IFI Magazine Feb March 2019 International Forest Industries Magazine Feb March | Page 26

Duane Vaagen,
President of Vaagen Bros Lumber
Mills turn out in force Portland, ORE.
M
ore than 1,600 wood
products producer
personnel and 1,300
equipment exhibitor personnel
registered for the fourth Timber
Processing & Energy Expo that was
held October 17-19 at the Portland
Exposition Center in Portland, Ore.
That number included
personnel from more than
110 wood products producer
companies representing hundreds
of individual mill site operations.
The event caters to producers
of lumber, plywood, veneer,
and engineered wood products
including mass timber
Attendees came from 38 U.S.
states, six Canadian provinces and
17 countries.
Nearly 200 exhibitor companies
showcased their technologies on
60,000 square feet of booth space
as well as several exhibitor setups
outside. The event is produced by
Hatton-Brown Expositions LLC, and
100 sawmills in less than two
days.”
The Portland show has always
been heavy to the lumber industry,
but organizers have continued to
push for more involvement from
the panel and engineered wood
products sector. Twenty-six such
producer companies were in
attendance. “Our goal going in was
to reach 20% of the companies
coming from the panel/EWP sector.
We actually topped 28%, and we
expect that number to increase in
future shows,” Donnell says.
hosted by Timber Processing and
Panel World magazines.
Bill Wilkins,
CEO at WKO/Mt.
Forest Products
Luke Drapeau, GM, Capital &
Maintenance Systems, Canfor
“The show is a great
opportunity to engage and
network with vendors,” comments
Luke Drapeau, GM, Capital &
Maintenance Systems, Canfor.
“We appreciate being able to
have face-to-face conversations
with vendors while looking
at equipment. This year our
team met with over 40 vendors
regarding specific equipment and
discussion items. In addition, we
met many new vendors and vendor
representatives.”
Show Director Rich Donnell
says the event experienced a slight
increase in attendance from the
mill companies compared to 2016.
“We were very enthused about
that, because going into the show
we were getting a lot of feedback
that they were extremely busy
and hadn’t really had time to think
about the show yet,” Donnell says.
24 International Forest Industries | FEBRUARY / MARCH 2019
Bill Wilkins, chief operating
officer at WKO/Mt. Hood Forest
Products in Washington and
Oregon, says he always looks
forward to attending the Portland
show as do many others from his
companies.
“The show offers the
opportunity to meet in person
suppliers and vendors whom we
deal with all year long,” Wilkins
says.
“The show is also where I
have the pleasure of meeting and
talking with the wonderful people
who make up our industry. The
ability to see new technology
and innovations in person versus
animated video or email flyers is
without question a benefit.”
Duane Vaagen, president of
Vaagen Bros. Lumber based in
Colville, Wash., shares similar
feelings: “The show in Portland
is the greatest way to get new
ideas and clarify your visions for
the future. What I benefited most
was seeing the latest and greatest
technology. It’s like visiting over
Doug Pauzé, Senior Vice
President, Coastland Wood
“A major reason we attend
this particular show is the
constant search for innovation,”
comments Doug Pauzé, senior
vice president, operations, for
British Columbia-based veneer and
plywood producer Coastland Wood
Industries. “I think it is extremely
important to stay on top of any of
the latest and greatest tools for our
industry. Typically, each time we
attend, we find something that we
can bring back to our facilities to
help improve how we operate.”
Scott Weatherford,
CEO, ATCO Wood Products
BC-based ATCO Wood Products
CEO Scott Weatherford adds,
“TP&EE is a great opportunity to