I showed that site to my uncle, who used to be a foreman at the mill I used to work at years ago. It is a huge 3-line mill capable of putting out a million and a half board feet in a single day. Anyway they used to fly all the foremen and managers down to some huge industry show in Portland, I can't remember if it was annual or not. They also went around and toured a few mills throughout Oregon at times too. And he said it stunned him at how much more technologically advanced our mills were up here than most (not all) down in Washington/Oregon. I know this is even the case with a lot of the old mills down around Vancouver and on Vancouver Island, they just haven't been updated and it's no wonder they can't compete with the cost-effectiveness of the new equipment. There is a mill in a town a few hours north of here that was said to be capable of putting out well over a million board feet a shift,
He also said that years ago he went through a mill that his wife's uncle used to work at just outside Tacoma, Washington. It was a big single-band carriage mill like that, and apparently the off-bearer used to have to put his shoulder against the slab directly opposite the saw in the event that it started sawing a bit of a bow in the log. Just the friggin' slab between your head and the band! I couldn't even watch someone else doing that, let alone do it myself. Which is another thing that astounds me, is the complete lack of any kind of safety protocol at that Hull-Oaks mill. No hardhats, loose clothing like hoodies, probably no steel-toes either, no guards to be seen on any of the saws or moving parts/pinch points... That mill could never operate up here.
