United Kingdom 2011 - 2 | Page 22

British branch sponsors race meeting WOOD-MIZER TODAY SPRING 2011 Over 1,100 people visited Folkestone racecourse, Kent, England for the WoodMizer Kent National Day of horse racing. Wood-Mizer UK sponsored the day's racing because the south-east of England represents an important area for its band sawmill sales. Much of the crowd spent time looking at the two band sawmills plus a Lastec Articulator mower exhibited beside the parade ring. Also, existing Wood-Mizer operators and potential customers discussed the exhibits with the British general manager David Biggs and his colleagues. Orders for two mills and possibly for a Lastec mower (from the racecourse itself) are expected to follow. Richard Vivers, chief operating officer of Wood-Mizer's worldwide operations comments: "We were delighted to support Folkestone Racecourse's Wood-Mizer Kent National Day. "Wood-Mizer is closely linked to the British and Irish countrysides. Most of the owners and operators of our roughly 300 band sawmills in these islands are farmers, estate owners & managers, travelling sawyers, small joinery & carpentry shops and larger timber processing concerns in country areas. The sustainable nature of our sawmills which, because of our narrow blade technology deliver an extra board (plank) and less sawdust from every log means less trees are felled. This is welcomed by countryfolk whilst they seek rewarding diversifications like harvesting their own trees and their neighbours' timber. Indeed, it is welcomed widely. "Rural activities represent part of the lives of most of our customers. Consequently, racing is important to us, as well as being enjoyable. "In 1987, the United Kingdom was the first location of our band sawmills outside the USA, where they were invented in 1984. The damage wreaked by the Hurricane in '87 brought them to the UK and they were used to such effect that they 'snowballed' throughout the continent and further afield. 50,000 of our mills now operate worldwide. "Consequently, we owe a certain loyalty to our British and Irish clients in what are difficult times. We believe our sponsorship of the racing at Folkestone Racecourse on its 'National Day' demonstrated this." 11 E V E N T