2018 International Forest Industries IFI April May 2018 Digital | Page 27

MID-SOUTH ENGINEERING - USNR RAMPS UP TURN-KEY CAPACITY
For decades USNR has delivered turn-key projects to customers around the world, but has not had all
the internal resources to manage and run multiple turn-key projects on a large scale. That changed
recently when USNR acquired Mid-South Engineering. USNR is taking the extensive experience,
expertise, capabilities, and industry knowledge that it and Mid-South possess, and establishing a
combined force that can build a better result for our customers.
USNR and Mid-South have worked together
on sawmill and plywood mill projects for many
years, and both companies have benefited from
this strong relationship. As separate entities
they inevitably focused on optimizing their
respective segments of the project; together
they can work to improve the execution of the
entire customer project, reducing time, cost,
and risk, while delivering a superior integrated
turn-key system.
The players
Mid-South is the largest full-service consulting
engineering company in North America,
established in 1969. It employs more than 100
multi-disciplined personnel, with expertise in
the building products industry. The company is
based in Hot Springs, AR, and has offices near
Raleigh, NC and Bangor, ME.
Mid-South’s services fall into the categories
of engineering, project development, project
management, and construction. Its extensive
list of services includes mechanical engineering
and design, industrial project planning and
development, electrical engineering, project
management, production process development,
civil engineering, construction, and structural
engineering. The company boasts a who’s-who
of clients in the lumber and panel industry,
including Weyerhaeuser, West Fraser, Canadian
Forest Products, International Paper, Georgia-
Pacific, Martco, Louisiana-Pacific, Deltic Timber,
Bowater Lumber, and many more.
Mid-South is also well versed in projects
relating to biomass, pellets, power generation,
pulp and paper, and mining.
Globally, USNR is the largest manufacturer
of systems and services for the wood
processing industries, with four manufacturing
plants in the US, Canada, and Sweden, and
more than a dozen regional engineering,
service, and sales offices across North America
and Europe. Employing around 1,000 individuals
worldwide, USNR is best known for providing
end-to-end solutions for sawmills and planer
mills, including log lines, curve sawing gangs,
edger lines, trim-sort-stack systems, dry kilns,
and optimization and control technologies to
maximize the performance of that equipment.
USNR is also known for its Söderhamn Eriksson
debarkers, sawlines, and high-speed edger
systems, and its Coe- and Ventek-brand
products used in the manufacture of plywood
and other panel products.
Turn-key, or à la carte
There is an industry trend toward more interest
in turn-key capital projects. Wood processors
are looking to concentrate more of their efforts
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