OAKFIELD – Katahdin Cedar Log Homes has been awarded the Maine Forest Product Council’s annual Outstanding Manufacturing Award for 2008. The award was presented at the council’s annual meeting on Sept. 30.

The award recognizes companies, including manufacturers, loggers and distributors in the forest products industry, that have been critical links in the chain of production from the Maine forest to consumers. Council members nominate companies and a committee reviews each company’s operations before selecting a winner.

One committee member, Pat Sirois, director of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, visited Katahdin’s mill operation in Oakfield with other committee members.

“There was no question in our minds that Katahdin had done a lot of work thinking about their impact on the environment, energy use and creative innovations,” Sirois said. “It was pretty amazing to see the success Katahdin was having despite the current economic environment.”

Among the innovations that help Katahdin stand out, Sirois cited the unique bar coding inventory control used to match each log with its specific plan location and the computerized house manufacturing line that makes efficient use of each log.

Founded in 1973 by Foster Gordon and two associates, Katahdin Cedar Log Homes is one of the largest log home manufacturers in the U.S. and is the largest processor of Northern White Cedar in the world.