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SHUQUALAK, Miss.

Spending considerable sums ofmoney over the past two yearsto update their sawmill andplaner mill, Bill Thomas, pres-ident, and Charlie Thomas III,

vice president, and the management teamat Shuqualak Lumber Company havemade the investments necessary to keeptheir southern pine lumber operationcompetitive in today’s unpredictableeconomic climate.

“We had to do something after notspending any money for about sixyears,” Charlie says simply. “We had tomake some improvements in order tostay in business.”

By Jay Donnell

Major improvementshave put ShuqualakLumber back on track.

INPLACECHANGES

From left, Robert Hunter, Anderson Thomas, Charlie Thomas, Bill Thomas and John Thomas

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The improvements range from the backend to the front end of the operation. In theplaner mill, the company installed a newhigh speed Carbotech trimmer, as well anAutolog ProGrader machine. Shuqualakalso installed an MSR machine. These andnumerous minor improvements have in-creased production in the planer mill bymore than a third and contributed to prod-uct quality and diversity.

The sawmill replaced its old debarkerlines and merchandising system with amodern, streamlined version supplied byPrice LogPro and Baxley Equipment. Ithas increased piece count by 30%. In ad-dition, Shuqualak (pronounced Shuga-Lock) has updated downstream opti-mization in the sawmill.

Lumber production today is approxi-mately 130MMBF annually, running asingle five-day-a-week shift.

COMPANY HISTORYShuqualak Lumber has long been

unique in that its sawmill and planer millare a mile apart. Charles Thomas Sr. wasone of the founders of the company in1948, which consisted of a dry kiln and aplaner mill. Bill Thomas, after graduatingfrom Mississippi State in 1959, followedhis dad into the business. “Someone askedme one time why I didn’t want to dosomething else and my answer was ‘I did-n’t know how,’” Bill says. “I told my fa-ther one day that I wanted to go work forhim full-time and he looked at me andsaid ‘I can tell you one thing, son, you’vechosen the hardest row to hoe there is.’”The message especially hit home whenBill had to move stacks of lumber pieceby piece—no forklifts in sight.

Bill became President of the companyin 1969. Charlie Thomas, Jr. left his appli-

ance business and joined the family busi-ness in the early 1970s as they prepared tobuild a sawmill, as many of their locallumber sources were going out of busi-ness. The company had been purchasingrough cut lumber from 26 portablesawmills operating within a 75 mile ra-dius of Shuqualak and was producing ap-

proximately 6 million board feet annually. There was a slight problem with build-

ing a sawmill. There wasn’t enough pur-chasable land adjacent the existing facili-ty, so the sawmill had to be built a mileout of town. The result was an unusualsetup in which the sawmill, under the di-rection of Charlie, processed timber and

CANADIAN ISSUE HITS HOMECharlie Thomas is the Chairman of the U.S. Lumber Coalition, as his dad once

was. The long-running Lumber Agreement between the two countries expired inOctober after nine years.

“We hope that the new Canadian government will be more pro-active in work-ing with its industry to start the process of true negotiations with the U.S. Gov-ernment,” Charlie says. “Everyone prefers a trade agreement over trade cases, sohopefully the two governments will find a solution that allows everyone to pros-per under a new agreement.”

Price LogPro infeed to DLI line

32 in. Valon Kone ring debarker gets the job done for Shuqualak Lumber.


hauled green lumber down the road tothe drying and planing facility managedby Bill and his team.

In 2013, Charlie Thomas, Jr., one ofthe real stalwarts of the southern pinelumber industry, passed away and todayhis son, Charlie Thomas III, who beganworking in the business in 1981, man-ages the sawmill.

Shuqualak Lumber employs 150, butthe count dwindled during the recessionas did salaries and benefits. “We did ev-erything we had to do to survive,” Char-lie says, recalling they reduced the forceby nearly half for several months. “Billsaid we had to move as far away as wecould from framing lumber,” Charlie re-calls. “If houses weren’t going to be builtthen we needed to be cutting somethingother than framing lumber so wechanged our product mix up a little bit.”

