Kerto LVL production capacity of the plant to be built in stages during 2022-2026 would be approximately 150,000 cubic metres. With the new plant, Metsä Group’s Kerto LVL production capacity would increase by approximately 50 per cent. The factory to be built is a pioneer in its technology and efficiency in the world.

The direct impact of the new plant on employment would be around 140 new jobs. In addition, the new plant would add about 200 man-years directly to its value chain. The employment impact of the construction phase is estimated to be around 1,000 man-years.

“We create profitable growth by processing Finnish wood. Our operations are guided by responsibility. In the coming years, we will increase the production of carbon-sequestrant products, and the next phase will be the new Kerto LVL factory. Wood is the most environmentally friendly building material and we believe that demand for the resource-efficient and high-quality Kerto LVL will continue to grow strongly. Finland needs more investment and faith in the future,” says Ilkka Hämälä, President and CEO ofMetsäGroup.

Metsä Group is in the process of planning with the City of Äänekoski with the aim of expanding the production of mechanical wood products for the Äänekoski factory integration. A town plan for the area of approximately 150 hectares south of Metsä Group’s existing factories is being prepared as an industrial area. The area currently has a master plan and is mainly owned by Metsä Fibre, part of Metsä Group. The planning process is expected to last until early 2022.

The area to be zoned will enable the production of a significant mechanical forest industry to be increased even after the planned new multiplication plant.

Pictures: https://databank.metsagroup.com/l/QVmKkt8PK_R9

METSÄ GROUP
Inquiries and interview requests:
Juha Laine, Communications Director, Metsä Group, tel. +358 10 465 4541
Metsä
Group www.metsagroup.fi

Metsä Group is showing the direction of the bioeconomy. We invest in growth, bioproduct development and a fossil-free future. The raw material for our products is renewable wood from sustainably managed forests in the north. In our business, we focus on the growth sectors of the forest industry: wood procurement and forest services, wood products, pulp and first fibre cartons, as well as soft and sealed papers.

Metsä Group’s annual turnover is approximately EUR 5.5 billion, and we employ approximately 9,200 people in 30 countries. Our international group has its roots in finnish forest – our parent company is metsäliitto Osuuskunta, which has approximately 100,000 forest owners.

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There are massive pay offs when you think outside of the box

By adding PolyCom Stabilising Aid, TPMS cut the metal requirements by a massive 54.2% over their standard pavement design, decreasing the build costs of this 3.2km by 15.9% and saving three days of standard construction time.

Last year (May 2020), TAML Forestry of Hawera, South Taranaki approached Total Pavement Maintenance Systems Ltd (TPMS) to upgrade some forestry roads in a remote part of Taranaki, New Zealand. The task was to work with the onsite roading contractor to improve the dry strength of the clay sub-grade and save metal costs by adding PolyCom Stabilising Aid to a recently completed road lining project. The cost of getting metal to this remote site was crippling and a more cost-effective way was needed moving forward. The road was to be stabilised to a depth of 200mm.

The savings to the forestry company have been significant; 105 less truck and trailer movements, 90% less maintenance over two wet Taranaki winters and significant savings in construction.

For full details on the roading project specs and results, click here. More information can also be found here.

Source: TPMS

The Kemi bioproduct mill project of Metsä Fibre, part of Metsä Group, is progressing according to plan and the mill’s foundation stone was laid on 13 September 2021. The foundation stone was laid to the area of fibre line of the new mill by Ismo Nousiainen, CEO of Metsä Fibre, Jari-Pekka Johansson, Project Director of the Kemi bioproduct mill project, and Mika Vuoti, the on-site contact person. To ensure safety in terms of the coronavirus, the foundation stone was laid without the presence of guests. See the video and images of the event.

Totalling EUR 1.6 billion, the investment in Metsä Group’s Kemi bioproduct mill is the largest in the history of the Finnish forest industry. Through its direct value chain, the new bioproduct mill will employ around 2,500 people in Finland once it is completed. This translates into some 1,500 more than the employment effect of the current Kemi pulp mill. The bioproduct mill project has a high degree of Finnish origin, approximately 70 per cent.

