National Hardwood Magazine - September 2022

BID GROUP Continued from page 31
BID’s Global Learning Center (GLC) in South Carolina provides superior
hands-on training in the use of AI optimizers.
ing the effective lifespan of installed BID equipment.
Another part of BID’s mission is loyalty to existing
clients. The company partners with them for the long
haul. “We always offer our customers upgrades to
make sure their system is kept at the optimal level
of performance,” said Desjardins. “After a year, or a
number of months, we can go in and refresh it based
on evolving improvements in technology. We make
sure we don’t leave any customer behind so when
we get new technology, we offer it to every existing
customer. Regarding AI, today we have sold 70 upgrades
to existing clients.”
Levesque added, “Innovation is in our DNA, so we
are always looking for what is next in technology and
ways to offer improvements. We are never stopping
in that regard.”
While BID’s systems are thorough and intelligent,
they are simple to operate. Desjardins explained,
“Our systems are truly designed to be simple. You
just need someone that knows how to grade lumber
on your team because you want someone to properly
oversee the process and make sure the system
for the company’s production line is under control.”
Any grade of Hardwood lumber can be handled
by BID’s system. Levesque noted, “any grades –
National Hardwood Lumber Association grades and
A wood processing specialist at BID works on the test bench that
is dedicated to the company’s customers.
Currently, BID Group has orders to fill into 2024. The typical
amount of time needed to deliver a system is nine months.
This operation provides all core equipment, technologies
and services, typically enabling a company to ramp-up to full
production quickly after optimizer’s installation. BID provides
24/7 technical phone support with dedicated resources for
remote and on-site services.
BID also offers its EverBlue ® program, which aims to maximize
the operational lifecycle excellence of an installed BID
Group base of equipment. The EverBlue ® program supports
consistent mill productivity, sustained uptime, and optimal
value through proactive, multi-year plans aimed at prolongproprietary
grades – we can handle any of them. We
also have a simulator tool built in so if you want to introduce
a new grade that would have an impact on your
production, you set that up in your simulator and rerun
your production. The system provides a comparison report
of the simulation for that production versus the real
one so you will see the impact of adding that product.
This is a great tool that helps you in making the best
business decisions and it is simple to use. Team members
will be trained on how to use it.”
Perhaps at the core of BID’s success with AI and optimization
is that they recruit experts in the lumber indus-
Learn more at www.bidgroup.ca.
try and lean on the knowledge imparted by them. Thus,
they cultivate a deep understanding of each aspect of
the wood products businesses.
Summed up by Desjardins: “We are constantly improving
our technologies, improving and developing
more features with our AI. We are also investing a lot
in supporting the industry through its Digital Transformation.
We are designing, developing and implementing
several Operational Intelligence Tools to provide better
insights to the operations team and help them in identifying,
diagnosing, fixing, and anticipating production
issues when they happen, as well as how to avoid and
predict them.”
On the horizon for BID is the launch of its Global
Learning Center (GLC), with its campus based in South
Carolina. The GLC is designed to offer broad online and
hands-on learning options and content to help BID’s
customers close the knowledge gap and build a strong
team that will be able to face all kinds of situations – no
matter what type of technology they use.
Desjardins reiterated: “We are putting a lot of effort
into research and development. BID Group is focused
on helping the lumber industry evolve and improve.
That’s our goal.” n
FORCEY LUMBER COMPANY, INC.
Quality Pennsylvania Hardwood Lumber and Veneer
JS-50 WX SCAN
HEAD
Red Oak • White Oak • Cherry • Poplar • Hickory • Ash
Basswood • Birch • Beech • Hard Maple • Soft Maple
3 True Northern Hardwoods
3 Prompt Shipment
3 Consistent Grading
3 S2S and S3S Available
3 Competitive Pricing
2020 Shiloh Road, Woodland, PA 16881
Office (814) 857-5002 • Fax (814) 857-5000
info@forceylumber.com
www.forceylumber.com
SIMPLY
BETTER
46 SEPTEMBER 2022 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE www.RealAmericanHardwood.org
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