The Daily Chronicle from Centralia, Washington • Page 14

Trie Doily Chronicle, Saturday, Nov. 4, 1967 pMMM A PICTURE OF QUIETUDE nestled In the Cowlitz Valley in Randle, the bustling activity at Mt. Adams Veneer is concealed by office and plant walls. Logs are stacked behind the plant, visible at far left, as they await movement to the barker and the process which them Into veneer and finally plywood. New machinery at the plant has increased production and reduced waste to a minimum.

Chronicle Staff Photos Mount Adams Veneer Thriving Industry HANDLE Newly remodeled and reorganized, Ml. Adams Veneer is one ot this community's most thriving industries. The firm, with nearly 100 employes, is owned by three parent companies, North Pacific Plywood, Tacoma; Puget Sound Plywood, Tacoma, and Anacortes Veneer, Ana- corles. Its purpose is to peel logs at specific thicknesses for (he manufacture of plywood. Late spring and summer, Mt.

Adams underwent a $700,000 expansion in which some of the latest, most automatic machinery for the production of veneer was installed. In addition, the company was reorganized and put under the direction of Dean Hackett as general manager. Other officers at the operation are Ben Royal plant superintendent, a Givens, forman, Tom Brady controller and office manager, and John Shellon, forester. Mt. Adams operates with two shifts, 7 a.m.

to 3:30 p.m. and 3:30 to midnight. Its monthly payroll is close to $57,000 and processes an average of board feet of timber per day. The remodeling and reorganization are an attempt to maintain and improve that output. From Mt.

Adams, the veneer is trucked to the three parent companies and is made in to every type of plywood produced. The three firms then ship the plywood to customers all over the world. THE VICIOUS looking piece of equipment left approprl- termed a guillotine saw. Its two whirring bladet can cut up Jo inches in diameter at any length. From the "Guil- lotine" these four foot logs ant rolled up into the lathe right, which automatically them for peeling.

Broken logs are sorted out, prior to chucking. THE LOGS ARE rolled up from the mill pond and on to a chain belt for passage through this ring barker. The new machine can peel logs up to 60 inches hi diameter lit a raft of 65 feet per minute. ONCE PLACED SQUARELY INTO ihe lathe chucks, the logi are turned against razor sharp knife at a high rate of speed. Under the pressure of a roller bar, the logs are peeled into veneer.

Af PEELED VENEER comes off fhe lathe, the lathe operator track ft according to the. The veneer then carried by down one of tlx trays. Conveyor beltf carry the veneer to oil- to the plywood It dried end glued MD which cut It specific and then to la men whe and BROKEN LOGS, slabs and the ef four-foot are sent Into the chipper. Thlt large of wood into tiny which the Company, Twomc, for the, if pcpor..