It was in the late 1980s when Steve and his wife Laura constructed a new sawmill, heralding the latest chapter of Marks Lumber as a full-time production mill. In the following decades, the Marks continued to introduce innovative additions as they scaled the company.
These include the addition of a planer mill to provide many additional specialty products in 1998, a biofuel powered dry-kiln to improve product quality in 2005, and a full timber frame, 4400 sq foot office and showroom in 2008.
Listen in as Steve discusses how Marks Lumber continues to thrive as a timber products business while staying committed to improved forest health. He attributes a great deal of his success, especially as the business entered the 2010s and beyond, to his willingness to surround himself with young, talented people.
Steve also addresses some common concerns surrounding the logging industry, particularly when it comes to how prices will continue to be affected in today’s struggling economy. He and Ted also chime in on the hotly-debated topic of harvesting timber from old-growth forests.
Topics Discussed:
- [01:59] The story of Marks Lumber and Steve’s definition of good forestry
- [10:09] The business of forest management
- [15:40] Steve’s dedication to hiring great people
- [25:51] Life and business lessons learned from tough moments
- [33:04] Lumber prices in the near future
- [37:59] Steve’s most valuable experience in business
- [45:22] Ted and Steve’s thoughts on old-growth forests
- [51:55] Marks Lumber’s most popular specialty wood product
Connect with Marks Lumber:
- Website - https://markslumber.com/
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- Website - https://rebrand.ly/bmweb
- Instagram - https://rebrand.ly/bmigweb
- Facebook - https://rebrand.ly/bmfbweb
Key Quotes by Steve:
- Good forestry means taking good care of our forests: We have to thin them and take care of the defects such as bugs, and open the canopy up to let the trees capture and sequester carbon. Stagnant and unhealthy forests don’t do that as well.
- There is a segment of the population that doesn’t think a private company should be able to get a product off the forest and make a dollar. How you manage forests without turning a profit is beyond me. It doesn’t work.
- None of us in the successful world would be anywhere without the people who are underneath us.
- We don’t own this ground. We just get to take care of it for a while.