National Hardwood Magazine

 
 
 

October 2014 Feature Story

 

Jim Reader, Manager at Downes & Reader Hardwood Co. Inc., stands beside the new VisionTally recently installed at the lumber company. Reader credits the equipment for improving efficiencies at both Downes & Reader facilities located in Blakeslee, PA, and Stoughton, MA.
Downes & Reader Teams Up With VisionTally For Greater Efficiencies

By Terry Miller

Stoughton, MA¨CDownes & Reader Hardwood Co. Inc., headquartered here, has cultivated and maintained a sterling reputation in the lumber industry not only due to its quality products, but also due to its commitment to efficient internal processes.

That commitment was recently underscored with the installment of VisionTally, touted by its parent company (Industrial Vision Systems Inc.) in Bryn Mawr, PA, as ¡°the most accurate, labor-free, and efficient end-tally system available, scanning and measuring bundles automatically from both ends at once.¡± Jim Reader, manager at Downes & Reader, tends to agree with that statement. ¡°I¡¯m 100 percent pleased¡± with the results thus far from VisionTally, Reader said.

Downes & Reader installed VisionTally at both its Blakeslee, PA, and Stoughton, MA, facilities less than three months ago. The results have been impressive. Within 2-1/2 months of VisionTally usage, the Blakeslee yard had processed over 1,000 bundles. Stoughton, which installed VisionTally after Blakeslee, did 500 lumber bundles within the first month.

Reader explained, ¡°I¡¯d looked at several different machines. In the scheme of things they¡¯re all in similar price levels, but this is the only machine that you can¡¯t manipulate the tally. There¡¯s no human intervention in that tally at all, unless it hits two boards as one and then you can just put a space in it to make two pieces; it doesn¡¯t change the board footage tally.¡±

Established more than 40 years ago by Rod Reader (left) and Ed Downes, Downes & Reader Hardwood Co. Inc. has approximately 75 employees, and a combined kiln-dried inventory of 6 million feet, ten 10-wheel trucks, three 18-wheelers and a facility equipped with state-of-the-art equipment.
Reader calculates he¡¯ll recoup his quarter-million-dollar investment in the new tally machine within seven months. ¡°We did this to improve efficiencies and that way, we know exactly what we have in the warehouse. That¡¯s basically what it¡¯s being used for. What we do is we scale all incoming lumber on this machine so we can verify what we have, and we can decide then what orders come out of what bundles at that point. We also will know who¡¯s shipping a decent load that has wide in it, or something we can make flooring out of or whatever, when it comes in, or who has a good scale.¡±

VisionTally installation was completed within two weeks. In each of the two facilities, the machine is situated in a corner of the building, located near the receiving department to easily facilitate stacking near the machine. Then the lumber is processed across the VisionTally machine, and Reader said if it is acceptable, it goes right into Downes & Reader inventory at that point.

As little as two days of training were required of employees chosen to operate VisionTally at Downes & Reader. ¡°We run one shift per yard,¡± said Reader. ¡°At each yard we have one man operating the machine, and there¡¯s a 2-man crew working with him to sort lumber coming from it. Then we decide which bundles we want to cut the straps and sort, so we might get 15 units in one load and maybe four of them need to be sorted, so those go to the two employees for sorting. When they are finished sorting, we bring the lumber back around and re-scan it. Then the lumber goes to the warehouse.¡±

The positive impact VisionTally has on production at Downes & Reader is not limited to efficient lumber tallies. Reader noted that, ¡°it¡¯s going to have a ripple affect across everything that touches the lumber. It will positively affect our sales staff. Now they will have better ability to check and see what we accurately have in inventory. So if someone wants a certain size of lumber, such as Poplar that¡¯s 6 to 7 inches, we can look across the whole yard through VisionTally and see exactly how much board footage we have to that specification.

Paul Letourneau labels a bundle of 5/4 Soft Maple for Downes & Reader.
¡°We are excited about the enhancement to our company that this equipment delivers.¡±

Established more than 40 years ago by Ed Downes and Rod Reader, Downes & Reader Hardwood Co. Inc. has around 75 employees combined at the two distribution yards, and a combined kiln-dried inventory of 6 million feet, ten 10-wheel trucks, three 18-wheelers and a facility equipped with state-of-the-art equipment.

The company is a member of the National Hardwood Lumber Association, Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Inc., Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association, Wood Product Manufacturers Association, Cheap Hublot Replica and the Penn-York Lumbermen¡¯s Club. Downes & Reader is active in promoting the forest product industry as a sustainable resource and contributes to the Hardwood Forest Foundation to educate children in grade school about the dynamics of the forest and the important role it plays in society today.

For more information, visit www.downesandreader.com.

 

 
Within 2-1/2 months of VisionTally usage, Downes & Reader¡¯s Blakeslee yard had processed over 1,000 bundles. Stoughton, which installed VisionTally after Blakeslee, did 500 lumber bundles within the first month.





















Paul Letourneau enters data into Downes & Reader¡¯s computer network for ease of tracking inventory.

 
 
 
     
 
 

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