Evergreen Forest Products to invest US$1.5M early in 2013 on new scanner to allow for highest-grade cuts at sawmill in Adams County, Idaho; return on investment expected within one year, says company executive

Wendy Lisney

LOS ANGELES , November 6, 2012 (Industry Intelligence Inc.) –

Evergreen Forest Products Inc. plans to spend US$1.5 million for a new scanner that will allow the company’s sawmill in Adams County, Idaho, to make the highest-grade cuts, said a company executive, reported The Idaho Statesman on Nov. 6.

The scanner will be installed early next year, and the return on investment should take less than a year “on grade alone,” because the cuts produced will generate more revenue, said Rodney Krogh, president of Evergreen Forest Products.

Competition in Idaho requires that sawmills like Evergreen Forest Products improve efficiencies in order to generate the highest returns, making it necessary to invest in scanners and other automated equipment, The Idaho Statesman reported.

Some sawmills in the state have closed because of the recession and the remaining sawmills have to retain an edge. Mills have to buy fewer logs, said Steve Shook, a University of Idaho marketing professor specializing in the wood products industry.

Generally, fewer workers are needed with new technology; but Krogh does not plan any layoffs. Workers at the sawmill now use only their eyes to decide wood cuts, but scanners show how to get around things such as knots, he said, reported The Idaho Statesman.

The primary source of this article is The Idaho Statesman, Boise, Idaho, on Nov. 6, 2012.

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