Tolko Names New Chief Operating Officer

Tolko Names New Chief Operating Officer

Brad Thorlakson, President and CEO of Tolko Industries, has announced that Pino Pucci, Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Logistics will assume a newly created interim role as Tolko’s Chief Operating Officer.

“This role has been created to support our succession planning process, as Pino will eventually succeed me as President & CEO,” Thorlakson says. “Pino’s proven leadership experience, significant focus on people and culture, and his alignment with our values make him the perfect candidate to lead us in the execution of our current strategy, and beyond.”

Effective October 2, Pucci will assume oversight of Tolko’s Solid Wood, Strand Based Business and U.S. Operations while retaining his current responsibility for the marketing, logistics and transportation portfolio. There has been no formal date set for the CEO transition to occur.

Brad Eckford, currently Manager, Logistics & Transportation, will succeed Pucci as Vice President, Sales, Marketing and Logistics. Rhys Thompson, currently Manager, OSB Sales and Marketing, will expand his role to include Manager, Logistics and Transportation. Kiley Sales, Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Logistics will support both Pucci as COO, and Brad Eckford, Vice President Sales, Marketing and Logistics.

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Chris Brown Assumes Role As Mid-South President 

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Con-Vey Expands Operations In Oregon

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RoyOMartin Employees Better Themselves

RoyOMartin Employees Better Themselves

The RoyOMartin University (ROM-U) program identifies emerging leaders and develops their potential to ensure that the company maintains a pipeline of leaders prepared to take the next step in their careers.

Recently, Louisana-based RoyOMartin recognized Luke Briley, dry end manager, RoyOMartin-Plywood; Brett Danzy, mechanical maintenance superintendent, RoyOMartin-Plywood; Jermaine Davis, corporate purchasing coordinator, corporate office);and Kelly Matthews, senior sales representative, corporate office, for completing RoyOMartin University-Management. This program is designed for leaders already in place with the company at a supervisor, team leader, superintendent, or manager level.

The program utilizes four key components to develop the participants: Experiential learning, formalized training, mentorship programs, and cross-departmental assignments.

 

“RoyOMartin is successful because of our people,” the company states. “We believe that growing people is essential to the future of the organization. Effective leadership is built on a solid foundation consisting of a clear mission, a vision for the future, strategy, and a learning culture.”

The company also recognized a group of team members, who since January 2020 have participated in the Corporate College program at Central Louisiana Technical Community College (CLTCC), and have recently completed their Associate of Applied Science degrees, with concentrations in general office and accounting.

They include John Budnik, Land and Timber; Jenna Foster, RoyOMartin-Plywood; Brandon Granger, Land and Timber; Crystal Hoover, corporate office; Cale Parker, Land and Timber; Raymond Rollins, Land and Timber; and Robyn Smith, corporate office.

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GP Shakes Up Operations Leadership 

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 Dieffenbacher Acquires Pagnoni

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GP Donates $100,000 To Volunteer Fire Department In Corrigan, Texas

GP Donates $100,000 To Volunteer Fire Department In Corrigan, Texas

GP Donates $100,000 To Volunteer Fire Department In Corrigan, Texas

The Corrigan Volunteer Fire Department, which has close to 25 active volunteers and answered more than 150 emergency calls in 2022, has kicked off a capital campaign to build a new fire station, which will cost $400,000. In support of this campaign, and in recognition of the three major facilities Georgia-Pacific operates (and the 1,000 people employed) in Polk County, Texas, the company has donated $100,000 to the effort.

The land for the new facility was donated by a local family, and the project will be completed in stages. The first stage involves building the shell of the facility so trucks can operate there immediately. The second stage will build out the living quarters and kitchen, and the third will finalize the parking lot and second story. The Corrigan Volunteer Fire Department also plans to allow local schools and community organizations to have access to the facility for functions and fundraisers.

“Fire poses one of the biggest threats in the community and to any wood products business,” says Lester Knight, Georgia-Pacific’s Corrigan plywood plant manager. “It has been dry, and we do face wildfires in this area. When it comes to supporting this community, I cannot think of a better opportunity to give back than to support the Corrigan Volunteer Fire Department. These volunteers leave their families, wake up in the middle of the night, and put their safety at risk to protect us. The new facility will help them in these efforts.”

Georgia-Pacific launched its Bucket Brigade program in 2006 to help support local fire departments, awarding more than $3 million to first responders.

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Tolko Announces Pino Pucci New President/CEO

After 14 years as president and CEO (CEO) of Tolko, and more than 40 years with the company founded by his grandfather Harold, Brad Thorlakson has transitioned to the role of executive chair of the board. Further to this transition, Pino Pucci has assumed the role of president and CEO.

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September 2023

September 2023

September 2023

Cover: GP Takes Patchwork To Another Level

MADISON, Georgia – This June, Georgia-Pacific’s Madison plywood plant started up two new Raute automated poly patch lines, part of an ongoing shift towards automation company-wide. Since 2016, G-P has invested well over $65 million in capital projects at Madison, much of it in automating formerly manual positions.

