Skip to main content

Spring 2019 Southeastern Dry Kiln Club Meeting

The Spring Southeastern Dry Kiln Club Meeting was held from June 13 – June 14, 2019 in Marion, NC.

The technical session was provided by Gene Wengert, the Wood Doctor. His presentations covered four carefully selected topics:

  1. Drying Oak
  2. Drying Hard Maple
  3. Getting More Uniform Final MC
  4. Shortening Kiln Residence Time

The business meeting covered various topics. Nick Girardi is Vice-President of the club. Jim Caldwell will remain president, with Phil Mitchell as treasurer and Frederik Laleicke as secretary.

Plant tours took the attendees to three different locations. The first stop was at Northwest Hardwoods. The tour took attendees through all of the operation, most importantly their predryers and dry kilns. Learning about some of the tricks to avoid drying defects of 8/4 and 16/4 thick Oak  drew a lot of attention among the group. The second stop was at WNC Dry Kilns, just a short distance from the first stop. Drying and sorting mostly Poplar was the main theme of this part of the tour.

With dry kilns originating from the 1970s and upgraded to generate steam through wood gasification, excitement and fascination were created among the group. The final stop took Dry Kiln Club members to McDowell County Millworks. All of the attendees were simply impressed with the tour of drying, sorting and flooring operations at the site.

The meeting concluded shortly after the tour. As always, the club meeting was an excellent opportunity to network, learn and socialize with peers. We are looking forward to the next meeting. Thanks to all attendees, presenters and companies!