One of the most modern softwood sawmills in North America recently started up, in the small town of Ackerman, Mississippi—and it has a strong Canadian connection, both through its ownership and the equipment being used in it.
It also has some veteran companies in the forest industry as owners, which is just as well. As just about everyone involved in the forest industry knows, you have to think long term with mill investments—and be ready to ride the roller coaster of up and down lumber markets.
B.C.’s Tolko Industries has been able to do exactly that. The company, which celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2026, produces a growing range of specialty, value-added and engineered wood products for customers around the world from its wholly owned mills and plants throughout western Canada.
Like many Canadian forest companies, Tolko expanded its operations to include the U.S. South, in 2019, with a joint venture with Hunt Forest Products to form LaSalle Lumber Company. As partners, Hunt and Tolko built, and now operate, a $115 million (U.S.) sawmill in the central Louisiana town of Urania. The Hunt-partnership grew in 2024 with another sawmill commissioned near Taylor, Louisiana. Both projects were built by North American-based company, Comact.
While the investments in Louisiana were greenfield developments, Tolko has welcomed opportunities to partner with existing sawmill facilities in Jasper, Alabama, and recently the Southeastern Timber Products (STP) mill in Ackerman, Mississippi to diversify their operating portfolio.
Like Tolko, Southeastern Timber Products is family-owned, manufacturing southern yellow pine lumber, timber, and decking products since 1972. The STP mill employs approximately 150 people.
In 2018, Tolko entered into a joint-venture partnership with Southeastern Timber Products and in 2021, the two partners, through support from the state of Mississippi and the Choctaw County Economic Development Partnership, began a five-year project to modernize the facility—an investment of over $200 million (U.S.) that will help grow the mill’s production capacity from approximately 125 million board feet to a target of 300 million board feet of lumber per year.
Such a significant investment involved a great deal of due diligence on the part of the companies, and that included looking at the small town of Ackerman, in the central part of Mississippi, about 160 kilometres northeast of the state capital, Jackson, and what the town offered.
“The county and community were seen as a good fit for our company,” said Jason Watson, Plant Manager at STP. “It definitely supported our decision to proceed with improvements to the mill that could help us deliver greater value through the business cycle.”
Like many states and provinces with significant forest resources, Mississippi has its share of small and medium-sized mill operations. But an upgrade of this scale required a large capital commitment—and sawmill expertise.
“It’s a significant investment that wouldn’t have been possible without a commitment from the owners—Tolko and Claw Forestry—who have been very supportive of these efforts,” said Watson. Claw Forestry is a Southeastern Timber Products affiliated company.
Timber for the STP mill is sourced locally from private suppliers. An analysis of available timber in the region determined that the fibre basket would allow for significant expansion (see the sidebar story on the extensive timber resources in Mississippi).
Watson explained that the focus of the Ackerman mill expansion has been on improving the efficiency of the mill and the quality and value of what it produces for customers.
Throughout the project, STP found ways to leverage the latest in sawmill technology. Technology advancements continue to offer opportunities to automate and refine sawmill processes, and that includes incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI), which the mill sees as another step in the journey—though one that’s still relatively new
“While our product dimension mix has not changed substantially, we have added various MSR products and will be expanding our premium product line to extract more value from our lumber,” he says.
“We also now have the ability to produce a wider board which we are considering for our future as we get more familiar with the new technology and deliver on our productivity goals.”
The upgrades have included:
• A new sawmill with a log crane:
The sawmill complex was commissioned in July of 2025 and was built primarily with North American-based Comact equipment. STP utilized all-Comact for the installation, controls, and start-up of the sawmill equipment, which was Comact, with the exception of a Fulghum log crane and a Samuel strapper. Fulghum Industries, Inc. provided a 180-foot radius, 45-ton log crane for the Ackerman mill. Designed for efficiency, durability, and safety, the 180-foot structure provides increased storage capacity and improved operational performance and is said to enhance log yard productivity.
STP reused their Piche trimmer line and the sorter, that had been upgraded to a push type from J-bar in 2024 by Piche.
• A new planer complex: The planer complex was commissioned in July 2024 and was built primarily with Piche equipment with the exception of a new Miller (Comact) planer, and Signode bander. STP utilized Piche for the installation, controls, and start-up of most of the operation’s planer equipment. They upgraded and re-used their Autolog lumber grader and added an Ecoustic MSR for improved value.
The project also included:
• three new KDS Windsor continuous dry kilns
• four new forklifts
• cooling and finished lumber sheds
• a new site-wide fire suppression system
• a new landfill, and yard concrete throughout the site
Throughout the project, STP found ways to leverage the latest in sawmill technology.
“Technology advancements continue to offer opportunities to automate and refine our processes,” said Watson.
“Incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI) is another step in the journey—one that’s still relatively new. Our operating teams are evaluating how AI can best be incorporated to improve the flow of the plant and the quality of our products,” he added.
