Blog Archives
High School Robotics Team Contributes to Fighting COVID-19
As healthcare workers are treating patients on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, others are doing what they can to help. Orange Chaos, the Brewer Maine High School Robotics Team sponsored by Mid-South Engineering, is doing their part to help these front-line workers by designing, producing and donating face shields and face mask retainers. Working in conjunction with the local Challenger Space Center and the Perloff Foundation, they are producing a 3D printed face shield that has been approved by St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bangor, ME.
Mid-South project manager, Everett Bennett PE, coaches the Orange Chaos team and his son, Drew Bennett, is updating the design in SolidWorks as revisions are requested by the hospital or the other design team members. Keeping proper social distance and collaborating remotely, the team can produce approximately 60 shields per day using PLA 3D printing filament and clear plastic sheeting. The shields can be sterilized several times before disposal. Mid-South would like to extend a huge shout out to this group of high school students and their mentors – way to go Orange Chaos! Thank you for your contribution in getting us to the other side of this national emergency.
Mid-South Presenting at Wood Bioenergy & PELICE
Mid-South is thrilled to announce we will be exhibiting at the Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo from March 10-11, 2020 and the Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) from March 12-13, 2020 in Atlanta, GA.
The Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo attracts professionals from the industrial wood pellet, biomass power, biofuels and in-woods chipping sectors by combining all phases of wood energy production, beginning with wood harvesting and culminating with electricity generation. The Panel & Engineered Lumber Conference will immediately follow the Wood Bioenergy Conference in the same convention center in Atlanta and will focus on new project development and production technologies concerning veneer, plywood, OSB, MDF, particleboard, engineered wood products, and mass timber.
In addition to our booth presence, our Vice President and Senior Project Manager, Scott Stamey, P.E. will be presenting on “Project Execution – Modern Tools and Classic Principles” during the Project Implementation Panel Discussion at both conferences.
Be sure to stop by Booth C215B during either conference to discuss how Mid-South can contribute to your next project.
Meet Us at MOTAG-SOUTH
Since 1973, the Millyard Operating Technical Advancement Group (MOTAG) has maintained the objective to provide a conduit for communications between the fiber industry, vendors, and consultants. Mid-South would like to invite you to join us at the annual meeting of the Pulp and Paper Industry’s largest not for profit event run by volunteers.
We’ll meet you in Atlanta at MOTAG-SOUTH!
Mid-South to Exhibit at the Biomass Conference Next Week
We are excited to announce that Mid-South will be exhibiting at the 13th Annual International Biomass Conference in Nashville, TN from February 3-5, 2020. This conference & expo unites industry professionals from all sectors of the biomass industry – biobased power, thermal energy, fuels, and chemicals – and has proven to be the world’s premier educational and networking junction for all things biomass.
Be sure to stop by booth #226 and see how we can collaborate on your next biomass project.
We hope to see you next week!
Arkansas’ Young Engineer of the Year Recipient
Tyler Avery, Structural Department Manager for Mid-South’s Hot Springs office, was awarded the Arkansas Young Engineer of the Year. Applicants for the award are evaluated on collegiate, professional, societal, and humanitarian achievements.
Tyler graduated with a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and joined Mid-South in 2012. He holds a license in numerous states and specializes in concrete and structural steel design for large industrial projects, primarily in the wood products industry.
While at Mid-South, Tyler has been involved in over 200 projects in more than a dozen states for a lengthy list of industrial clients. His roles on projects have varied from consultant on small improvement projects to on-site construction coordinator to lead structural engineer on projects as large as $190 million.
Tyler is active in several professional organizations and has served as an officer for the local chapter of NSPE-AR. Outside of work, Tyler enjoys outdoor activities with his wife, recently born son, and their dog. He is also active in his church where he helps lead a class of 9th grade young men.
Wishing You a Successful 2020
For many, the end of the year is a time for reflection and introspection. We contemplate the personal meaning of the holiday and Christmas season and look toward a new year, and a new decade, with hope and optimism.
