Sierra Pacific Industries in Sonora California was the location of a 70’ x 10’ Rice Lake Weighing Systems truck scale installation. Sierra Pacific hired QSU to remove and replace their Fairbanks mechanical truck scale that was failing and in need of extensive repairs. Our sales team recommended a Rice Lake steel decked OTR for its heavy duty, fully electronic design as well as the scale’s asphalt undercoating that provides protection from harsh environments. These three components and the fact Rice Lake truck scales contain 20% more steel than other scales in the market make the OTR a perfect choice for the heavy demands of Sierra Pacific’s timber industry.
Our technicians began their work after the old scale was removed and the concrete contractor modified the pit dimensions and added piers to support the existing pit walls to meet the new foundation requirements of the Rice Lake OTR truck scale.
It took Troy, Keith and Alex one and a half days to complete the installation of the OTR steel deck truck scale. The project was challenged on the first day by a modification that needed to be made to the piers, but the job progressed smoothly after the pier issue was solved. Our technicians also replaced the old indicator with a programmable GSE 560 indicator that interfaced with their current computer system.
Sierra Pacific Industries owns and manages nearly 1.9 million acres of timberland in California and Washington and is the second largest lumber producer in the US. Sierra Pacific is committed to managing its lands in a responsible and sustainable manner to protect the environment while providing quality wood products for consumers.
The Sierra Pacific sawmill location in Sonora was closed in 2009 due to declining US wood product needs and reopened in July of 2012 when the demand returned. The Sonora sawmill processes White Fir, Douglas Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Sugar Pine and Incense Cedar into framing materials, heavy timbers, and by-products such as deco bark, biomass for energy production and wood chips for paper. Currently, the sawmill is under pressure to quickly process trees that were burned in the 2013 Yosemite Rim Fire. Beyond the burnt bark, the trees may be able to be processed into consumer products if done so in less than 18 months or before “blue stain” occurs. Blue stain is a blue coloring of the wood that can occur if the lumber isn’t seasoned or processed quickly. The blue stain doesn’t change the property of the wood, but the value is greatly reduced due to its blue appearance. Incense Cedar trees, burnt in the Rim Fire, will be processed in Sonora and shipped to China and India to be made into pencils.