Inside This Issue

TAKING STOCK: Did It Ever Have A Chance?

Though I knew it was coming, it still caught my by surprise—the announcement earlier this summer that an asset liquidation firm had taken over the “orderly sale” of all machinery at the bankrupt CalPlant facility in Willows, California.

READ MORE SOON

Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, Panel World

PELICE 2024 Announces First Wave Of Keynoters

Organizers of the ninth Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) announced commitments from several industry personnel to deliver keynote presentations. Hosted by Panel World magazine and Georgia Research Institute, the event will be held March 14-15, 2024 at the Omni Hotel in Atlanta, site of all the previous PELICE events.

READ MORE

UPDATE
EMISSIONS

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following companies submitted editorial profiles to complement their advertisements placed in Panel World September 2023.

  • Büttner
  • Dürr
PROJECTS
  • Process Fire Protection Is A Priority At West Fraser OSB-Allendale
    Article submitted by FLAMEX and West Fraser
  • Timber HP Gears Up Wood Fiber Insulation Production
  • MDF Plant Orders Fiber Prep Line
  • CenturyPly Starts Up Refining System
  • Jiangsu Huidian Runs With U-Flaker
  • Project In Egypt Is Truly Unique
  • Ziegler Goes After Wood Insulation Board
  • Greenpanel Orders Chipping Line
WHAT'S NEW
  • EVO Handling System
  • Panel Repair Station
  • “Got Your Back”
  • Prepress Belts
CLIPPINGS
  • Herold Retires From Rainier
  • Is That Cool Or What? (writeup from Roseburg web site)
  • RoyOMartin Employees Better Themselves
  • Weyerhaeuser Buys 22,000 Acres
  • Late Coach Leaves Gift
  • Partnership Fights Fires

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GP Takes Patchwork To Another Level

Article by David Abbott, Senior Editor, Panel World

MADISON, Georgia – This June, Georgia-Pacific’s Madison plywood plant started up two new Raute automated poly patch lines, part of an ongoing shift towards automation company-wide. Since 2016, G-P has invested well over $65 million in capital projects at Madison, much of it in automating formerly manual positions.

Previously, the mill repaired small defects manually, with up to three people on each line per shift doing that repetitive job, according to Madison Plant Manager Tony Brown (who was promoted three months ago to a regional manager position, meaning he now overseas not only Madison but also G-P’s plywood facility in Gurdon, Arkansas.).

Most plywood mills patch unsawn panels, but G-P opts to patch sawn panels. It’s a more efficient approach, Brown believes. “It allows us to grade that panel visually at the panel saw so we come to the patch line with just the panels we know fit a certain grade and can be fixed.” This method, he says, prevents a lot of wasted time kicking out panels with too many defects to be patched or panels that don’t need to be patched.

Another benefit: greater precision and less error. With a manual operation, employees visually determine if defects fall within grade rule size parameters for patching. “So I am depending on a human to make that judgment call,” Brown says. “A computer can do that a lot better than a human eye can. With imaging software, it knows exactly within a millimeter what diameter that knot is, the length of that split, and it knows whether it meets grade rules or not, in a fraction of a second.”

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Dieffenbacher Emission Control Systems

Dieffenbacher Emission Control Systems

Dieffenbacher Emission Control Systems

Dieffenbacher’s emission control solutions include emission measurements and dryer and press emission control systems. Emission measurements help plant operators understand which emissions are present and determine the type and amount of emissions. For example, using state-of-the-art methods, uncomplicated in-house emission measurements can be taken on stacks downstream of the dryer or the press exhaust system. This includes measuring parameters such as total organic carbon (TOC) and many different substances such as water, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, methane, ethane, propane, formaldehyde, methanol and other gases. Dust in the exhaust gas can also be measured using additional equipment. Subsequent correlation analyses of production parameters and emissions provide a better understanding of plant emissions.

The Dryer Emission Control System cleans dryer exhaust gases using an inline scrubber in compliance with local environmental standards. The main components are the unique inline scrubber and water treatment and distribution systems. The inline scrubber efficiently separates dust particles from the gas stream. Optional auxiliary equipment captures water-soluble VOCs, notably formaldehyde. The Dryer Emission Control System is applicable for horizontal and vertical operation and costs less than an electrostatic filter. It also impresses with its low freshwater demand, reliable design for high uptime and small space requirements.

The Press Emission Control System cleans exhaust gases from the press through a washing process. Dust and condensable fractions of exhaust gases are bound to fine water droplets. These solid and liquid parts are separated in the inline scrubber. Pre-Absorber units can be supplied to reduce VOC emissions (volatile organic compounds), particularly formaldehyde. As a fluid-optimized system, the Press Emission Control System is highly energy-efficient. Like the Dryer Emission Control System, it is characterized by low freshwater demand and small space requirements.

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