Within our Mid-South family, we look back on a successful 2019 and we’re grateful for a wonderful place to apply our profession and for the people with whom we have the privilege to work: our co-workers, project team members and our clients that place their trust in us daily. We’re excited as we see a 2020 full of opportunity.
We wish you a Happy New Year with hope that you will have abundant blessings in the year to come.
Mid-South Celebrates Milestone Achievements
Attaining the appropriate licensures is a vital component of an engineer’s career. Licensure is typically accompanied by an increase in responsibility. We want to take a moment to congratulate members of our team on their recent accomplishments.
The following individuals put in a lot of time and effort and recently passed the Principles and Practice of Engineering exam, earning their PE certifications, and starting the next step in their journey as Professional Engineers:
Everett Bennett, PE works as a Project Manager in our Orono, Maine office. He joined the team at the beginning of 2018 and has completed multiple planermill projects both on budget and schedule. Outside of his work at Mid-South, Everett is the instructor and mentor for a robotics team at Brewer High School that recently placed in the top 10 in a competition of over 200 teams in New England.
Matthew Nevells, PE joined our Mid-South family in August of 2019 working in the Mechanical Department of the Orono, Maine office. Matt previously worked in the pulp and paper industry in positions ranging from Reliability Engineer to Regional Manager for an industry provider. In addition to project work, Matt is also developing a Reliability Engineering offering to broaden Mid-South’s capabilities and has recently completed the first reliability project for a motor shaft failure at a biomass facility.
Lauren Nufer, PE works as an Engineer in our Project Planning and Development Group and joined our Hot Springs team in 2014. Lauren earned a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Memphis. She specializes in Project Estimating and Project Management and is currently managing multiple large wood pelleting projects.
Gabriel Peret, PE works in the Hot Springs Office as the Design Drafting Manager and joined the Mid-South team in 2014. Coming to Mid-South from FMC Technologies in Texas, his area of expertise is in mechanical and machine design. Gabe took the PE exam in Texas and believes his work experience and education prepared him well for the exam.
In addition, three of our young engineers recently passed their Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, gaining the Engineering in Training (EI) title and becoming one step closer to their goals of becoming Professional Engineers.
Dylan Earl-Johnson, EI works as an Engineer in our Structural Department and joined our Orono, Maine team in 2018 as an intern before being offered a full-time position upon graduation from the University of Maine in May 2019. He designs steel, concrete, and wood structures, as well as completing structural analyses using finite element analysis software. He is also proficient in Revit.
Thomas Ford, EI joined our Structural Department in the Cary, North Carolina office as an Engineer in January of 2018, upon graduation from Clarkson University. He specializes in 3D design and analysis in tools such as RISA and Revit. His developing knowledge of code requirements will continue to guide him in his career.
Adam Palmer, EI joined the Electrical Department in our Hot Springs, Arkansas office as an Engineer in June of 2015. Adam graduated from Arkansas Tech University and worked for a pipe manufacturer for a few years prior to joining the Mid-South team. He is proficient in Visual, which is a program used to run lighting fixture simulations to produce a side by side comparison used to determine the most economical fixture for the facility in terms of quantity needed and electrical load required.
Nicely done! We are proud of you.
Mid-South Engineering Celebrates Fifty Years
In 1969, Mid-South was founded by four engineers with a common vision – to be a complete engineering service provider focused on total dedication to the client. The path to their goal was simple: work with good clients, select and train good employees, delegate authority, and allow room for the proper execution of the job.
Over the past fifty years, Mid-South Engineering has served as a trusted independent consultant to the wood products industry, delivering a full range of engineering services, including civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, and architectural engineering, project development, project management, and construction services.
We’d like to thank all of our clients and vendors for the confidence they place in us on every project. We are excited to see what the next fifty years will bring to the wood products industry.
Timeline
- In 1969, Roy Murphy, Larry Stephens, Jack Copeman, and LC Gaither decided to start Mid-South Engineering Company following the acquisition of their employer, Dierks Forests, Inc. of Hot Springs, Arkansas by Weyerhaeuser.
- 2006 saw Mid-South Engineering add to its industry reach by bringing CPM Engineering Services of Cary, North Carolina into the group, enabling better service clients in the eastern United States.
