| Basic Lumber Manufacturing and QC Workshop October 16th, 2012 Red Lion Hotel, Portland, OR |
Speaker Biographies
Mario Angel is currently North America Regional Manager at Woodtech Measurement Solutions. He has more than 20 years of experience in the forest product industry. Mr. Angel is Vice Chairman of the Timber Measurements Society. His work experience includes helping companies mainly in the U.S. and South America to enter in competitive markets providing expertise in strategic growth, business development and marketing programs through his company Angel Business and Consulting LLC. Mr. Angel worked as a consultant at The Beck Group, conducting competitive assessment (benchmarking) studies for many segments of the wood product industry and being involved in market research, production planning, financial analysis and timber supply and demand studies. Prior to The Beck Group Mr. Angel was Latin American specialist and later Program Manager at the World Forest Institute, an international program of the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon.
Ethan Martin, PE is Senior Technical Director, Pacific Northwest US for WoodWorks. He is based out of Seattle, WA. Ethan received a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University. As the previous owner of a structural engineering firm in Asheville, NC, Ethan has worked on projects that range from small renovations and additions to a 470,000 square-foot, $125 million central school for the Cherokee Nation. In his role with WoodWorks he serves as a wood products industry spokesperson and educator dedicated to growing the knowledge and use of structural wood products in non-residential construction through a variety of forums and seminars reaching over 1,000 design professionals annually. He currently serves on both the Midrise Construction and Schools initiative WoodWorks teams, and his primary role as Senior Technical Director, directly consulting with design professionals to educate and successfully implement wood into their designs.
Laurent Poudrier works in Technical Sales Support for Comact. He is based at the Boisbriand office, near Montreal, Canada. He has held several positions with Comact since he began in 1997. His knowledge and expertise have been mainly acquired “in the field” in that his first job in a sawmill was as an Electrical Technician having to troubleshoot, service, maintain and repair all scanners, computers and all types of equipment related to the high speed production of lumber. He spent 10 years with Tembec in charge of the electrical department and was responsible for the automation and optimization department for two mills located in Taschereau and La Sarre, in the Northern Quebec area. With Comact, he has working with PLC controls, optimization training sessions and equipment start-ups. He has also participated in several projects as a Sawmill Process Expert and has always been very close to our customers.
Laurent was also Operation Manager of Comact’s optimization division for some years. He led a team of experts that developed and installed the company's first lumber grading systems based on vision scanning: the GradExpert™ and the “Expert” family of visual defects scanners and optimizers. Through the years, he has been directly involved in sales and covered North and South America as well as Europe as a Technical Sales Representative.
In 2009, Laurent left the wood products industry and went to work for Rockwell Automation. After one year there, he returned to the industry by joining a newly formed company named Eacom Timber as a corporate Project Manager. One thing led to another, and last year he was finally convinced by good friends at Comact to come back and they basically defined a new position specifically for him.
John Robinson founded Drying Technology, Inc in 1987 based on a first-principles- derived mathematical model that solved the two main problems with traditional moisture (MC) sensing and control: (1) lack of a MC sensor that could be installed inside-the dryer, kiln or oven; and (2) lack of a control algorithm that would automatically adjust for changes in evaporative load. The model was initially successfully applied to veneer dryers, but was later adapted for control of multi-zone lumber kilns using drying rates which are more precise for comparing zone drying. Delta T technology has been quite effective in such industries as plywood, lumber, OSB, MDF, biomass, textiles, minerals, food, petfood, fuel ethanol, and animal feed, etc. Robinson is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a BS degree in Chemical Engineering and further studies at the University of Cincinnati and Lamar University. He gained industrial experience in several process industries such as International Paper, Dow Chemical, and Kirby Forest Industries. He has published technical papers in Panel World, Timber Processing, TAPPI, Chemical Engineering Progress, Atmospheric Environment, Sensors, Process Engineer, American Dyestuff Reporter, Petfood Industry, and Textile World. He has also presented numerous unpublished papers in the field of moisture sensing and control and in energy conservation. He resides in Silsbee, TX where his business is located.
Frank Stewart is the Technical Support Manager for Western Wood Products Association in Portland, Ore. Stewart has been with the Association since 1976, providing product and technical support to lumber users throughout the world.
During his three decades with the Association, Stewart has delivered lumber technical support to professional users and distributors in U.S. lumber markets. Since moving to the Portland headquarters in 1991, he has helped administer WWPA’s education and technical support activities. Stewart is responsible for coordinating WWPA domestic and international lumber market programs.
Before joining WWPA, Stewart worked in lumber retailing and residential construction. He holds a degree in business from Kansas State University. Stewart is a member of the International Code Council and The Construction Specifications Institute.
Western Wood Products Association represents lumber manufacturers in the 12 Western states and Alaska. Based in Portland, Oregon, the Association provides quality standards, business information and technical product support services to the lumber industry. WWPA member companies produce more than 60 percent of Western softwood lumber. The Association and its predecessor organizations have represented Western lumber manufacturers for more than 100 years.
Dan Uskoski is currently VP Sales at Metriguard Inc; he was previously Corporate Special Projects Coordinator (93-95) and Project Engineer (86-93) with the same company. President of the Machine Stress Rated Lumber Producers Council 2009-2012. Member of the Engineered Wood Technology Association (EWTA) Advisory Committee in 2010-present. Uskoski has contributed to published literature in the field of ultrasonic veneer grading and grain angle measurement, and holds patents on lumber testing and dielectric sensor technology. Uskoski holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Washington State University.
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