Dixfield Sawmill completes installation of robotic shavings bagging system
Irving Forest Products’ Dixfield Sawmill in Dixfield, Maine, is building onto its technological advancements with the installation of an automatic shavings bagger system to enhance its value-added offerings for customers.
The Dixfield Sawmill produces premium wood shavings used for animal bedding. The value-added product is made from 100 per cent kiln-dried Eastern white pine planer shavings that result from the lumber manufacturing process.
Previously, bags of shavings were manually stacked into trailers. Installation of the new robotic bagger began in December 2025 by a team of millwrights and electricians from the sawmill, and in March, the first bags began to be produced.
Able to produce five bags of shavings per minute, the automatic bagger fills bags with shavings and seals them. A robotic arm stacks the bags onto pallets and these stacks are then secured to the pallet with a plastic hood, helping to protect the product from the elements. The pallets can then be loaded into trailers.
This new system is safer than manual stacking for employees and doubles the bagging speed compared to the previous process, meaning it will double the production of bags produced at Dixfield. Irving Forest Products would like to thank the Dixfield team for the successful installation of this new system.
The Dixfield Sawmill is the world’s largest and most modern Eastern white pine sawmill. The new automatic shavings bagger system is the latest example of Irving Forest Products’ investments to drive operational optimization and efficiency.
Read more:
Dixfield Sawmill improves packaging quality for customers with new automatic wrapper
Irving Forest Products celebrates 25 years in Dixfield, Maine
Dixfield Sawmill launches new baled shavings product