- Mid-South expanded again in 2013, adding the talents of D&S Engineering in Millinocket, Maine, to enhance the company’s paper mill and power experience for clients in the northeast.
- Towards the end of 2017, Mid-South became an independently managed, but wholly owned subsidiary of sawmill and plywood mill equipment manufacturer, USNR.
- In the third quarter of 2019, Mid-South extended and strengthened its sawmill and pellet mill expertise into Western Canada, the Pacific Northwest, Australia, and New Zealand with the addition of Stolberg Engineering of Richmond, British Columbia.
- This month Mid-South celebrates fifty years of providing engineering solutions for customers from all over the world.
Mid-South Adds Drones to Engineering Toolkit
Mid-South has recently added unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) to our engineering toolkit. Drone imagery has proven to be an effective complement to traditional site documentation for many ongoing engineering projects. The images captured provide complete and up-to-date high-resolution pictures that are continuously referenced through the life of the project. Time on site can be reduced by allowing preliminary site data to be taken directly from the flight images, including layout, lengths and elevation profiles. Simple 3D modeling is even possible with processed drone image sets, providing a new preliminary visualization tool.
Whether you want to capture an existing layout, monitor construction progress, or inspect an area of your site that would otherwise be hard to access, contact us today to set up a flight of your site by one of our licensed drone pilots.
Mid-South Acquires Stolberg Engineering
Mid-South Engineering of Hot Springs, Arkansas, is pleased to announce that it has acquired Canada’s Stolberg Engineering. Going forward, Stolberg Engineering will operate from its office in Richmond, BC, as the Mid-South Engineering Stolberg Group, where it will continue to be led by industry veterans Norm Stolberg and Rod Gronlund.
Marc Stewart, President of Mid-South Engineering, commented, “The Stolberg team is widely respected and the company has a rich history over the nearly 40 years it has been providing engineering services to the building products and wood pellet industries. This acquisition really strengthens our team and launches Mid-South into a whole new region.”
Marc explained further that the combination is expected to allow Mid-South and Stolberg team members to expand their professional experiences by being part of a broader team – both groups will be able to bring additional expertise and services both to their respective existing clients, and to new clients in wood products related industries. Together, Mid-South and Stolberg can handle the challenges of large-scale industrial projects across virtually all of the wood processing regions in North America.
Says Rod Gronlund of Stolberg, “I’m really looking forward to being a part of this larger combined organization: I think our clients will appreciate the greater depth, capacity, and range of services that we will be able to offer as part of Mid-South. It will be great to see the Stolberg legacy continue on.” Norm Stolberg adds, “I think our construction background and experience in the industry will bring another facet to the combined group and we look forward to continued growth and enhanced opportunities as we integrate the legacies of these two great companies.”
All Stolberg staff will continue to work out of the company’s existing offices in Richmond, BC, and will carry on serving clients with ongoing projects. The cohesion of these two independent engineering firms will enhance the wood processing industry with coordinated and professional engineering services that are second to none.
Mid-South Engineering. Experience and innovation working for you.
Stolberg Engineering was founded in 1980 as an offshoot of Stolberg Construction, which had been building plants and installing equipment for the wood products industry across Western Canada since the late 1940s. Today Stolberg employs 21 engineers, draftsmen, project managers, and support staff, including four licensed engineers, and regularly serves clients across Canada, the Northwest U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. For more information about the Stolberg Group, please contact Norm Stolberg or Rod Gronlund at 604-273-1915.
Since 1969 Mid-South Engineering has served as a trusted independent consultant to the wood products industry, delivering a full range of engineering services, including civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, and architectural engineering, project development, project management, and construction services. Mid-South is headquartered in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and has additional offices near Raleigh, North Carolina, Bangor, Maine, and now with the addition of the Stolberg Group, near Vancouver, BC, as well. Since 2017, Mid-South Engineering has been an independently managed, but wholly owned subsidiary of sawmill and plywood mill equipment manufacturer USNR. For more information about Mid-South Engineering, please contact Marc Stewart at 501-321-2276.
