National Hardwood Magazine - May 2023

markets, even the ones that Gates is not typically involved
in,” said Wood.
Mark also noted that, “He has all these relationships
with these mills that he digs up. He’ll send us lumber
from some little mill in the middle of Louisiana somewhere
that we have never heard of and didn’t even know
existed!”
Gates Milling is one of the biggest buyers of rough Cypress
lumber in the country, purchasing about eight million
board feet, at its peak availability. Sackett is charged
with purchasing the lumber if it is available at a decent
price point. “The beauty of him doing sales and purchasing
is that he knows the spread, so if it’s available, he
buys it,” said Nancy.
“One thing that we are really focused on right now
is collecting data and being able to use it to forecast
sales,” said Wood. Gates Milling has begun to streamline
the whole process, allowing the employees to log
the data right on the mill floor on a tablet. The streamlining
process in data collection has also allowed them to
run a very clean operation that makes it easy for them
to stay organized and punctual with their documentation.
“If a customer needs something, we are going to
do everything in our power to get it to them as soon as
possible,” Wood added.
They not only want to streamline the process for their
employees entering the quantities of lumber on the mill
floor, but they want to make sure the process is easy for
forklift drivers that have just received the lumber. “We
use cardboard underneath our Poplar units so that their
forks won’t damage the lumber when they pick it up. We
also want to save them the trouble from getting on and
off the forklift. We make it easy for them to see the tally
on the tags that we put on each unit and it tells them the
P.O. that it was purchased on,” said Nancy.
Gates Milling’s products are sold all over the United
States, with some being shipped into Canada. “We do
not export logs. Quite honestly, we have developed and
believe in the domestic market on all fronts,” Nancy said.
She also noted that while they mainly deal domestically,
they have occasionally dealt with brokers who have sent
their products to the Caribbean Islands and their lower
grades to Asia.
Gates Milling is a member of the North American
Wholesale Lumber Association, National Hardwood
Lumber Association, Southern Cypress Manufacturers
Association, Hardwood Manufacturers Association,
North Carolina Forestry Association and the National
Federation of Independent Business. n
.
Learn more at www.gatesmilling.com.
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MAY 2023 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 63