BWNZ's Otautau sawmill's main operations include sawing, drying, and planing radiata pine to transform it from logs into lumber.

Logs: BWNZ uses radiata pine logs harvested from the nearby plantation forests of the Otago, Southland, and West Coast regions. Many of these forests were planted on private lands in the 1960s and later. Plantation-grown radiata can mature in just 27 years and the NZ Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry forecasts a 68 percent increase in harvestable timber between 2001 and 2010. Radiata growers take special care to increase the value of their crop. For example, they intentionally prune and thin their trees in order to produce the clearest wood possible.

Debarking: The debarker machine does just what its name implies: It removes the ring of bark from outside the log. This step is important in producing bark-free slabs and protecting saw blades from being dulled by dirt and stones later in the process. BWNZ uses the bark, along with green sawdust and dry shavings, as fuel to heat the dry kilns.

Head Rigging: The initial log breakdown is one of the most crucial steps in lumber manufacturing. The sawyer squares the log by removing the outer boards, called slabs, using a computerized saw known as a head rig. The remaining heartwood block is identified as a cant.

Edging: The edger saw removes excess bark and wane from the slabs and cants. The edger operator's challenge is to remove the least amount of usable wood while ensuring maximum quality.

Gang Sawing: The gang saw makes a series of cuts to the square cant to create multiple lumber boards in one pass. All logs yield select, #1 common, and #2 common grade lumber. An experienced gang saw operator can cut a log in such a way to maximize the amount of higher-grade select lumber.

Trimming: Boards are cut to length and defects crosscut out using the trim saw. The trim operator looks for common defects like splits, rot, and stains.

Grade Sorting: Lumber exits the sawmill by way of the green chain. Here the boards are graded according to Western Wood Product Association's standards and sorted for the dry kilns.

Drying: Drying improves lumber quality and protects the wood from discoloration, rot, shrinking and warping. Boards must be carefully stacked before going into the dry kilns to ensure proper airflow. Bright Wood uses a low-temperature approach to drying and radiata pine units typically spend between four and five days inside the kilns. Conditions inside the kilns, like temperature and humidity, are constantly monitored.

Surfacing: The planer surfaces one or more of each board's four sides and removes any uneven areas or rough edges.

Packaging: Bridiata Pine is typically handled 10 times during its journey from Otautau, New Zealand to Redmond, Oregon. Banding both underneath and above a protective layer of plastic wrap ensures lumber units arrive in the same condition they leave the mill.

And much more. Hopefully now you have a better picture of BWNZ, sawmilling, planing, and kiln drying. This is just a sampling of some of the steps BWNZ people use in manufacturing quality Bridiata Pine lumber products.

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