March 2005        Volume 11, Number 03

Hardwood Mills Make Gain with INOVEC
INOVEC's New G3 Software Platform Enables Optimized Machine Centers to Communicate

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INOVEC optimizing systems are flexible, allowing a mill to add INOVEC tools at any juncture.

Frank Miller Lumber Co. in Union City, Ind., recently added INOVEC’s StereoScan 3-D contour scanner to the INOVEC YieldMaster head rig-carriage optimizer on its Letson-Burpee (now USNR) head saw and Salem carriage. The head rig is a slant system with a 17-degree tilt.

Frank Miller Lumber, which specializes in quarter-sawn white oak, also has the INOVEC YieldMaster StereoScan system along with the INOVEC WaneMaster and TrimMaster optimizers.

The experienced sawyers at Frank Miller Lumber have been impressed with the INOVEC StereoScan system, said Robert Miller, vice president of operations. "The opening face is exactly what you set up," said Robert. "If you want a 3-inch opening face," that’s exactly what you get.

The installation went smoothly, and the INOVEC StereoScan was up and running quickly. "It was a very quick installation," said Robert, who enthusiastically discussed the StereoScan at the recent Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen’s Association conference.

Frank Miller Lumber has been experiencing a 3% increase in yield and a 5% increase in production speed, he indicated. "When we first went into this, we expected a four to six-month payback," he said. However, the INOVEC StereoScan system paid for itself in less than three months by the increased yield and production.

Altenburg Hardwood Lumber Co. in Altenburg, Mo. added an INOVEC Yield­Master StereoScan optimization system last summer to its head rig, a Filer-Stowell 7-foot slant bandmill. Roger Moser, general manager and vice president, said the results were so good the company decided to add an INOVEC WaneMaster G3 optimization system for its edger.

Altenburg uses hardwoods from Missouri, southern Illinois and western Kentucky. Its hardwood lumber is kiln-dried and sold to remanufacturers to be made into flooring, cabinets, moulding and furniture.

Altenburg’s case illustrates how swiftly one experience with optimization can lead a mill to optimize other machine centers. Although the company added the INOVEC YieldMaster StereoScan system before the edger optimizer, that was largely fortuitous.

"We were investigating optimizing edgers," said Roger. "In the process, we learned about 3-D scanning. We began traveling and investigating (systems) at several mills."

The result of the research was the relatively quick adoption of the INOVEC YieldMaster StereoScan system at the company’s mill in Missouri and another sawmill in Indiana. The latter mill previously had no optimization technology, but the sawyers there quickly embraced it.

By the time Altenburg Hardwood Lumber installed the INOVEC WaneMaster with the G3 optimization platform in December 2004, the Altenburg team was quite familiar with optimization.

"A nice feature on the WaneMaster," said Roger, "is our production is getting to the point where one person can handle a log" almost without ever touching it. The company is expecting increased yield and lumber quality from the INOVEC optimization system, he said.

The INOVEC LineMaster G3 optimization system fits within a 15-foot by 49-foot footprint and is directly downstream from both head rigs at Hull Forest Products; INOVEC also installed a PLC routing system for cants and optimization controls for a Crosby trimmer and tally system. Photo by Dollie Harvey.

In the 21st century, every step of a saw line can be optimized in order to maximize yield and value. Starting at the head rig, the best opening face of the log can be visualized before it is sawn – and for different sawing methods, such as quarter-sawn or flat-sawn. Similarly, optimization technology can provide cutting solutions to maximize yield and value at the other machine centers, notably the edger and trimmer.

If optimization technology at one machine center can improve a company’s profits, optimizing each machine center using a common computer language that allows each point to communicate with the next processing step is even better. That type of seamless integration that INOVEC aims to achieve for its customers enhances each individual machine center.

Like other sawmills, Hull Forest Products strives to get the most from every log for several reasons, but for two especially. First, the company wants to maximize the return on its investment in stumpage. In addition, two-thirds of its timberland holdings are enrolled in the Smartwood program, the forestry certification program of the Rainforest Alliance; maximizing yield keeps more trees standing longer.

Besides its commitment to get the most wood fiber from every log, and investing in INOVEC technology to achieve that commitment, Hull Forest Products strives to use all residual materials constructively and profitably. Besides the products mentioned above, the company also manufactures a playground surface material it sells under the name Woodcarpet®. (Hull Forest Products has the New England license to manufacture and distribute Woodcarpet®, which is owned by Zeager Brothers in Middletown, Pa.)

Ben remains enthusiastic about the forest products industry. "The wood products business has some of the finest people I’ve known," he said. "I think it has a lot to do with the age of our industry," which encompasses ample "history, tradition and pride in this business, especially for the loggers and mill workers."

Ben sees all the players -- from foresters to loggers and mill workers -- as part of a team. "They know that they are the ones responsible for harvesting and processing a product grown in their own back yard to compete in a world market."

That same kind of close relationship that Ben sees among members of the forest products industry is the same type of relationship that INOVEC seeks to build technologically among its optimization systems. In the near future, INOVEC customers will be able to rely on the G3 platform for optimizing the head rig, edger and trimmer. In addition, any future improvements in scanning sensors will be readily integrated by the G3 architecture.

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