National Hardwood Magazine - April 2024

INDUSTRY NEWS
AN UPDATE COVERING THE LATEST NEWS ABOUT
HARDWOOD SUPPLIERS/VENDORS
TS Manufacturing Makes
New Installation
TS Manufacturing, located in Lindsay, ON, has recently
completed its installation and successful startup of a
green stacker and patented AccuPlacer line at Gutchess
Lumber Co., in Cortland, NY. This innovative installation
utilized the first TS Stacker that incorporated Continuous
Stacking hoist and AccuPlacer together to provide
reduced cycle times between packages, resulting in a
lower “peak layer rate” required overall. This improvement
in “Stacking Uptime” allows Gutchess Lumber to
maintain their focus on ensuring the courses stacked are
Geoff Gannon
manually “optimized” to ensure the
finished lumber meets their exacting
standards, according to Geoff Gannon,
system sales, USA.
The installation involved a new Unscrambler,
Course Makeup area and
TS Servo stacker with Servo Lifting,
Air Gapping and Servo forks, coupled
with a secondary hoist uniquely
positioned to allow the patented
AccuPlacer Gen 2 to be optimally
positioned to further minimize “cycle
times” and ensure consistent stick
placement on every layer.
This installation represents the
12th patented AccuPlacer installation
for TS Manufacturing and the
8th one installed with a new stacker.
The upgraded Generation 2 worked
to reduce pneumatics without losing
the industry leading capability of
handling crooked sticks of the AccuPlacer.
With its ability to handle
crooked sticks, while ensuring that
they are oriented correctly when being
placed has enabled AccuPlacer
customers to save millions of dollars
in stick costs while increasing stacking
efficiency. Gannon noted that it is
for this reason that customers continue
to upgrade their existing stackers with the addition
of AccuPlacers, with upgrades including installations on
competitors’ “Auto Stickering Stackers”, resulting in increased
stacker production and decreased stick costs.
Coupling the precision of the AccuPlacer with TS
Manufacturing’s unique Servo “air gapping” and Servo
fork system allows Hardwood mills
focused on quality to ensure their
layers are stacked with optimized
air flow for stable packs regardless
of the grade of lumber. This ensures
stackers can maximize the lumber
in a pack without risking pack quality,
resulting in flatter, better lumber
without increasing the kiln costs.
TS Manufacturing offers a complete
line of machinery, controls and
software to fit their customers’ mills.
For more information on TS Manufacturing’s
complete line of sawmill
and planer mill offerings, please contact
them at sales@tsman.com or
(705) 324-3762.
NWH Announces Alder
Seedling Program
NWH, located in Frisco, TX, a premier
Hardwoods supplier to North
America, Europe and Asia, proudly
announces the successful allocation
of 35,000 Alder seedlings in its first
year of its Alder Seedling Program.
The initiative is part of NWH’s enduring
commitment to ecological
balance and forest diversity in the
Pacific Northwest.
In recent years, commercial forests
have seen a decline in Alder
populations, overtaken by softwood
species like Douglas fir. The NWH
Alder Seedling Program aims to
address this imbalance by nurturing
the ecosystem and promoting
species diversity. “Alder trees play a
crucial role in maintaining the natural
balance of our forests,” said Nathan
Jeppson, CEO at NWH. “Through
this effort, we’re taking a significant
step toward a more sustainable and biodiverse future.”
Working with PRT Nursery, the program has made
strides in forest restoration by providing robust container
stock seedlings, sourced from Weyerhaeuser to local
foresters. These seedlings are specially adapted to
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