In December of 2024, we reached out to the team at Maple Rapids Lumber Mill to discuss the possibility of a project to monitor their operations and protect them from fires.

Maple Rapids is a family owned business, serving the broader Michigan community with premium grade lumber. They have been in operation since 1973, and offer a variety of species, grades, and dimensions. While primarily a hardwood provider, they have substantial flexibility in the products they offer.

"Partnering with AVIAN has been an outstanding decision for our mill." - Ryan Grubaugh, GM & Mill Manager

I met with Ryan Grubaugh, General Manager and Mill Manager of their St. Johns site, to discuss the potential of a collaboration between AVIAN and the mill. Their insurance broker, Jason McLaren, now General Manager of the Forest Insurance Center in Michigan, also joined to learn more about our technology.

Ryan and Jason were both immediately receptive to our proposal – the premise of stopping a fire before it starts in a mill just made sense.

When discussing with Ryan about the primary benefits of predictive maintenance, a plan quickly came together.

Coordinating with their insurance carrier, Maple Rapids was able to receive a substantial insurance credit, covering around 90% of the cost of the system on an annualized basis.

Our camera system was installed, and in only a few weeks we were able to detect several incidents involving drive and bearing malfunctions PRIOR to their actual failure. This saved the team hours of production loss. In Maple Rapid’s case, stopping even a single failure during production hours resulted in the system being completely paid for.

Ryan had the following to say:

“Partnering with AVIAN has been an outstanding decision for our mill. The installation was seamless, and within just a few weeks their system identified several equipment issues before they turned into failures. That alone saved us significant downtime and paid for the system outright. The added benefit of an insurance credit made the investment even more worthwhile. Having 24/7 monitoring gives us confidence that our equipment and our team are protected. The operational insight we receive has already made a measurable impact. AVIAN has been responsive, professional, and easy to work with from day one - and we look forward to continuing the relationship.”

We look forward to continuing to serve Maple Rapids - keeping their operations up and running when it matters most. We thank them for the trust that they place in us.

If you are looking for a 24/7 monitoring system that can prevent fires and save you money by reducing downtime, give us a call.

Better yet, talk to customers like Maple Rapids who will tell you their experience working with us.

Thanks for reading

Drew Hanover

CTO and Co-Founder