ALABAMA — Five forestry companies from the Southeast make up the inaugural cohort of the Alabama Forestry Accelerator. The accelerator aims to increase technology and business innovation in the forestry industry. Forestry in Alabama generates an estimated $36 billion in annual economic impact, according to the Alabama Department of Commerce. The state ranks fourth in lumber production and second in pulp and paper production. The Alabama Forestry Accelerator is hosted in Dothan’s Wiregrass Innovation Center, in partnership with HudsonAlpha Wiregrass. …The five companies making up the inaugural class are:

• Chonex, of Baldwin County, converts agricultural and industry byproducts into biofertilizers.
• Contreras Forestry, in Birmingham, is building on reforestation and utility forestry operations.
• Druid, based in North Carolina, developed a smart camera system that monitors plant health.
• Shellulose, in Auburn, creates a biodegradable alternative to plastics from forestry waste.
• TreeTracker, of Starkville, Mississippi, provides a mobile, web-based forest management platform.