Through detailed planning, STP management was able to mitigate significant periods of downtime.
“In 2024 during the planer upgrade, we needed to take approximately two weeks at both the sawmill and planer, where the entirety of the old planer equipment—beyond the planer itself—needed to be removed prior to the installation of the new planer stacker, bander, and all associated transfers and equipment, then wiring, controls, and commissioning,” explained Watson.
While this work was taking place in the planer, the sawmill sorter top and floor chains were removed and replaced with the Piche upgrade.
In 2025, the sawmill was built offline and commissioned where the lumber that was produced simply entered the back of their trimmer infeed transfer chains, so the upgrade only required a five-day shutdown where the stacker was removed and replaced by Comact equipment.
Fully behind the mill: A proud group of STP sawmill employees with the first piece of lumber produced after the mill upgrade.
Throughout all phases, safety was prioritized as a critical requirement in project execution—beyond just operational expectations, it’s a necessity when there are multiple teams from different areas involved.
“Frequent and timely communication was key,” said Watson. “We often had up to six different contractors all looking for space in the same area. If you can ensure each of the contractors understands each other’s critical path and timeline for an area, they can safely schedule their work in conjunction with each other.”
Communication with the plant was also key in determining route and access changes. Change is constant when managing brownfield projects and conditions are dynamic throughout the timeline, said Watson. Hazard identification was shared broadly at the STP mill, and awareness was promoted openly to ensure the safety of all workers on our site.
As with any project, one of the biggest challenges involved coordination and timely delivery of critical components such as switchgear, MCC’s and transformers, he added. “But it was something we were able to manage through,” Waston said.
“Aside from this, we had some work completed out of sequence, but the contractors were all great in partnering together on solutions.”
Those Logging and Sawmill Journal readers who have longer memories might recall sawmills which required a significant number of workers. These days, the use of technology means staffing has been reduced at mills, but it is still essential, says Watson.
“While efforts continue to be made to automate processes, we’re very much reliant on the great people needed to operate and maintain them.”
Watson added that a primary goal of the upgrade was to build a safe facility that could operate and compete through the lows of the business cycle. “Our ability to maintain production through periods where others may have to curtail production is a key factor in attracting and retaining our people—especially for those who are looking for more stability in their work.
“Our people are our most valuable resource—while automation is key, the people behind our processes are driving margin improvements and helping ensure our equipment runs safely, efficiently and effectively every day.”
As with any mill upgrade, training employees in any new processes, and equipment has been a priority.
“It’s been a journey as we’ve transitioned from the older equipment to the newer equipment, learning how best to leverage the technology we have available.
“The shifting of culture and mindset of employees to allow the equipment to run the way it was designed versus trying to run it in manual has been a process that we’re working through.”
As progress continues to be made, there is a clear air of excitement around the operation as it works to achieve its production goals.
“Every day is an improvement and there is so much excitement behind the enhancements and the opportunities in what this mill can do,” says Watson.
Jason Smith (left) newly appointed Vice-President of U.S. Operations, Tolko, and Jason Watson, STP Plant Manager, at the newly upgraded STP mill in Mississippi.
As with any mill upgrade, training employees in new processes and equipment has been a priority at the STP mill operation. As the mill has transitioned from older equipment to newer equipment, it wants to best leverage the new technology.
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New STP mill draws on southeastern woodbasket
Unlike many other jurisdictions in North America—including British Columbia—the state of Mississippi, where the upgraded STP sawmill is located, is in the enviable position of having tremendous untapped timber resources.
The southeastern U.S. region itself is clearly now the largest wood basket for the country—the southeast region accounts for over half of all sustainable timber production in the U.S.
Some 63 per cent of Mississippi is forestland—19 million acres. Timber is the second largest commodity in the state, and in over half the counties in the state, it is the leading agricultural commodity. Only the poultry/egg production industry is larger—the forest industry is ahead of such agricultural giants as soybean and corn production. The state’s total timber value for 2025 is estimated to be $1.47 billion, and the 2026 harvest was estimated at 36.4 million tons of timber products. The value of standing timber paid to landowners as stumpage was $660 million.
New and upgraded sawmill facilities such as the STP mill are increasing the demand for raw timber, which is helping to absorb the state’s abundant standing timber supply and provide additional outlets for landowners to sell their wood.
According to Mississippi State University researchers, families and private companies, including timber investment management organizations (TIMOs), as well as major lumber and paper manufacturers, own almost 70 per cent of the forestland in the state, so the development of the timber industry has the potential to affect more than 150,000 people and large corporate owners.
According to the Mississippi Development Authority, the state’s timber industry contributes $15.4 billion to Mississippi’s economy annually, supporting 84,000 jobs, driving innovation and sustaining communities across the state—including a network of loggers. The industry’s significant contribution to the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), accounting for 14.9 percent of total manufacturing GDP, is frequently cited as a point of strength and a driver for further economic development initiatives in the state.
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