FORESTRY SHOW OFFERS VARIETY; 150 EXHIBITORS SET UP AT SHOW ME CENTER

Ray Frazee came to the Midwest Forest Industry Show Friday to see the latest in forestry equipment and products. Frazee owns a sawmill and lumber company in Tennessee.

"I've seen some things that I hate to go home without," he said. But Frazee hadn't decided what equipment to buy Friday afternoon.

The Midwest Forest Industry Show begins at 8 a.m. today at the Show Me Center. Visitors can learn about saws, logging equipment, and even buy subscriptions to logging and forestry magazines and trade newspapers.

Most of the 150 exhibitors and dealers at the show don't expect to sell their equipment this weekend, but some did. A saw dealer from California sold a floor model on the first day of the forestry show, said Eric Peters, executive director for the Missouri Forest Products Association.

Typically, business owners come to the show to see the new products, compare prices and shop around for pallet machinery, sawmill equipment, trailers and lift trucks.

The Missouri Forest Products Association, based in Jefferson City, sponsors the show in Cape Girardeau. But exhibitors come from as far as Georgia and Ontario, Canada, to attend.

Dave Woronka travels the country to exhibit his company's product, a portable bandsaw.

The saw, which comes with varying sizes and price tags, can convert timber to usable lumber in almost any dimension, Woronka said. "It takes a smaller slice so you get 25 to 35 percent more lumber from a log," he said. "It goes farther and you can take it down into the forest rather than bring the lumber to a mill."

The bandsaw is more economical for a logging or sawmill operations, he said. It can cut about 400 board feet per hour.

The forestry show isn't just for product exhibitors; any related items and services also are available.

Logging operations and mills create waste and Phillip Badger is ready to provide a cost-effective solution to that problem.

"We can use residues from the mill, which also causes disposal problems," he said. "We take that expense and get rid of it by making energy."

Badger is a manager for the Southeastern Regional Biomass Energy Program operated through the Tennessee Valley Authority. The biomass program uses wood residues like shavings, sawdust and end cuttings to make charcoal, fire logs and diesel fuels, he said.