Timber Processing

The preceding issue of Timber Processing (June) focused on the results of the annual U.S. Sawmill Operations & Capital Expenditure Survey. If you’ll recall, when asked to forecast their lumber business situation for 2026-2027, softwood lumbermen painted a fairly soft picture, with 56% saying “fair,” 36% saying “good,” 2% saying “excellent,” and 6% saying “poor.” The question was but one of two dozen asked in the annual survey.

Real Performance Machinery, LLC (RPM), Independence, Va., which designs, engineers and manufactures sawmill machinery and technologies, announced that company co-founder Michael Sawer has returned as Chairman and CEO following the successful completion of a transaction that restored majority ownership and leadership control of the company. After a successful startup and growth period, RPM had been purchased by Peak North America, but Peak NA experienced financial issues in the past year.

The Robbins family of Robbins Lumber in Searsmont, Me. reported that co-owner and vice-president sales, Alden J. Robbins, died on July 2 from injuries sustained during the fire-explosion at the Robbins Lumber sawmill site on May 15. It had been previously reported that Robbins was being treated at the burn center at Massachusetts General Hospital and was expected to have a long road to recovery. ​“We are heartbroken by the loss of a beloved husband, father, son, brother, uncle, and friend.

Union Pacific Railroad and Rocky Mountain Steel Mills have reached a new, seven-year contract for the domestic production of steel rails, underscoring Union Pacific’s clear commitment to buying the majority of its rail from a U.S. manufacturer. Rocky Mountain Steel, located in Pueblo, Colo., is the only remaining dedicated rail production facility in the U.S. and one of the largest producers of steel products in North America.

Fulghum Industries has completed installation and certification of a 155-ft., 45-ton log crane at Burt Lumber in Washington, Ga., marking the first crane of that size built by the company. Certified on April 27, 2026, the crane was designed to fit within the physical constraints of Burt Lumber’s existing log yard while providing the lifting capacity needed for daily operations.

Fulghum Industries has completed installation and certification of a 155-foot, 45-ton log crane at Burt Lumber in Washington, Ga., marking the first crane of that size built by the company. Certified on April 27, 2026, the crane was designed to fit within the physical constraints of Burt Lumber’s existing log yard while providing the lifting capacity needed for daily operations.

Upper Austrian timber drying specialist Mühlböck continues its international growth trajectory and has secured a project in the USA. Mühlböck is supplying four 1306 PRO dry kilns with a total volume of over 230MBF to the Californian company Alpenglow Timber. The order is worth around one million euros. The infrastructure has also been designed to allow for the seamless addition of a fifth unit in the future. The contract was awarded in April 2026.

The Western Wood Preserves Institute (WWPI) Board of Directors have selected Ryan Pessah as Executive Director following a nationwide search. Pessah has served as the Institute’s Government Relations Director. He succeeds Butch Bernhardt, who is retiring but will remain on staff for the remainder of the year to assist in the transition. Pessah has been with WWPI since 2019 and works from Sacramento, where he is the Institute’s registered lobbyist for California.

U.S. softwood lumber producers are entering 2026-27 with a slightly less optimistic outlook than they held a year ago, according to Timber Processing’s 2026 Annual U.S. Sawmill Operations & Capital Expenditure Survey. Only 38% of respondents described their outlook as excellent or good, down from 44% in last year’s survey. Meanwhile, 56% expect conditions to be fair and 6% anticipate poor business conditions.

C&C Forest Products announced it is investing over $21 million to rebuild its Coushatta sawmill following a 2025 fire, repositioning the facility as a more efficient, cost-competitive specialty lumber and timber operation. The project will reconfigure the existing facility with updated equipment and improved site layout. Once complete, the mill will be capable of producing up to 90MMBF annually.