Stimson Lumber makes huge sawline investment
Andrew Miller, the CEO of Stimson Lumber Company, has announced that the wood products company will invest $50 million into a new, highspeed sawmill line at its facility in Forest Grove, Oregon. The investment at the 95-year-old sawmill marks a significant upgrade and commitment to future operations at the facility and increased potential for private timber owners seeking new market opportunities for smaller-dimension timber, Miller says.
Starting later this year, Stimson will begin preparing the Forest Grove mill for a 350-foot-long HewSaw line manufactured by Finland-based Veisto-Oy. Miller said he expects the new sawline will be operational in early 2026 and that the existing line will continue operating without a lapse in production. “We are excited about the investment in this new technology for multiple reasons,” Miller said. “On one hand, we are committing to long-term operations at Stimson’s oldest mill site, and the economic and workforce impacts the mill brings to the community.”
When operational, the new sawline will process logs between 4 inches and 16 inches in diameter at a rate of 70 eight-foot blocks per minute, making it the highest speed sawline in North America, Miller said. With its current sawline and 300 million board-feet of kiln capacity, the mill produces about 100 million feet of two-by-four and two-by-six studs annually.
Still, Miller anticipates production will triple when the new mill is fully operational. The current mill employs 90 people, but Miller anticipates the new technology will ultimately require fewer employees once operational. “The new mill will be one of the most efficient and productive sawmills in North America, which is Stimson’s goal with the investment,” Miller says. The investment in the HewSaw technology also leverages Stimson’s 175,000 acres of adjacent timberlands, which will account for more than half of the mill’s timber supply.
