Table of Contents

USNR PURCHASES COE OPERATIONS by Southern Lumberman

USNR, a leading manufacturer and supplier of sawmill machinery, is purchasing Coe Newnes McGehee, Inc. of Salmon Arm, British Columbia, and affiliate Coe operations in the U.S. at Tigard, Ore., Covington, Ga. and Painesville, Oh., including Coe Manufacturing.

Southern Lumberman Yesteryear

In 1907 William Bohning, George Bohning and Sam M. Wheat, all of Ft. Worth, Tex., and Hal G. Stevens, of Memphis, Tenn., organized the Choctaw Lumber & Shingle Co. to manufacture cypress shingles at Hulbert, Ark. Hal Stevens was made the general manager of the company. He immediately began the installation of the mill, which has a capacity of 300,000 shingles per pay and eventually cost in the neighborhood of $100,000.

Then the logging road was commenced. It is now seven miles long and winds into one of the finest bodies of cypress timber in the South.

The Latest News

RoyOMartin is selling its hardwood lumber sawmill in LeMoyen, La., 10,000 acres of hardwood timberland, certain recreational rights, and 20-year timber-cutting rights on an additional 140,000 acres of hardwood timberland in the south-Louisiana region to an investment fund controlled by The Forestland Group, LLC (TFG) of Chapel Hill, NC.

RoyOMartin will retain ownership of the surface and mineral rights and will monitor timber harvesting to ensure continued compliance with approved harvesting methods of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

TFG currently manages almost 3 million acres of timberland in 20 states, Canada and Central America for institutional investors. A fund controlled by TFG also owns Anderson-Tully Co., including its hardwood sawmill complex in Vicksburg, Miss.

Filing Saws In Difficult Economic Times by Bill Guthridge

As I write this column the lumber industry finds itself in the worst downturn since World War II. With the almost complete shutdown of the housing market and people with little cash on hand for remodeling, we are seeing very tough economic times. Many mills are curtailing shifts or completely shutting down. Other mills are shutting down for modernization in hopes that when the market improves they will be able to compete.

What can we do as filers to help our companies stay in business? You are probably aware of most of the things I will talk about but we need to be as efficient as possible during these times.

Overcoming Adversity by Jennifer McCary

The year 2004 was a pivotal year for the then 61-year-old Columbus Lumber Co. (CLC) of Columbus, Miss. That was the year the last member of the founding Behan family left the business to return to his native St. Louis and Jeff Grierson and Doug Boykin joined Columbus Lumber Co. as president and vice president, respectively. They were hired by owner Bernard Ebbers, who had purchased the company from the Behan family in 1995.

Both natives of Mississippi and 1984 graduates of the University of Southern Mississippi, Grierson and Boykin had barely settled in at CLC when Ebbers, the former CEO of WorldCom, was indicted and later convicted of conspiracy and securities fraud. Most of his assets, including Columbus Lumber, were later relinquished in settlement of a civil class action suit brought by WorldCom investors.

Richmond Looks Good by David Abbott and K.C. Booth

It seems like there is bad news everywhere one turns these days. War, recession, a mortgage crisis and, for better or worse, election politics loom large on the horizon and dominate the headlines, blogs and everyday conversation. In the pages of the forest industry trade press, article after article refers to a down market, low prices, a housing slump and skyrocketing costs of production, particularly fuel. In such an atmosphere, one might reasonably expect that an industry trade show, like the 31st East Coast Sawmill and Logging Equipment Exposition in Richmond, Va., might be facing its own hard times. But, according to the early numbers and the buzz among exhibitors, that is not the case.

Tenacity Is a Virtue by Tonya Cooner

Philip Sparks says he’s seen ups and downs in the lumber industry and, eventually, everything sorts itself out. “I think next year will bring a good change,” the bright-eyed 71-year-old says with a smile. “But not before the end of this year.”

Sparks is the President and owner of Sparks Lumber Co., tucked away in the scenic town of Ellijay, Ga., in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. He, along with his daughter, Sandie, and son, Danny, manage this small sawmill that has found a survival niche making specialty timbers. This niche has helped them ride out market slumps over the years, including this one that presently has many mills curtailing production.

Weathering the Storms by David Abbott

Custom Lumber Mfg. Co. is located in Dothan, Ala. On the day Southern Lumberman visited this specialty remanufacturing facility in March, a storm kicked up dust that was quickly washed away by rain. The spring thunderstorm threatened to ruin spring break for high school and college students on their way down to the Gulf Coast beaches of Alabama and Florida, many of them passing right through Dothan on highway 231.

Recent tornadoes had devastated Prattville, Ala., less than two hours north of Dothan, and ripped right through downtown Atlanta. This had left some people nervous, but then people in the South know to keep a wary eye to dark clouds, high winds and sudden temperature shifts this time of year. It’s a cyclical reality with which Southerners have to learn to live.

Cypress Association by David Abbott

On a recent trip to do interviews for articles for Southern Lumberman and its various sister publications, I had a chance to talk with both Chuck Harris of Lumber Group, Inc., Dothan, Ala., the outgoing President of the Southern Cypress Manufacturers Assn. (SCMA), and with his successor, Harry Rogers of Big River Cypress & Hardwoods, Blountstown, Fla. (See the article about Harris’ reman plant, Custom Lumber Mfg., on page 16 of this issue.)

The SCMA elects presidents at its annual convention to serve for one year. Rogers officially took office on March 26 at the meeting in Savannah, Ga. This took place a day before the HMA meeting there. Rogers says that SCMA meetings often coincide with HMA meetings because most of the people cutting cypress are the same people working with hardwoods.

Deep Thoughts—and a Laugh

Ever Wonder:
Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?
Why women can’t put on mascara with their mouth closed?
Why don’t you ever see the headline ‘Psychic Wins Lottery’?
Why is ‘abbreviated’ such a long word?

Equipment & Supplier News

From its beginnings in 1988 when it introduced the Baker Band Resaw at the Richmond EXPO, Baker Products has evolved to become a leader in the design and manufacture of thin-kerf wood processing equipment. Founded by Ed Baker, the Ellington, Mo.-based company has always produced cutting edge technology that is simple to operate and affordable to own.

Mike McNail, CEO states, “I couldn’t be more proud of our great employees and the trust and loyalty our wonderful customers have shown for over 20 years now.” Clyde Reed, sales manager adds, “From the beginning we’ve said that kerf is king and sticking to that idea has taken us to where we are today.”

Sometimes A Deadline Can Be Your Best Friend by Robert Wilson

As I sit here writing this column against the deadline, I’“Thinking outside of the box.” Boy, has that phrase become overused. People are so often telling us that we need to think outside of the box that it has fallen into the realm of cliché. Never the less it is still true. Sometimes, however, we need to be put into a box first before we can think outside of it. A deadline is just such a box.m reminded of my days as a young advertising copywriter when I occasionally needed a deadline as motivation to finish a boring project. The deadline did more than motivate me to finish—more often than not, it was what finally stimulated enough creative thinking to move me forward—in other words, it motivated me to think outside of the box.

New Product Information

Advanced Sawmill Machinery’s new Series 140 trimmer design is targeted at the hardwood lumber market. Featuring a chain-driven saw ladder in an enclosed oil bath, the saw ladder offers 12 in. saw spacing, torque limiter on each saw, no saw ladder belts to maintain and speeds up to 150 lugs per minute.

This design is also available on ASM trimmers for customers with wider saw spacing requirements. Standard on all ASM trimmers, it uses a continuous line-shaft design with one motor and is precision-machined, keyed and line-bored for exact alignment to reduce unscheduled maintenance downtime. Phone: 850-537-5333