Bill says that their steady procurementof good quality logs enabled them to pro-duce some higher end lumber productsand receive good prices. They also shift-ed away from the 2x6s, 2x8s and 2x10sto 5/4 decking, requiring a smaller log.The operation rebounded and today theemployee number is about where it waspre-recession.

But ultimately the mill could wait nolonger for an infusion of modern equip-ment and systems.

IMPROVEMENTSIn 2011, Shuqualak replaced an exist-

ing log feeder to its large log line Maxi-Mill end dogger primary breakdown witha Price LogPro large log feeder. It set thestage for other orders with Price LogProin the future.

The second machine LogPro sold toShuqualak, in 2014, was a combinationheavy duty concrete filled fabricated logreceiving pocket with a shock absorbingback wall that fed an electric LogPro ro-tary log pusher system. The LogPro ro-tary log pusher is designed to index logsfrom the infeed accumulation pocket tothe DLI infeed deck, presenting thesmaller logs straight to the deck in a me-tered controlled manner to reduce deckinfeed cross-ups. The LogPro infeedpocket and rotary feeder replaced an in-feed pocket and stepped pusher assemblythat was installed with the DLI a fewyears back. The Maxi-Mill feeder andDLI log pusher were installed to improveuptime and reduce maintenance costs.

In late 2014, Shuqualak replaced its twoexisting 1980’s debarker lines and outdat-ed merchandising system and installed asingle high speed LogPro designed woodyard system. The new system comprises

12 ■ DECEMBER 2015 ■ TIMBER PROCESSING

Maxi-Mill end dogger is probably one of the few in the South.

A Caterpillar 966 front-end loader unloads a truck in the log yard.

Shuqualak Lumber isn’t shy about spending money in the filing room.


an all-electric LogPro stem singulator, 32in. Valon Kone ring debarker, LogPro V-Flight scanning conveyor with three elec-tric stem kickers, Baxley/JoeScan threezone 3D lineal scanning system, LogProrotary stem positioner feeding three inde-pendent all electric sliding circle saws anda LogPro cut log discharge conveyor sys-tem to the mill.

The modern system utilizes treelengthdebarking followed by modern 3D linealscanning, infinite trim bucking capabili-ties from 0-65 ft. and incorporates the ro-bust features of the Generation IV Log-Pro Log Trimmer System. Shuqualakruns the wood yard at a modest setting ofsix stems per minute, but it has consider-ably more capacity when they want it.

Shuqualak hired Linco, LLC of Span-ish Fort, Ala. to do the mechanical instal-lation and Brister Electric of Enterprise,Miss. to do the electrical installation.Charlie asked Brad Poole, the sawmillsupervisor, to become the project manag-er. Brad worked with Bryan Lindsey ofLinco to make the project go as smoothlyas it could. Shuqualak only lost two daysof operation while tying the new systemin. “I cannot say enough about how goodof a job Bryan, Tim Brister and Braddid,” Charlie says.

“Shuqualak did a great job of manag-ing the new wood yard project and keptall parties involved well informedthrough multiple group site meetings andupdates,” Josh Krauss of LogPro adds. “I

appreciate their level of attention to de-tail on every aspect of the project.”

While Brad and Charlie were focusedon the new project, the rest of the sawmillteam led by Rick Rigdon, Chaz Thomas(Charlie’s son), and electrician RichardDooley kept the sawmill operating at max-imum expected production levels.

In 2015, the sawmill upgraded theBaxley optimizers on the trimmer andedger with BMX upgrades, which updatetheir optimizers to modern digital datatransfer and current operating platform.Dusty Rigdon takes care of allShuqualak’s optimization.

In the planer mill, Shuqualak added aBaxley Ecoustic Stress Grader (MSR).“We put that in because when theychanged the design values of southernyellow pine, we were concerned aboutwhat it was going to do,” Charlie says.“We saw our competitors starting to in-stall MSR machines. We felt that if wewere going to stay competitive buyingtimber, we had to install the MSR ma-chine to allow us to extract all of thevalue out of the tree.”

Each piece of lumber is weighed andthumped on the end. Based on dimension,weight and the signature of wave lengths,it determines the machine stress rated de-sign value of the board. The information istransferred to a Lucidyne grade mark read-er immediately downstream.

