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MACHINERYROW
Gilbert, Great South Complete Remote Startup
Jerry Smith, head planerman
The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t stopped Gilbert from working on three planer startups in Florida and Georgia. This spring, only days before the coronavirus virtually shut down the world, Gilbert delivered an S Series model planer to Great South Timber and Lumber in Lake City, Fla. No one could have predicted what was to follow! Gilbert, which was to send technicians in late March for the scheduled startup, was forced to quickly alter its plans when, on March 18, borders between Canada and the U.S. were closed.
Not willing to accept that the project could potentially be delayed for a long time due to travel restrictions, the Great South team collaborated with Gilbert project managers to develop an alternative strategy. On April 3, the mill shut down. Great South, including its mechanical and electrical contractors, were left with merely a week to remove the existing planer, build a new substructure and install the Gilbert S Series planer. A rapid solution for installing the planer from afar, without causing any production delay, was crucially needed. Gilbert’s service team was up to the task. By working together around the clock, the team developed high-tech remote systems which would allow them to virtually participate in the Florida installation and startup. Amazingly on April 11, the mill was up and running lumber through its new Gilbert planer. Great South’s outstanding work force dealt with this dramatic change in events with incredible expertise. They installed cameras at the infeed of the
Gilbert Service tech Eric Theberge working remotely from home office
equipment, which gave Gilbert technicians a live view from Gilbert’s Roberval office in Quebec. The planer staff also downloaded software onto their phones allowing for close-up views of the equipment. Mill Manager Mike Dennard comments, “Even though the planning was more complex, the result was a good plan, well executed by everyone involved, resulting in a very successful project.” Gilbert’s Southern Service Rep, Jimmy Porter, was also key to the success of this enterprise. Based in Niceville, Fla., he is permitted to travel and participate in all of Gilbert’s startups in the South. Porter is in contact with the Gilbert team in Roberval 24/7—a service for which Gilbert and its Southern customers are immensely grateful. Although all parties are looking forward to borders being reopened, one thing Gilbert can say is that this situation has propelled significant technological progress which Gilbert and Grreat South can be quite proud of.
Microtec Purchases Lucidyne Technologies In a move that creates one of the largest wood products scanning companies in the world, Microtec has acquired Lucidyne Technologies, Inc. Microtec has been delivering technologically advanced scanning and optimization systems for 40 years, and is a premier scanning company across Europe. Lucidyne has been an industry leader in scanning and optimization throughout North America since 1985. This acquisition expands both companies’ product lines, geographical reach and, perhaps most importantly, brings the two highly advanced technologies and technology teams together. The opportunities provided by this acquisition to the wood products indus54
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JUNE 2020
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