That’s a wrap on our Peterson Factory Demo Days for 2024! But here’s a quick recap for anyone who missed out…
Although the weather was not on our side, our Demo Days started with a bang on Friday, with a huge amount of eager sawmilling fans turning up to check out our mills and see them live in action.
“Demo Days is a key opportunity to meet the people who may be purchasing our equipment, and with extra time to speak directly with them, we learn so much more about their actual needs. We can also share valuable tips and tricks for simplifying their new milling ventures.” – Kerris Browne, CEO
We had our JP, ASM, WPF and DWS set up and periodically running throughout the day as people requested to see them.
As always, the ASM was the real showstopper, demonstrating just how effortless and efficient portable sawmills can be, as it smashed out massive amounts of lumber with just the push of a few buttons. This mill really speaks for itself – especially when you witness it live.
We had our WPF and DWS on a set of extended tracks, allowing for slabs and boards to be cut simultaneously along the same stretch. This versatility across the Peterson range and the ability to run both mills on the same set of tracks impressed a lot of onlookers, and we had constant request to see how the set up worked live.
The JP held it down for the hobbyist millers, showcasing not only its tiny footprint, but also its impressive milling utility. Although it is the smallest in our range, it is far from a weakling, which it showed off as it milled through logs effortlessly.
Saturday provided slightly better weather, and the turnout was awesome once again.
“Demo Days is also a great meeting place for existing owners and related timber-industry folk. The sharing of information and experience is invaluable – from tree farmers to loggers, sawmillers to timber treatment specialists, and buyers of timber to wood turners and furniture makers – they have so much information as a whole and sharing that creates even more opportunities within the entire industry.” – Kerris Browne
This opportunity for related timber-industry folk to share information and experience continues to prove it’s value year on year. For example, we were approached at the most recent Demo Days by a group evaluating different options for processing their forest. They asked for recovery data (which we provided), and if there was a way of trialing a short-term pilot project to study for their stakeholders. We were able to immediately introduce them to a local commercial, Peterson sawmiller, who would be able to come to their site and provide exactly that, prior to any outlay of equipment by the forest owners. All three parties left Demo Days with potentially beneficial results.
These live demos were partnered with displays of all our accessories, a BBQ lunch, and a showcase of some incredible wood working pieces from our good friend Pete, who also helped with answering questions and operating the mills across the two days.
As always, the Demo Days provided an amazing opportunity for us to catch up with old friends, make some new ones, and showcase just what Peterson’s is all about.
We’re already counting down till our next Peterson Factory Demo Days!