Shuqualak also installed the new highspeed Carbotech trimmer, said to reach150 lugs per minute, and the AutologProGrader linear planer optimizer. It isplaced just after the planer and reachesan operating speed up to 3,000 FPM,combining 3D geometric and 2D visionsensors to measure defects.

The planer mill machinery and equip-ment installations were coordinated byDavid Jones and John Thomas alongwith Curtis Gulley, Johnny Medcalf andChris Prisock, all long-term Shuqualakproduction employees, with minimal dis-ruption to lumber manufacturing.

The company used to run two planerswith two crews, but since they put in theautomatic grader and trimmer and didwork to the stacking system and sorter,they were able to cut down on labor costs.“I think the auto grader is probably themost promising thing because we’re get-ting all there is to get out of that piece oflumber,” John Thomas, Bill’s son, says.

OPERATIONSBasically the sawmill flow begins

with a crane and Caterpillar 966 front-end loaders unloading trucks and feed-ing the log yard and the mill infeed.


Shuqualak recently put in a Baxley Ecoustic StressGrader in order to gain the opimum value.

The new Carbotech trimmer can reach up to 150 lugs per minute.


Pieces run through the VK debarker,Metal Shark metal detector, and intothe LogPro merchandising system withBaxley scanning. Smaller logs go to theoptimized Comact DLI (double lengthinfeed) and larger logs to the MaxiMill. Two Barko knuckleboom loaders

manage log accumulation. Cants runthrough a CAE Newnes curve-sawinggang. Pieces go to two Baxley opti-mized edgers and to a Newnes trimmerwith Baxley optimization. A HEMCOsorter is followed by a Gillingham Beststacker. They use Size Check controls

throughout the mill to keep tolerancewithin .020.

Mike Thomas is the head saw filer.Shuqualak uses saw levelers made by Si-monds and VariSharp grinders made byArmstrong to keep the saws in top condi-tion. Band saws come from U.S. Bladesand the round saws are purchased fromSimonds. “We spent a lot of money overthe years in the filing room,” Charlie ex-plains. “I am a firm believer that in orderto produce the best lumber, you have tohave quality logs and quality saws. Mikeand his team do us a fantastic job.”

Chips are sold to a local paper compa-ny and bark goes to a facility on theTombigbee River. Shuqualak burns itssawdust and shavings while selling someto an area pellet mill.

Lumber is entered into one of five drykilns with Wellons controls. They runfour boilers to provide steam for thekilns. Lumber then sits in cooling shedsbefore Taylor forklifts transport stacks tothe planer mill.

Shuqualak hasn’t totally abandonedthe wider 2 in. lumber, mainly becausethere’s an abundance of 28-40-year-oldpine they can buy at a relatively goodprice, but grade is always on their mind.

The company transports about 90% of


Autolog ProGrader linear planeroptimizer can reach an operatingspeed of 3,000 FPM.

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http://www.simondsinternational.com

its lumber to nearly 20 different statesand 10% of it goes oversees to the likesof China, Spain, Italy, Germany, Franceand the Caribbean. “The export marketshave changed over time,” comments An-derson Thomas, vice president. “Mexicoand China have displaced some of theEuropean countries as the top exportmarkets for us today.”

Lumber sales are overseen by Nowell

Flake and Johanna DuFour. Approxi-mately 15% of the company’s productionis shipped by rail with the balance mov-ing by truck. The company is in the pro-cess of having its products SFI certifiedand the Southern Pine Inspection Boardprovides quality control services—a rela-tionship of more than 50 years.Shuqualak appreciates the level of ser-vice provided to the company by SPIB.

LOG SUPPLYRobert Hunter is the procurement man-

ager. He and two other foresters, RussellAdams, who covers the Mississippi area,and Courtney White, who covers the Al-abama area, rely on a network of dealersand suppliers to supply the mill with highquality logs. The mill is 100% gatewoodtoday. Hunter comments, “It’s good in thefact that we don’t have to tie up a lot ofmoney in tracts of timber that we’ve pur-chased. You do have a quality controlissue so you have to watch it closer be-cause you’ve got people bringing the tim-ber from outside.”

