Firm gets $43,097 waste wood grant

Sandpoint _ A Colburn company will receive a $43,097 National Fire Plan grant to purchase equipment to recycle waste wood into split-rail fences and landscaping bark and mulch.

Xylem Limited Corp., an Illinois-based company with Sandpoint operations, said the new equipment will allow it to beef up its 20-person work force.

The plant has already grown from three employees to 20 in the past year, said manager Bob Plaster.

The grant was awarded by the U.S. Forest Service as part of a national effort to find commercial uses for waste wood left in the forest after logging operations. Xylem uses a lot of cedar pieces that are too small to turn into lumber, said Kevin Clegg, executive director for the Bonner County Economic Development Corp.

Xylem worked with the Economic Development Corp. to secure the grant, which was also endorsed by Bonner County commissioners.

"This is a great example of how the private and public sectors can pull together to help a company and improve the local economy," Clegg said.

Grinding and screening equipment will be purchased with the grant. Xylem is based in Cordova, Ill., and also has operations in Iowa and Minnesota.

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