By TOM KELLY
Editor and Publisher

The big, yellow contraption rising up from the grounds of the Willamette sawmill at Milam's Spur two miles north of Dodson is only the most visible part of a multi-million dollar new-technology expansion underway, due to go on-line in the Spring of 2001.

The folks at the mill have unofficially named the tall, yellow thing "Big Bird." Its real name is a LeTourneau JC40 jib crane. When operational, it has a lifting capacity of 40,000 pounds (that's 20 tons), a reach of 120 feet with its revolving boom, which allows storage of 20,000 tons of logs in a 55-foot high circle around its base, to feed the new, high-tech sawmill system of which it is an integral part.

Production capacity in the new system will allow increased output which, as market conditions drive new lumber sales, will add another working shift of about 40 jobs, says Mill Manager Bill King.

Installation of the new sawmill system at the Dodson Willamette mill indicates the rapid changes in technology, demand for a growing variety of wood products, and changes in log supply. The present mill, "modern" by most standards, went on-line January 1, 1993. The present "head rig" (the actual sawing machine) and the carriage moving logs through the saw, are the major operating components to be replaced. When the new system is ready to place in operation - hopefully by March 1, 2001 according to King - the old mill will be shut down, and the new system tied in.

The new jib crane will take logs from trucks, stack them by length around its base, then deliver them to the point of mill entry on the new steel superstructure which is now in place. Installation is in progress on the Nicholson A7 27-foot High Speed Ring Debarker where the log prep begins. This system will process logs from 8 to 60 feet long, and up to 22 inches in diameter. The system includes a log scanning system by Preceptron, and a USNR Value Finder saw system with one stationary and five movable saws to cut logs to length prior to their entry to the mill.

Logs will then move down the new conveying system to the new mill for cutting. Once rendered into dimension lumber, the product enters the planing, kiln-drying, and packaging operations as at present.

The mill is a Double Length Infeed (DLI) system by Optimil. This features a Sharpe chain infeed, dual log scanning, automatic log rotation, canter heads, twin band mills, and outfeed separator system, processing logs from 8 feet to 20 feet in length, up to 22 inches in diameter.

Leaving the saw, product will pass through an edger, the CAE McGehee Linear optimized 3-saw board edger, which processes boards from 8 to 20 feet long. The system also includes the CAE McGehee 12-inch Quick Scan optimized Curve Sawing Double Arbor gang saw, capable of making 4/4, 5/4, 7/4. and 4-inch timbers.

The reality behind the technical descriptions - jargon, perhaps to the lay reader - has implications for loggers, timberland owners, and users of wood products.

Mill Manager King said the old mill was designed to cut large logs, and produce a heavy mix of larger-dimension, 2x10 and 2x12 material.

The new mill will focus on narrow-dimension lumber and treated lumber products, King said, including 5/4 (1 1/4 inch) decking and timbers which the old mill cannot cut, as well as 1x4 through 2x12-inch dimensions.

The wider diversity of products available will benefit the marketplace with the utilizatin of our changing log resource, the company said.

With use of the jib crane, the Nicholson debarker and other automated systems, the mill will take logs of up to 60 feet in length, and break them down into lengths starting at 8 feet to meet a wider variety of production needs, King said.

Presently, logs are being pre-cut in the woods to 20- and 40-foot lengths. Handling longer lengths will mean less material left in the woods, and better utilization at the mill.

Consulting engineer Justin Price of Ruston, said listed contractors currently at work on the project.

ESCO, Inc., of ElDorado is doing underground grounding and conduit. Bamberg Steel of West Monroe will be erecting two metal buildings, one 40x200, and one 35x190, to house the new log processing and DLI systems.

Alexander Construction of Jonesboro is doing site work and foundations.

FWM Mechanical of Taylor is doing equipment fabrication. Heavy Machinery, Inc., is installing the jib crane, and Continental Construction of Memphis is installing structural steel.

Construction employment on the job is currently running at 50 to 60, and will increase during the building construction phase, Price said.

Jerry Magliola of Ruston is the project manager for Willamette.