This year’s Northeastern Forest Products Equipment Expo, held May 9 and 10 in Essex Junction, Vermont played host to a requested demonstration by NELMA of Eastern White Pine lumber grading.  Marc Moore, NELMA’s Director of Inspection Services, conducted the 3 hour class, utilizing 50 boards of various sizes to talk about the range of lumber characteristics that define the specific grades.  A discussion on moisture content in lumber which included a demo on the use of a moisture meter was also shown to the class.

 “The session was designed around the basics of Eastern White Pine grading to give the participants a general feel of what makes a particular grade from the highest to the lowest of the grades”, according to Marc. He also reported that everyone in the class seemed to benefit in some way by the training based on their extensive questions throughout the demonstration.

In addition to the grading demo, NELMA also exhibited at the Expo with a 10x10 display for the third year in a row. More than 5,000 loggers, lumbermen, foresters, and affiliated industry individuals attended the 2008 Expo. Jeff Easterling staffed the Association exhibit over the 2-day event as part of NELMA’s continuing visibility outreach to all facets of the forest products industry.

The Association would like to thank Lamell Lumber Corp. for providing the lumber samples used in the demonstration event.