The sawmiller's juggling act

longtime lurker · March 08, 2018, 11:09:20 PM

(Big bags.)

Guys got to charge like that to buy a new freezer next week. :D :D

Predicted peak puts another 6 foot over that. That town (Ingham) is real delta land, dead flat and a whole lot of water comes down the Herbert River every 40 years and drowns the place. Weve had close on 36" of rain in the last4 days and not looking like letting up yet.

Like cyclones it's good for business. People rebuild. Insurance premiums rise. Crops keep growing. Life goes on.

YellowHammer · March 08, 2018, 11:12:23 PM

With the constant rain, I was at a megamill the other day and it was as empty of logs as I'd ever seen it. I was talking to the owner and he said he had only 2 hours of logs on the yard before he ran out, they do 50 MBF a day. He'd told his logging crews to work in the rain, and not to come back unless they had logs on the truck. The reason I was there was because I had put in an order for a few thousand bdft of high grade ash logs (they resell high grade logs to me) and I was told to come pick them up. Well, when I got there, the logs were gone and in their place was stacks of FAS boards ready for me. He told me that he had to keep his crews busy, so they sawed up my logs for me. That's cutting it pretty close.

LeeB · March 09, 2018, 04:48:31 AM

Quote from: longtime lurker on March 08, 2018, 10:54:54 PMWell, so much for the weather mans "clearing".

It is clearing. looks like it's clear up to your knees now and will be clear up to you shoulders soon.

longtime lurker · March 10, 2018, 04:00:04 PM

... and still it rains.

So todays questions is whats better: heli logging, or rafting your logs home? :D

NMP, because I aint going out in the rain to take pictures. National Route 1 - just send it!!!

YellowHammer · March 10, 2018, 07:57:59 PM

Wow

longtime lurker · May 05, 2018, 07:19:17 AM

*sigh*

Was it only 2 months ago my biggest issue was rain stopping logs getting in the yard? Thing about weather is of course... its a problem that solves itself. Bad at the time but you kinda know that beyond the inconvenience things will improve.

Now a real problem is: My biggest single customer just went under.

I'm going to take a hit - short term - There be bills to pay and the money aint coming. Not bad because it was a quiet month but still... I was sailing pretty close to the edge because of the seasonal considerations and its not going to make things easier. Some of them might have to wait and I hate doing that - as a little guy I know how that feels myself when someone does it to me.

But thats just this month, and its a month and I'm that used to running with the ass out my trousers that thats nothing new. But I got some big concerns around the corner: I just had a 200k a year hole punched into my annual projected revenue and I cant take that hit at my size and shrug it off. Best go find myself a new wholesaler I guess... or finally set up the retail operation I been talking about for years... or get the hell out of this business and just play around with the mill on weekends.

headdesk headdesk headdesk . Be nice to catch a break that didnt mean a trip to the emergency room occasionally.

Magicman · May 05, 2018, 07:55:44 AM

longtime lurker, I realize that the below comments do not describe your situation but maybe they will be helpful to others trying to establish and grow a business.

Happened to me when two years ago when I noticed that my all time largest customer started standing behind me when I was sawing and asking some questions about what I was doing and why.

Well, he bought a sawmill and this past year was the first year since I have been sawing that he did not call. I am small, part time, and my customer base is continually increasing so even though I lost him I still had an increase last year over the previous years. To grow a business you gotta continually stretch out and be aggressive.

I have seen it written and will repeat it here; "Never build a business around a single customer or other business". When they fail, so will you.

longtime lurker · May 05, 2018, 08:27:03 AM

Oh you're right Lynn, and I knew it: I had a lot of eggs in one basket. Problem was while he was a major part of my revenue I was only a part of his lumber supply and every time I increased capacity he just took more... it's hard to expand your customer base when you can barely keep up with what you got.

I was pretty suprised at this though - my concern was about a regional slowdown which was why I was kinda looking for another volume guy in a different area. Best kinda better turn into seriously looking huh?

paul case · May 05, 2018, 08:36:42 AM

I know it does not always work out for others as I have had it work out for me, but each time it looked like I might have to quit one business something better would come along.

In the wood business it has been that way for me for sure. It takes looking and searching for that new outlet or maybe even looking where you have been before, so that means be sure to not burn bridges you have crossed. I have recently sold a lot of lumber to a past customer that had not bought from me for a couple years. Yeah, dont put your eggs in one basket either.

A mill I sell a lot of wood to from time to time has had to deal with a business going under when they owed him for 60 days worth of pallets. The business was taken over by the US marshals and it seemed like he had just lost all that 60 days worth of income. It didn't work that way and when things got straitened out he was paid for all they had received from him and he still has the contract to build pallets for the company under new owners.

Keep yer head up. The next paying customer is just a phone call away. PC

BigZ La · May 05, 2018, 09:37:21 AM

Quote from: longtime lurker on May 05, 2018, 08:27:03 AM
Oh you're right Lynn, and I knew it: I had a lot of eggs in one basket. Problem was while he was a major part of my revenue I was only a part of his lumber supply and every time I increased capacity he just took more... it's hard to expand your customer base when you can barely keep up with what you got.

I was pretty suprised at this though - my concern was about a regional slowdown which was why I was kinda looking for another volume guy in a different area. Best kinda better turn into seriously looking huh?

Can you get any of the business from the company that went under. May be an easy in if it fits what you can do. Just a suggestion, might open some new doors for you.

paul case · May 05, 2018, 04:05:20 PM

Can I just be the guy that stands in the back and shouts.......

