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PAUL SMITHS - After using a manual sawmill since 1984, Paul Smith's College has replaced it with an automated one.

"This is an opportunity to get into the next century a little bit," said Andrew Egan, the college's dean of forestry.

Egan said the new mill probably would be more like the kind of mill that forestry students will find once they graduate and move into the work world.

The old mill was taken out of commission in March 2008 because of structural damage due to snow and ice, and the college went without a sawmill for the last school year.

After that, Egan and the school decided to look at their options for improving or replacing the mill.

They brought in Jerry Albright, who runs the Ohio-based sawmill manufacturing company Frickco Inc., to create a custom-designed machine to optimize safety for Paul Smith's students.

The machinery includes a larger-than-typical operator's booth that will fit several students and a professor, making it safer than the Plexiglas wall they used to stand behind, though the college has not ever had a sawmill-related injury on campus.

"The safety aspect is so much greater," said John McCormick of McCormick and Sons, the Bethesda, Ohio company that is installing the machinery.

The equipment arrived Monday at the school on a flatbed truck, and McCormick and his crew went to work assembling it. McCormick and his employees travel around the world installing sawmills.

They planned to have the Paul Smith's mill running by Wednesday afternoon or sometime today.

Changes were also made to lighting, ductwork and other aspects of the building in which the mill resides.

The college is launching a fundraising campaign to pay for the $200,000 renovation.

Before using the sawmill in classes, professors will first need to be trained themselves, Egan said.

Paul Smith's uses its sawmill exclusively for students. It is not a commercial venture, though the school has sold the products of its wood work at times in the past.

It prefers to donate its processed wood. Recently, it made a donation of lumber to a local food pantry, and Egan said the school is always looking for more opportunities for donations.

"We don't want to compete with local mills who are trying to make a living at this," Egan said.

All the lumber students process with the mill will be sustainably forested from Paul Smith's lands. The school's forestry practices are Forest Stewardship Council certified, which means they meet high standards for sustainability.

The wood is grown and cut by students in other classes as well.

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Contact Jessica Collier at 891-2600 ext. 25 or jcollier@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.