“The impact of this large-scale industrial investment is significant. The Kemi bioproduct mill will increase Finland’s annual exports by around EUR 0.5 billion and its annual positive income effect through the value of the wood raw material and the purchasing of Finnish labour is likewise roughly EUR 0.5 billion,” says Ismo Nousiainen, CEO of Metsä Fibre.

During the construction phase, the bioproduct mill’s employment effect will be approximately 10,000 person-years, more than half of which will be seen in Kemi. The total number of employees working during the construction phase is estimated to be about 15,000.

“We are proceeding purposefully towards the start-up of the new mill in the third quarter of 2023. At the moment, the project is focused on earthworks and this autumn, we will be moving on to the first equipment installations. Some 450 people are currently working on the site,” says Jari-Pekka Johansson, Project Director.

Operating entirely without fossil fuels, the Kemi bioproduct mill will produce annually some 1.5 million tonnes of softwood and hardwood pulp, as well as many other bioproducts. It will also produce 2.0 TWh of renewable energy a year, which is equal to approximately 2.5% of Finland’s total annual electricity production.

Progress on the bioproduct mill’s construction site can be followed via real-time webcams at www.metsafibre.com/webcamskemi.

Further information and interview requests:

Anna-Liisa Pennanen
Communications Manager
Metsä Fibre
tel. +358 50 574 8071
anna-liisa.pennanen@metsagroup.com 

Metsä Fibre, part of Metsä Group, and the construction company Lehto Group have entered into an agreement to build an ecological operating office from wood for the Kemi bioproduct mill in Finland. The operating office will have a high degree of Finnish origin, approximately 80%, Finnish wood and high-quality products made from it will play a major role in the construction project.

Kerto® LVL wood products from Metsä Wood, part of Metsä Group, will be used in construction. They are made from Finnish wood in Finland. The future office building will be an impressive, four-storey wooden structure, comprising the main control room for the bioproduct mill, office and social facilities, as well as a cafeteria and conference rooms. The total area of the building will be 4,235 square metres. Lehto is currently also building a 40,000-square-metre product warehouse for the bioproduct mill in the Ajos harbour in Kemi.

“We appreciate how Lehto Group utilises renewable wood products and are pleased to be able to continue our collaboration not only to build the harbour warehouse, but also the bioproduct mill’s operating office. We’re building a modern mill complex in Kemi with the best professionals in their field,” says Jari-Pekka Johansson, Metsä Fibre’s Director of the bioproduct mill project.

“Lehto and Metsä Fibre have previously agreed to build a pulp warehouse for the Kemi bioproduct mill in the Ajos harbour. The agreement on the wooden operating office is a great and natural continuation of our existing cooperation,” says Perttu Haapalahti, Area Director of Lehto Tilat Oy.

The Kemi bioproduct mill project is progressing according to plan. During the construction phase, the mill’s employment effect will be approximately 10,000 person-years, more than half of which will be carried out in Kemi. The total number of employees working during the construction phase is expected to be about 15,000. Around 450 people are currently working at the site. You can follow the progress of the construction at the mill site and the product warehouse being built in the Ajos harbour via real-time webcams at www.metsafibre.com/webcamskemi.

Totalling EUR 1.6 billion, the Kemi bioproduct mill is the largest investment in the history of the Finnish forest industry. Through its direct value chain, the new bioproduct mill will employ around 2,500 people in Finland, some 1,500 more than the employment effect of the current Kemi pulp mill. The bioproduct mill project has a high degree of Finnish origin, approximately 70 per cent. The fully fossil free bioproduct mill will start up in the third quarter of 2023. In addition to pulp, the new mill will produce other bioproducts such as tall oil, turpentine and bioelectricity. The bioproduct mill will produce 2 terawatt hours of renewable electricity annually, which accounts for 2.5% of Finland’s total annual electricity production. The mill will have an electricity self-sufficiency rate of 250%.

More Information:
Jari-Pekka Johansson
Project Manager
Metsä Fibre
jari-pekka.johansson@metsagroup.com

Anna-Liisa Pennanen
Communications Manager
Metsä Fibre
Tel. 050 574 8071
anna-liisa.pennanen@metsagroup.com

The extension of Enviva pellet plant in Greenwood (SC) will add an extra production of 14 tons per hour to the 70 tons hour existing line, which PRODESA also implemented.

PRODESA is responsible for the design, development and construction of the project. The Company will ensure the performance of the additional equipment providing technical assistance from their after sales center in Atlanta (GA).

