What BID Group builds
BID Group is a Canadian company that supplies the wood processing industry, with roots going back to 1924. Its equipment brands include Comact for log breakdown and McGehee for planer mills. Trade press coverage describes BID taking on turnkey sawmill projects where it manages, designs, builds, equips, installs and starts up a mill, greenfield or modernized, across the US South.
Texas is part of that work. BID announced an order from Georgia-Pacific for a new sawmill at its Pineland, Texas operation, with debarking, log processing, a continuous dry kiln and a planer in the scope. In 2022 it also completed the purchase of Smith Sawmill Service, which had a facility in Timpson, Texas. We did not confirm the company's official web address, so we have not linked one here.
Why mill installation is crane-intensive
A sawmill is a long chain of machines: debarkers, merchandisers, canters, edgers, trimmers, sorters, stackers and kilns, tied together by conveyors and transfers. Nearly every piece arrives on a trailer and goes into place by crane, frequently inside a partially enclosed building.
That creates a few recurring challenges:
- Precise landing. Machine frames have to land on anchor bolts and shims within tight tolerances, so the operator feathers the last few inches on the signal person's direction.
- Odd shapes. Saw boxes and gearboxes have off-center weight, and the rigger has to find the center of gravity or use a spreader to keep the piece level.
- Tight quarters. Picks happen over existing structures and between columns, sometimes through roof openings, with limited sight lines for the operator.
- Kiln and structural steel. Kiln components, steel frames and roof members are set before or around the equipment.
Courses for an installation crew
Millwrights and installers who hook up equipment and guide it into position need rigging and signaling skills. Our 28-hour rigger and signal person course covers rigging hardware and its limits, sling angle effects, estimating load weight and center of gravity, and standard signals. It prepares students for the NCCCO Rigger Level I and Signalperson exams. For crew members who need an introduction without the NCCCO exams, the 4-hour Level I rigger/signal person class is a Miller Crane Works qualification.
Crane operators on these jobs mostly run telescopic hydraulic cranes. The 120-hour fixed/swing cab course takes a new operator from basics through NCCCO exam preparation. The 40-hour course is a shorter path for someone with seat time who needs to certify. Larger lattice crawlers sometimes appear on big greenfield builds, and we train on those too.
Planer mills and kilns add their own picks. Kiln doors, fans and heating coils are large, light for their size and awkward to control in wind, while planer infeed tables and stackers are dense and heavy. Our classroom work on estimating weight, finding center of gravity and choosing between a basket hitch, choker or bridle applies directly to those pieces, and students handle real hardware in the yard before they ever rig a machine on a job.
Training logistics for a traveling company
BID's crews move between projects in several states, so most people who train with us travel to Seagoville and stay nearby. Our premium operator courses offer optional room and board for students who travel in; details are on the premium course page. Dallas Love Field and DFW International are the closest airports, and students who fly usually rent a car to reach the yard.
All instruction and NCCCO practical testing happen at 304 Tunnell St. We don't send instructors to mill sites.
Getting several people scheduled
Group seats are arranged through our company classes page. You can also contact us directly with names, the roles each person fills, and the window between projects when they can be released. We'll match them to start dates on the training calendar.