Katahdin Cedar Log Homes honored

    OAKFIELD — Katahdin Cedar Log Homes has been awarded the Maine Forest Product Council’s annual Outstanding Manufacturing Award for 2008. The award was presented MFPC’s Executive Director, Patrick Strauch, at the Council’s annual meeting on September 30.
ACCEPTS AWARD – Katahdin Cedar Log Home President David Gordon, left, accepts the 2008 Outstanding Manufacturing Award from Patrick Strauch, executive director of the Maine Forest Product Council.
    The award recognizes companies, including manufacturers, loggers and distributors in the forest product industry that have been critical links in the chain of production from the Maine forest to consumers. MFPC members nominate companies and a committee reviews each company’s operations before selecting a winner.
    One committee member, Pat Sirois, director of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, visited Katahdin’s mill operation in Oakfield with other committee members.
    “There was no question in our minds that Katahdin had done a lot of work thinking about their impact on the environment, energy use and creative innovations,” Sirois said. “It was pretty amazing to see the success Katahdin was having despite the current economic environment.”
    David Gordon, president of Katahdin Cedar Log Homes accepted the award for the company.
    “Our business depends so much on staying ahead of the curve and keeping overheads low,” he added. “We’ve been fortunate to have a great team who are willing to think creatively about making a better product, while conserving energy and keeping an eye on our environmental impact.”
    Among the innovations that help Katahdin stand out, Sirois cited the unique bar coding inventory control used to match each log with its specific plan location and their computerized house manufacturing line that makes efficient use of each log. Waste sawdust produced in the milling is recycled through a 14-million BTU biomass boiler, which has cut Katahdin’s fuel oil consumption by 90 percent. Sirois also pointed out that Katahdin’s use of sustainable Northern White Cedar timber is unusual, compared to the state’s harvesting of spruce and pine.
    Founded in 1973 by Foster Gordon and two associates, Katahdin Cedar Log Homes is one of the largest log home manufacturers in the U.S. and is the largest processor of Northern White Cedar in the world.