Exciting things are happening at the Bethel Mill! Team Hancock has officially welcomed a brand-new grade scanner to the planer mill, marking another step forward in the commitment to quality, accuracy, and reinvesting into our company.
This new scanner from USNR replaces the Lucidyne Technologies scanner that has served the Bethel Mill since 2018. Over the past eight years, the team in Bethel gained valuable experience and achieved great success using AI technology to improve grading consistency and efficiency. Now, we’re excited to build on that foundation with the latest advancements from USNR.
One of the biggest advantages of the new system is the partnership behind it. With USNR located in Quebec, support is much closer to home and available in in real time, making collaboration and troubleshooting easier when needed. Our Bethel Team and USNR have already been in close contact + collaboration leading up to this exiting installation.
Ellis Williams, Finished Products Quality Control Supervisor in Bethel had this to say about the new scanner:
“We’ve seen through our preliminary work with the USNR team, that they have really upped their game in terms of adjusting their focus from SPF and Stud mills to moving into the appearance grade market. Stud and SPF require much different specifications than appearance grade eastern white pine but, USNR has taken on that challenge! We’re excited to be partnering with them on this project.”
—Ellis Williams
While we’re still learning the extent of how this technology will benefit the mill’s operation, Team Hancock is confident it will help continue improving grade accuracy, efficiency, and overall performance. Even more exciting, the knowledge gained from this installation will help support future scanner startups at our Casco and Pittsfield mills scheduled for 2027 installs.
This investment represents another step forward for Hancock Lumber as we continue looking for ways to work smarter, produce world’s best Eastern White Pine boards, and support our people with industry-leading technology.