As a major player in biomass production plants, PRODESA provides complete turnkey solutions for a wide range of pellet production capacities. This project is a significant step forward on its portfolio of high capacity plants in the US.

PRODESA commissioned a new pellet production plant in Georgia (USA) with a capacity of 70,000 industrial pellet I1.

Not only PRODESA carried out the engineering, manufacturing, construction and commissioning of the grinding and milling line, but also they have been responsible for the development of the dry storage and feeding system, pellet storage and train loading system.

This success confirms the quality and competitiveness of PRODESA that remains very active with projects under design and construction and already in operation in the US, where its subsidiary PRODESA North America has been operating from for over 10 years.

Neiman Enterprises is continuing its investments in Gilchrist Forest Products to bring it up to world-class standards, in line with Neiman’s other mills in Hulett, WY, Spearfish, SD, and Montrose, CO.

In March it was announced about the investments the company was making to its mill at Gilchrist, OR that included trimmer optimization with BioLuma 2900L scanning system, end-dog carriage optimization, and a new Stick-N-Fork stacker. Now it is adding to the Gilchrist mill with an 8″ Horizontal Shape Saw (HSS), a clamshell-style trimmer, a Transverse High Grader (THG) automated grading system with Deep Learning AI, and additions to its existing tray sorter.

These orders will be delivered through the end of 2021 and into 2022.

Production will be cut back to approximately 80% at all of Canfor’s mills across B.C., starting last week, impacting over 200 workers in the East Kootenay. According to Canfor, the reduction in hours is in response to an unstable lumber market.

“Due to challenging market conditions, we are implementing reduced operating schedules at our B.C. sawmills that will remain in place until demand and pricing meaningfully improve. We recognize the impact that volatile lumber markets have on our employees, contractors and communities and we will make efforts to mitigate the negative effects,” said Stephen Mackie, Executive Vice President, North America, Canfor. “We will also leverage our global operating platform to minimize disruptions in supply to our customers.”

This comes after lumber producers were benefiting from a high-priced market. “As close as two months ago, they were getting record-high prices for their products into the U.S. market. Then the supply and demand law of economics came into play and a lot of supply came back onto the market from the mills,” said Jeff Bromley, Wood Council Chair with United Steelworkers. “Then the market crashed, it actually fell off a cliff. They were fetching anywhere in the neighbourhood of $1,500 U.S. or more per 1,000 board feet a few months ago, and now that number is down to between $500 and $600.

Bromley said stumpage fees are also making an impact on Canfor’s bottom line, as they are still priced based on market conditions of about four months ago. The union, however, feels this cutback is unjust to sawmill employees. Bromley added that the cutbacks will likely be in place until the market rises once again.

Source: myeastkootenaynow.com

About Canfor Corporation

Canfor is a leading integrated forest products company based in Vancouver, British Columbia (“BC”) with interests in BC, Alberta, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana, as well as in Sweden with its majority acquisition of Vida Group. Canfor produces primarily softwood lumber and also owns a 54.8% interest in Canfor Pulp Products Inc., which is one of the largest global producers of market Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft Pulp and a leading producer of high performance kraft paper. Canfor shares are traded on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol CFP. For more information visit canfor.com.

A further 12 white-tailed eagles have been released on the Isle of Wight in the next stage of one of England’s landmark conservation projects. Begun in 2019 the project, led by Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, is closely monitoring these iconic birds as they successfully return to the English landscape.

The project, based on the Isle of Wight, released six birds in 2019 followed by a further seven last year. Evidence from similar reintroductions suggests that the rate of survival to breeding age is around 40%. Ten of the 13 birds previously released have survived and are doing well.

White-tailed eagles are Britain’s largest birds of prey with a wingspan of up to 2.5 meters and were once widespread across England until human persecution wiped them out. The reintroduction project is bringing them back after an absence of over 240 years by releasing up to 60 birds over five years. It aims to establish an initial population of six to eight pairs with breeding activity not expected to start until 2024 at the earliest.

Each bird is fitted with a satellite tracker to enable the team to monitor and track their progress. Three years into the project, this data and considerable field observations are showing encouraging signs of the birds developing key skills and improving their understanding of the landscape around them.

