Project Grant 23DG11052021229

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service awarded a $625,720 Project Grant under the Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovation Program (CFDA 10.708) to the Frank Miller Lumber Company in Illinois. The grant funds will be used to upgrade the company's edger and trimmer machine centers with new scanning technology, improving lumber yield, reducing waste, and enhancing material flow. The objectives of the project are to increase lumber recovery, support forest health, and boost the local...

The Sawmill Kiln Installation Project is a $516,960.00 federal Project Grant awarded on July 23, 2024 by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service under the Wood Utilization Assistance (CFDA 10.674) program. The funding supports the installation of a new kiln system at the facilities of Rath Industries Inc., a non-profit organization located in California. The project aims to expand wood manufacturing capacity, implement innovative wood utilization technologies, and...

The Department of Agriculture Forest Service awarded a $1 million Project Grant under the Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovation Program (CFDA 10.708) to Robbins Lumber, Inc. on September 19, 2022. The grant will support Robbins Lumber's implementation of value-based scanning to better utilize the white pine resource through July 31, 2025. As indicated in the program description, funding can be used to supplement capital costs associated with installing a wood energy system utilizing wood and...

This Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service's Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovation Program (CFDA 10.708) provides $1,568,500.00 to Gates Milling Inc. to install a new 3-saw OptiCut edger system at their facility in North Carolina. The new edger equipment will replace an existing manual 2-saw edger, improving lumber production efficiency and reducing wood waste. The project period runs from August 28, 2025 to August 27, 2030. The grant aims to support...

The Project Grant award of $173,864, provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, aims to develop an automated, technology-driven solution to transform mass timber manufacturing waste into valuable architectural components. The project, awarded to KTM Research LLC, will utilize vision or LiDAR-based sensors, computational tools, and CNC machining to digitize material...

This Project Grant award from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, under the Wood Utilization Assistance program (CFDA 10.674), provides $624,352.00 to assist Northwest Hardwoods with the installation of a new gang system at their Marienville, Pennsylvania sawmill operation. The new gang system is expected to replace an existing smaller edger and provide increased versatility in how logs are sawn, thereby improving the mill's ability to efficiently utilize smaller...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) Project Grant award in the amount of $275,000 supports the development of a computer vision system to assist in grading and sorting harvested logs for the logging industry. The project aims to create a novel computer vision system that can identify, track, and assess the quality of individual logs, providing feedback to human machine operators within brief decision timeframes. The research involves...

This Project Grant award from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service's Wood Utilization Assistance program (CFDA 10.674) provides $600,000.00 to S&L Lumber Co, LLC to purchase and install a high-efficiency west plains resaw, a resawx scanner, and an indoor tie grading station with ergonomic enhancements at their lumber mill in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. These investments will modernize aging equipment, improve safety, and increase production capacity by 20%. The...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service awarded a $308,650 Project Grant to Eagle Ridge Truss & Timber, LLC under the Wood Utilization Assistance program (CFDA 10.674) to support the following activities: Complete minor electrical work to connect three-phase power from the panel to a new linear saw; Obtain matching funds through a loan; Purchase a linear saw and accessories; Install the new linear saw; and Receive training from the saw manufacturer. This project aligns with the...

This Project Grant award from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service under the Wood Utilization Assistance program (CFDA 10.674) will provide $600,000 to Cersosimo Lumber Co, Inc. to install a computerized grading and trimming system at their lumber grading facility in Brattleboro, Vermont. The new system is expected to grade softwood and hardwood lumber with 85-95% accuracy, detect defects, assess optimal cutting yield, and automatically trim the lumber to improve...