BUSINESS HISTORY &

INSPIRATION

While initially focusing on the primary milling of lumber, in the mid-1990s Rick changed the production direction of this operation toward the remanufacturing and finishing side of the business. The emphasis then was on providing export products for the Asian and European markets. 

In 2002, Sawmill Sales Direct as it is known today was established. The owner recognized a genuine need for a wider range of high quality, locally-sourced Fir and Cedar products, that would be available to contractors, builders, and homeowners.  He identified this underserved niche which the company could readily fill by supplying end-users with cedar products produced directly from the mill. This business model would cut out wholesalers and pass the savings directly onto the customers. In essence, when a customer buys from a Big Box Store, they purchase a lumber product that has been produced in a large-scale mill, distributed to a wholesaler, and then sold to stores. The lumber has to pass through many hands, with a resulting increase in price along the way, before it eventually reaches the end-user. This high-volume process results in a narrower range of products, with little attention being paid to detail and quality.

 The owner of Sawmill Sales Direct believes this “Big Box Store” approach diminishes the number and viability of small, family-owned sawmills – the very mills that are in a position to provide a level of personal service to builders and homeowners that is not possible with a major distributor. Producing a quality product, custom milled to the specifications of the purchaser, has proven to be a successful business model for Sawmill Sales Direct.