Solutions
Stick Collection Systems
Automated stick return systems designed and built by Gillingham-Best to feed the stacker, maximize stick life, and let the mill — not the machine — set discard standards.
Overview
The Loop That Keeps the Stacker Productive
Stick collection is the loop that keeps an automated stacker productive. GBI designs and builds integrated stick collection systems matched to each stacker installation: stickers are recovered at the unstacker or downstream of the kiln, inspected, aligned, and returned to the stacker feed in the correct orientation and quantity per course.
GBI’s collection approach is engineered around maximizing stick life. Marginal sticks are tolerated by the VPG placement mechanism rather than rejected at machine-set thresholds — the mill sets discard criteria based on its own product-quality standards, not the other way around.
Systems are configured per mill: recovery point, transport distance, elevation changes, inspection stations, and feed orientation are all specified to layout.
Product Model
Double Stick Unscrambler
The Double Stick Unscrambler is a GBI-built stick singulation machine for operations recovering sticks in bulk. Sticks pulled or stripped from outgoing packages are dumped as a jumbled pile into the machine's inclined hopper.
A chain-and-paddle conveyor picks sticks from the pile one at a time and delivers them onto an outfeed conveyor, where brushes align each into the correct orientation for the stacker magazine feed. The result is a steady, singulated stream — ready to feed the stacker without manual sorting or staging.
The unscrambler is engineered to the same production rates as the stacker it feeds. It handles the full mix of stick conditions typical of a recovery loop: wet, dry, worn, and marginally bowed sticks all pass through without the machine setting its own reject thresholds. Discard decisions remain with the mill.
Key Features
What Sets It Apart
- Matched to the upstream stacker: feed rate, course width, and sticker count per course.
- Tolerates marginal sticks — the mill sets discard thresholds.
- Below-chain delivery to the stacker — no overhead structures.
- Integrates with kiln-side recovery or mill-floor recovery layouts.
- Fabricated at GBI’s Spokane plant with full custom engineering.
Applications
Where It Fits
- New stacker installations requiring integrated sticker return.
- Retrofit of manual or legacy stick handling on existing lines.
- Mills looking to reduce stick consumable cost and labor exposure.
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Let’s Configure a System for Your Mill
Every Gillingham-Best system is engineered to your mill’s production rate, lumber mix, and layout. Tell us your requirements and we’ll scope the right configuration.
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