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Frontier Post LLC, Stevensville, Mt., has added its own CCA treating plant to handle its own post and rail production, as well as agricultural products manufactured by others.
Operating on six adjacent acres as Frontier Wood Preservers, the facility saves the company money, labor and especially time.
“With the addition of our own treating facility, we are more flexible, more fluid,” said owner Orley Troyer. “We buy trees in the woods to manufacture and retail fence posts and rails. We used to ship them out to be treated. Now there’s just one loading and unloading. It’s worked out real well.”
The entire operation was installed late last year by American Wood Technology, sales agent for Moldrup Systems, including autoclave, cylinder, all pumps, tanks, control system, and mixing system. “We do the whole thing, and assist with the install,” said AWT’s Claus Staalner. “It comes in preassembled components. We started from scratch, and they were up and running within a week.”
Frontier says it’s been a smooth hand-off. “It’s a learning curve,” Troyer shared. “American Wood Technology/Moldrup has been very good to work with.”
Frontier currently treats about 95% of the posts and poles they manufacture, primarily lodgepole pine, to .40 retention or refusal. Much of the outside work is for fencing jobs and orchards in Washington, Oregon and California.
Frontier is also working toward being able to treat .60 products, such as highway guardrails.