He adds that because of the gatewoodsituation they are able to move their logprices quicker with the market. “I thinkthe word ‘flexibility’ is good for us. Weget the premium out of every piece oflumber we make and that’s a key for afamily owned company like us to stay inbusiness.”

Hunter says the mill’s log suppliernetwork came through big time forShuqualak Lumber during the reces-sion, and vice versa. “They needed usto buy their logs and we needed logs aswell. They helped us out, everybodyfrom the larger companies such as


Taylor forklifts are always reliable for Shuqualak Lumber.


http://www.kanefusa.net

mailto:[email protected]

Plum Creek to smaller companies.”Most of the logs come from within 70

miles of the mill, an equal amount fromAlabama and Mississippi. Most of it isloblolly pine, with some shortleaf pineand longleaf pine

Shuqualak Lumber is currently in-stalling a LOGMETER, a semi-auto-matic full load scanning system, manu-factured by Woodtech MeasurementsSolutions, which measures, inspects andaudits the logs of each truck load enter-ing the mill. The LOGMETER was in-stalled at the end of October and isscheduled to begin operating early nextyear. Because of site constraints the sys-tem is located in the beginning of thelog yard and not adjacent the scalehouse. LOGMETER requires 150 feetof a flat and straight measurement area

where the trucks are going through thesystem, at a speed between 3-5 MPH inorder to scan and measure the full loadfrom end to end.

During the measuring process logs arelaser scanned and photographed in orderto obtain a full image of the front, sidesand back of the logs. The system will de-tect those logs in each load that do notmeet the minimum top and maximum buttdiameters, minimum length, and sweepand crook allowances. An operator shouldbe able to identify, on the computerscreen, logs with visual defects such asrotten wood, mechanical damage, knots,etc. The LOGMETER will provide, on aload by load basis, the number of stems,and the distributions and averages of logLED (large end diameter), SED (smallend diameter) and length.


The newly installed LOGMETER should be ready to operate at the beginning of 2016.


http://www.westsalem.com

The sawmill should be able to usethis information in real time to assistwith the right production mix balancingvolume, quality and profitability. “Weare very excited about the LOGME-TER. We know what our historic per-centages of #3 and #4 lumber are andthe LOGMETER will help us reducethat percentage,” Hunter says. “I lookat the LOGMETER like we used tolook at automatic lumber graders. Thefirst generation of lumber graders hadits problems, today they are still not100%, but they are a lot better thanhaving employees making grading deci-sions at the high speeds that we nowoperate at.”

“We realize that the LOGMETERwill not be 100%,” Charlie adds. “It is atool that will help us manage our largestexpense. If we can reduce the amount of#3 and #4 lumber that we process byjust a few percentage points, it will havebeen an excellent investment for us.”

FINAL NOTESWith the recent upgrades, Shuqualak

Lumber hopes to continue to grow andthrive as a company. “I think the invest-ments we’ve made in the sawmill andplaner mill have put us in a position tobe very competitive for the next fiveyears,” Charlie says.

In the future, Shuqualak will be look-ing to expand its dry kiln capacity.“That’s the only thing that’s holding usback from running two shifts,” Charliesays. “We have the logs and we couldprobably find the personnel.”

The camaraderie is very prevalentamong the employees. Charlie holds alunch three days a week at the sawmilland invites 15 employees to eat becauseit gives him a chance to sit down withthem and discuss what’s going on incommunity and the mill. “It’s been veryproductive for us,” Charlie says.

“We discuss everything from thelocal high school football game to howthe machinery is operating in the mill.Communication is a key factor in howwell we operate. If one machine on theline is not operating a full capacity, itaffects the rest of the machinery. Some-times, just discussing a problem overlunch allows us to focus in on the prob-lem and get it resolved quickly.”

Shuqualak Lumber is a member of theSoutheastern Lumber ManufacturersAssn., the Mississippi Lumber Manufac-turers Assn., Mississippi ManufacturersAssn. and supports numerous othergroups such as American Wood Counciland the Treated Wood Council. TP


http://www.seringsawmillmachinery.com

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.joescan.com/warranty

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