ROY ANDERSON LUMBER REPLACES DIP TANK WITH NEW FROEDGE MACHINE SPRAY SYSTEM

Tompkinsville, KY – August 7, 2014 – Froedge Machine & Supply and Kop-Coat Wood Protection Products have completed installation of a new in-line chemical treatment spray system at Roy Anderson Lumber in Tompkinsville. Incorporated into a pre-existing stacker line, the new process does away with the use of a conventional dip tank, thereby eliminating an extra material handling process and reducing chemical use and waste, and maintenance.

We’ve spent more than a year in developing the mechanical components and electronic controls for this new process” said Tom Froedge, President of Froedge Machine. “Roy Anderson Lumber came to us looking for a better way to treat their lumber for sap and iron stain, and we were pleased to work with them and to provide a new method for them to reach that goal.

The system is composed of two parts – a spray box, and a chemical delivery/return system. A stainless steel box, equipped with a bank of engineered placed spray nozzles, is mounted in-line just prior to the stacker. Lumber is moved from an unscrambler onto a lugged stainless steel chain through the spray box, where it is treated with a controlled and metered mix of chemicals in a fine spray. The chemicals are supplied by Kop-Coat. Excess chemicals are captured by a series of baffles, drains, and mist elimination, and are returned to the delivery station where they are filtered and reintroduced to the spray system.

The chemical room houses the Froedge designed and built computer controls for the system, along with the chemicals, the filter system to reuse chemicals returned from the spray box, and the mixing stations and pumps to deliver the mixture to the spray box.

“We needed a way to reduce the cost and get rid of the aggravation of treating our lumber”, said Kenny Humes, Production Manager at Roy Anderson Lumber. “The new Froedge spray system and Kop-Coat chemicals have done that. The savings have exceeded our expectations, and we are pleased with the operation of the system and the appearance of the lumber. Right after start up, before our yard was full of the new treated lumber, you could easily tell what stacks had been spray-treated. They stood out like a new penny.”

Roy Anderson Lumber has been producing fine hardwood lumber for over 60 years. With operations in Tompkinsville, and Eubank, Kentucky, they saw and dry over 45 million board feet of lumber per year. Visit them at www.ralumber.com.

Froedge Machine & Supply has been in business for over 50 years, specializing in automated material handling machinery for the lumber industry. The company also operates a full service industrial parts and supply house, a custom CNC machine and fabrication shop, as well as performing specialty industrial repairs. Learn more at www.froedge.com and www.lumberhandling.com.