The mill was one of three purchased from Beckley’s New River Hardware in late 2014. The rebuilding allowed AWP to convert the sawmill into a state-of-the-art facility. During a tour, visitors observed sawyers using lasers to properly align timber and consulting information panels for instructions.  The mill’s 28 employees returned to the Smoot sawmill last month. When the Smoot facility reopened, all new equipment was purchased as part of $3 million in additional investments to the acquisition costs, company officials said.