As expected, the previously released birds have explored widely, taking many journeys across Britain as they build up their knowledge of the landscape. One bird released in 2020 crossed the English Channel earlier this year and has since spent time in France, The Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. There have also been several sightings in southern England of white-tailed eagles from Europe, raising hopes that some of these wandering birds will pair up with those released on the Isle of Wight in years to come. Connecting white-tailed eagle populations in this way, is a key long-term aim of the project.

However far the birds travel, the tracking data clearly shows that the birds consistently return to the Isle of Wight, their release point. This means they see the Island and the surrounding coastline as their home and is an encouraging indicator for potential successful breeding conditions in the future.

Two birds in particular, G324 and G274 have already formed a close and lasting pairing and are showing some signs of territorial behaviours with other eagles. Whilst it too early to predict, the team are hopeful that these early signs may lead to breeding activity over the next few years.

Between their explorations, the data and field observations have also shown how the birds have honed their hunting skills as they learn more about their surroundings and the availability of prey. Last winter fish remained a key prey item, with the eagles catching bass off the south-west coast, as well as pirating fish from gulls and cormorants.  Grey mullet is plentiful during the spring and summer in the estuaries around the south coast and has been an important prey item through the past two years. These abundant food supplies around the coasts of the Isle of Wight were one of the key reasons the area was selected for the reintroduction project.

With each year’s releases there is an opportunity for the youngest birds to observe and learn from those who are more mature. Whilst the older birds will gradually become more territorial, there are still many chances for the younger birds to identify key feeding locations and skills from their older cohort. Over time it is expected that the birds will establish more formal territories and disperse across the south coast of England.

Bird enthusiasts and members of the public across the country have supported the project by reporting sightings of the eagles and sharing these via @seaeagleengland on social media or via the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation website.

Roy Dennis, MBE, Founder of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation said:

“We are now three years into this reintroduction project, and it is extremely encouraging to see just how successfully white-tailed eagles are settling into the English landscape. Highlights for me have included watching the birds learn how to successfully fish all year round and the growing interactions between the birds. I am also always fascinated in tracking some of their huge exploratory flights across England and Europe and their ultimate return back to the Isle of Wight.” 

“We have seen from other reintroduction programmes that returning lost species offers real benefits for the health of our environment, and to people and local economies. None of this would be possible without the support of many people and I would like to thank everyone who has helped us again with this year’s release and ongoing monitoring of the birds.”

Steve Egerton-Read, White-Tailed Eagle Project Officer, Forestry England, said:

“Over the last three years we have closely tracked the progress of these incredible birds. It’s been brilliant to see how well they are fitting into the landscape and we are hopeful that before too long they will breed in England again.”

“It’s been particularly rewarding to hear from people across the country who are delighted to have seen the birds in their local area. It’s still a real thrill for me to see these incredible birds in the skies above the Isle of Wight and I look forward to the day that they are re-established right across southern England.”

The reintroduction of white-tailed eagles is being conducted under licence from Natural England, the Government’s wildlife licensing authority. All of the young birds involved in the project are collected under a NatureScot licence from the wild in Scotland and brought to the Isle of Wight.

Natural England Chair, Tony Juniper, said:

“Today’s release marks another important milestone on the road toward the restoration of these magnificent birds as a breeding species in England. I’m so encouraged to see this project go from strength to strength, with this third release enabling white-tailed eagles to strengthen their foothold on the Isle of Wight.” 

 “We will continue to work closely with Roy Dennis and his team, Forestry England and various stakeholders to ensure this project serves as a guide for further successful species reintroductions in England, which are a vital part of achieving our overarching goal for nature recovery.”

This year the project again received valuable support from pilot Graham Mountford, and his daughter, Helen, who flew a cohort of birds south from the Outer Hebrides in his plane, thereby greatly reducing the transit time for the birds.

The Isle of Wight was chosen as the location to reintroduce the white-tailed eagles, also known as sea eagles, as it offers an ideal habitat for these coastal loving birds with plentiful sources of food in the surrounding waters. It also offers a central position on the south coast allowing the birds to disperse and link with other populations in Scotland, Ireland and on the continent.

A comprehensive feasibility study and public surveys were conducted prior to reintroduction and a steering group made up of local organisations and members of the community are helping to guide the project.