DONT GIVE UP
KEEP LOOKING
SOMETHING BETTER MUST BE JUST AROUND THE CORNER

?
PC

longtime lurker · May 05, 2018, 09:09:39 PM

Yeh I dunno guys... I'm at one of those major decision points for sure.

I've worked for peanuts for 10 years - everything I've made beyond enough to eat etc etc has just been plowed straight back into the business.
I own all the equipment, for what thats worth. (which is nothing as we all know because a sawmill is a liability unless its cutting wood)
I've got a half million dollar mortgage - but I can service that working for someone else
I've got a government contract for log supply thats good for another 1.2 MMBF over the next 15 months. It would probably get an extension if I wanted... more importantly I am contractually obligated to harvest those logs... but I could cut them and sell them to someone else.
I've got a good rep for putting out a commercial grade product, on time. I do a lot of the smaller, short lead time stuff that the mega mills cant match me on lead time for, and those oddball jobs the mega mills wont touch
Demand is good to the north of me and flat to the south but... I can survive this if I want to, for at least long enough to find another volume buyer.

I'm not over sawmilling - dont think I ever will be. I still get a smile every time I see whats inside after that first cut.
But I've had a gutful of the lumber business, sick of the financial juggling and not spending enough time away from work and just plain old working for nothing.
I believe in me, and I believe that I've got a good long term plan, and I believe theres still money to be made in this business if you're good and you're smart, and you work hard.
But me believes there should still be time for fishing, and taking a holiday shouldnt be such a drama.

Sit down and think it through I guess. This industry is not a career or a business or a job... it's a disease.

Ricker · May 05, 2018, 09:58:02 PM

I hear you lurker. I am at the same point you are. I am a smaller operation than you. Been making a bit of a living, thank god the wife is very well employed, and now the Amish have come to town in large numbers and screwed up the local economy. Sawing for .20 cents a foot and selling their lumber .20 cents cheaper than I do. It not as good a product but the mom and pop do it yourself's love anything Amish and like to tell friends they do business with the Amish. Can't add value to your lumber and build a shed to sell because they have one for sale for $200 less. Been looking for some kind of niche with no luck.

At some point, it has got to be easier to go back to work for someone and feed the sawmill addiction behind closed doors. So far just been to stubborn to let them win. Common sense tells me if I am going to trade a old dollar for a new one don't work your butt off doing it. But I have always resisted the voices in my head so far.

YellowHammer · May 05, 2018, 11:17:03 PM

Longtime,
We're with you. You're a good person, and good things will happen to good people.

As you said, sit down and think it through. There's always options, some better than others. I don't think the disease is sawdust, I think it comes from being your own boss, doing your own thing, and usually having fun doing it. Sometimes, things like this are an oppurtunity for clarity, a way to stop from going too far, from going too deep, where there is no chance at recovery.

Grab a fishing pole, a couple beers, take a breather, and things will fall into place.

Cedarman · May 06, 2018, 05:47:08 AM

A dozen or so years ago my biggest customer was bought out and in 3 months we went from selling 80% to them to 0%. Best thing ever. I was forced to find new customers. The internet was and is my friend. With a good web site, customers from around the country started calling and sending checks. Almost all orders are custom orders from a few boards to truckloads. So what can you do that others can not do or do not want to do? With custom orders, you get to set the price instead of take the price. As CS says, take a moment, drink a beer, catch a fish or two and ponder the situation.

mike_belben · May 06, 2018, 08:49:29 AM

Never chase money. It is a roadmap to misery.

Mark 10:25

JustinW_NZ · May 07, 2018, 03:16:55 AM

Chin up big guy.

Better things will come along im sure!!

Cheers
Justin

paul case · May 07, 2018, 09:20:34 AM

Since this was brought back up to the top I will give an update on my situation.

We have been swimming in logs all winter. I have had my 2 guys with skid loader/trailers working all winter and also one who has a skidder started a 60 acre tract. We actually sold most of the logs from that timber and it all totaled just over $60,000 worth. That was pretty good timber, more than 1/3 walnut.

At the mill we have had a couple changes in sales. We spent several months cutting out a lot of 1x for board and batten paneling and a lot of other custom stuff. We sawed out 1 whole timber frame building for a wedding venue with 10x10 posts and full 2'' rafters and fully decked with 1'' oak lumber. That one can be seen on facebook at Williams riverside. Lots of good pics of the project there. We started selling our tie siding and grade boards differently. As much as we can that grades above 3a we cut 5/4 and sell it to a broker who handles the hauling and pays as good as we were getting for the avg of selling 4/4 grade and 4/4 x3.5x48'' for pallet stringers. No chopping to length and various widths from 6'' and up. Very little of what we cut misses that. He takes 7500 ft loads. We still are sawing for a couple companies pallet needs and seperate off low grade logs for that. Just last week we sawed out some 3x4-10 for my longest running customer and thats good as we had 3 tt loads of logs saved up just for that. We also sold 2tt loads of lumber to a pallet company who was having trouble getting enough lumber to run. He was happy to get our lumber and we were happy to sell him some.

2 of the lumber/ cant sales I mentioned have been a long running relationship of over 7 years each.

Things have been rolling along real nice and now we are fixing to get busy with pasture spraying,haying and church camps dividing our time at the mill.
That is a good kind of busy.

PC