EMX is preparing a project to enter the US lumber industry with a new kind of operation: automated harvesting on steep slopes, a robotic sawmill, and downstream wood products, with every harvested area replanted. To protect the project, the location and site details are shared only with qualified partners.
The opportunity
The United States has billions of mature trees ready for harvest. Many stand on steep slopes that conventional logging crews cannot reach safely or at a profit, so the timber is left standing while the US imports lumber. Automation changes that: machines that can work safely on steep ground make this timber economic to harvest, and a highly automated mill turns it into lumber at low cost.
How the project works
- Steep-slope robotic harvesting. Automated and remotely operated harvesting machines work slopes that are too steep or too dangerous for manual crews, with fewer people exposed to risk.
- Robotic lumber mill. Automated log scanning, optimised cutting, sorting, stacking and drying, for high yield from every log and consistent quality.
- Downstream products. The mill feeds higher-value products made on site, such as dimensional lumber, engineered wood, pallets, wood pellets and other wood products, so little of the tree is wasted.
- Harvest and replant. Every harvested area is replanted, keeping the forest productive for the next harvest and the one after that.
Partners and investors we are looking for
- Forestry robotics and automated harvesting technology
- Sawmill automation, scanning and wood processing equipment
- Manufacturers of engineered wood and other downstream wood products
- Reforestation and nursery partners
- Investors and capital partners
- Buyers and distributors for lumber and wood products
What EMX brings
- The US company, site development and permits
- Local hiring and management
- Sales, distribution and logistics across the US
To learn more, email [email protected] with the subject line Lumber Project. Details are shared after an introductory call.
Photo: Sam Wilson, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
