Hardwood Sawmilling

Weyerhaeuser’s Northwest Hardwoods division has made its latest expansion in what is traditionally softwood country in the Pacific Northwest

By Paul McDonald

The Pacific Northwest is well know for being a huge “wood basket” for softwood timber and lumber in North America, and in other markets around the globe. But the region is also home to some hardwood lumber producers who have successfully carved out their own market niches. Just like the region is known for its softwood lumber, so, too, is Weyerhaeuser. The forestry giant, based in Federal Way, Wash., is the largest producer of softwood lumber in the world, and is more readily linked with dimensional lumber than hardwood product. Weyerhaeuser built up its operations further on the softwood side with the acquisition of Oregon’s Willamette Industries.

But through the company’s Northwest Hardwoods division—which was purchased back in the 1980’s— Weyerhaeuser is also among the largest producers of hardwood lumber in the world. Northwest operates 14 hardwood mills in North America, turning out 400 million board feet annually. Alder represents about 75 percent of production with the balance made up of more than 20 other species, including basswood, cherry, cottonwood, maple, oak and walnut. Northwest Hardwoods extended its mill operations just over a year ago with the purchase of Coast Mountain Hardwood of Delta, BC, just south of Vancouver.

Randy Short, division manager of the Northwest operation in Delta, explains that there was a relationship in place with Coast Mountain prior to the acquisition of the mill. “It was an independent operation for eight years under the Coast Mountain name, but Northwest worked closely with them during that time to develop alder in the region and in marketing their product.” The mill itself has had an interest-ing history. It was owned most recently by a venture capital firm out of Massachusetts, but it actually started out as a softwood operation back in the 1970’s under Acorn Forest Products.

It went through several additional owners, and also along the way switched over to producing hardwood. Under Coast Mountain, and now Weyerhaeuser, alder is the name of the game for the mill. It produces kiln dried lumber, in customized grades for customers. The move from being an independent producer to part of a larger corporate structure has meant some changes for the operation. The priorities with Northwest operations are safety and quality. “These two areas now have a different focus than they did before,” Short says. Northwest has its own benchmarks in terms of product quality. Northwest has developed proprietary grades, which are quite diverse.

They have developed grades around the specific needs of customers, rather than just generic, commodity grades. “We are not involved in the market differently than other companies because of this approach,” says Short. Developing high grades, and consistently producing to those grades, is what sets Northwest apart from some other hardwood producers. It also steers them clear of participating in the commodity game, where price is the only determinant in getting an order. “Many people who move from the softwood side to the hardwood side are very intrigued because it is a totally different business,” explains Short. “If you go into a hardwood mill, you will see logs being made into lumber, as you would in any mill, using similar equipment, but the way it is broken down, the way it is edged, the way it is graded, that’s all significantly different.” The alder product turned out at the Delta mill is, by and large, what Weyerhaeuser terms “appearance wood”—for exterior applications.

The wood is used by major furniture, cabinet and millwork manufacturers in North America and around the world. The highest grade of wood is taken off the outside of the alder logs, while the heartwood is set aside for non-appearance wood uses, such as pallet stock and framing for furniture. In the not-too-distant past, alder was generally dismissed as a weed species in western North America. But it has become increasingly accepted by high-end cabinet and furniture manufacturers, and both loggers and mills have twigged to this. The end users like alder because it is easy to work with, it offers huge versatility in that it can take a stain to make it look like almost any other hardwood, and it is also cost effective compared to traditional hardwoods, such as oak.

“The acceptance of alder has now escalated to the point it is used in product lines that compete with traditional hardwoods in all of the upper grade spectrums,” says Short. Currently, the trend is to use alder in its natural state, without any staining, as a market favors lighter colored wood. On the forest management side, Weyerhaeuser, like many forest companies, has come full circle in terms of alder. Rather than viewing it as a nuisance species, the company now has significant acreage planted in alder. “It is good to see the viewpoint change in the industry and the value of the alder resource recognized,” says Short. Even though alder may have a high profile,

Short admits he is still far outnumbered by his softwood colleagues at any forest industry gathering in the region, which still remains “softwood country”. It is clear there are two distinct, and sometimes markedly different, sectors to the industry. But with softwood lumber prices being in a slump of late, there is increasing interest among loggers and forest managers in alder in the area. “There is a recognition that this industry has focus and is viable,” says Short. In terms of source alder for the mill, Weyerhaeuser coastal operations provide a fair amount of the timber through their timber licenses, with the balance purchased in the timber market and off private land. Some timber licenses came with the purchase of Coast Mountain, and these were transferred to the parent company’s Weyerhaeuser coastal operations.

 “In addition to that, we have a staff that purchases logs from the outside,” says Short. “We get logs from a mix of people. Some supply us with a lot of timber; some supply us with a small amount. We’ve received anywhere from a single truckload of logs to booms that are ready to go into the mill.” The focus, of course, is on sawlogs, logs with top diameters of eight inches and larger. Logs smaller than that make it difficult to extract lumber. The mill’s prime cutting lengths are different from a softwood operation, with the focus on end products revolving around eight and ten foot long pieces of lumber.

They are doing ongoing work with timber suppliers on bucking practices out in the woods to ensure a great supply of prime lengths. The goal is to produce as much solid wood product as possible, and as little chip as possible. “It is important for our suppliers to understand what our multiples and quality requirements are,” says Short. “It allows us to maximize each piece of lumber,”

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