Embracing developing technologies

From the onset of the startup of the Cowlitz operations we have seen a tremendous amount of ownership and team spirit in our operations. This has led to safety, quality and production in every facet of our manufacturing process. Productivity went beyond forecasted predictions and drove the division toward new possibilities. It also created some challenges from a drying standpoint, to support the team's innovational process and address immediate production demands. We had to explore projects that would enhance our ability to keep up with the accelerated pace of production. From a drying standpoint we have 22 double track kilns and five boilers located at four facilities. Two are on site drying facilities and two are off site drying facilities. The offsite facilities support the excess product that cannot be dried at the onsite facilities. We knew that all of our boilers were producing at their peak. We were limited on steaming capacity. This then, meant we had to explore a means to maximize our conventional drying. So, we needed a plan of action that would enhance our current kiln and boiler resources. We knew increasing boiler capacity would involve tremendous cost, an extensive permitting process and thus too much time to meet the immediate demands of the division.