I drove by a sawmill the other day. It closed within the last few years. I decided that I needed a break to stretch my legs so I pulled over. I stood there, looking at the empty shell of the mill that had once been a vibrant hub of activity. This made me sad for the people who once worked there and for the co…

I remember many years ago visiting the Pacific Northwest to meet with the Head Sawfiler at a local sawmill. The first thing we saw when arriving at the mill site was an ambulance. Safety is a huge concern in sawmills and seeing an ambulance is obviously not a good sign. As we pulled up to the entrance of the …

I had a very interesting discussion this past week with a customer about Lube Systems and how they’re always the first thing to be blamed for any breakdown. It seems that with any failure in a mill the easiest thing to blame is not having enough lube, but that isn’t always the case. Most systems have (or sho…

I was talking to a good friend of mine on the phone the other day. We were just chatting about past projects we had worked on together, and others that my friend had worked on. Our conversation was light and going really well until out of the blue, my friend made a remark that changed everything. “Do you kno…

I love going to Europe. Visiting all the historic buildings, encountering timeless works of art… it’s such an inspiring place. I am particularly fascinated by what inspiration is behind many of these historical works of art.  It was usually some sort of event or hardship that captured the artist and prompted…