The Softwood Forest Products Buyer - March/April 2024

Lumberyard Owner At Miller Lumber Sales Attributes Growth
to Competitive Prices, Knowledgeable Staff
By Matthew Breazeale
Toyota forklifts unload a truck of 2x6 Southern Yellow Pine. Miller Lumber owner Alan Walters carries Pine and Spruce materials, plywood, OSB treated lumber,
Cedar, Cypress, and pattern Pine material.
Prime Forest Products, Growing In the Right Direction
By Zach Miller
"It's going to place us on the map. Companies and lumber professionals will look at us more seriously, knowing that we
possess our own iron and steel, as they say in the sawmilling business. Our lumber partners appreciate that we're heavily
invested in our industry, and they want to align themselves with us."
While aiming for a larger share of the wood industry's market, Prime Forest
Products intends to remain faithful to its core values of sustainability, quality
control, longevity, and fostering close relationships with customers, suppliers, and
vendors.
Last December, the Beaverton-based company, which specializes in customized
industrial millwork markets, acquired Rainier Custom Remanufacturing in Sweet
Home, OR; a facility Prime Forest has utilized for 15-plus years for its custom
manufacturing. The 22-acre remanufacturing operation has been renamed Prime
Forest Remanufacturing (PFR) under the umbrella of Prime Forest Products. In
addition, Prime Forest also operates a cut stock facility in Springfield, OR.
With the new acquisition, Prime now positions itself as a major manufacturer of
high-grade Softwood.
Brad Rodakowski, President of Prime Forest Companies, states that the merger
"opens up unprecedented possibilities" for industrial lumber manufacturing. "Our
existing customers want to grow and do more business with us because they like
the quality and variety of our products and want to see Prime Forest Products expanding
and thriving," said Brad, who has worked in the lumber industry for more
than 47 years. “We are now positioned to control and tailor the production, sizing,
drying and grading for our industrial customers. Our objective is to optimize
production and strive for efficiency as much as possible.”
Brad explained that the acquisition was primarily made to better serve their customer
base, as Prime Forest was already utilizing the Sweet Home plant to process
wood long before the purchase was made. "We want to ensure that the wood is
dried correctly," he said. "Our customers inspect our lumber and conduct a prong
test to ensure that the moisture content on the outside matches that in the core. The
Sweet Home operation is the only place we have been able to have good success
drying lumber," he continued. "We've been processing our wood at this facility for
the past 15-plus years and the owner wanted to sell the operation. The opportunity
allows us to create a solid foundation for the next generation in the industry."
Another reason for acquiring the Sweet Home facility was to diversify the
Prime Forest has positioned itself as a major manufacturer of high-grade Softwood.
– Brad Rodakowski, President, Prime Forest Products
“Our objective is to optimize production and strive for efficiency as much as possible,”
said Prime Forest Products President, Brad Rodakowski.
company’s offerings. "It's going to place us on the map. Companies and lumber
professionals will look at us more seriously, knowing that we possess our own
iron and steel, as they say in the sawmilling business. Our lumber partners appreciate
that we are heavily invested in the industry and our products and customers
want to align themselves with us. This growth is going to require more creativity
and innovation and we are excited about the future,” Brad said.
"When we engage with new potential customers we have a lot more to offer,"
he added. "This sets us apart now that we control all aspects of production."
Prime Forest Products manufactures 22 million board feet annually of beveled
Continued on page 42
Located in the Jackson metro area
in Mississippi, Miller Lumber Sales,
LLC boasts hard-working leadership
and staff in operating a full-service
lumberyard. Through building relationships
one handshake at a time
for over 70 years, Miller Lumber
Sales, LLC supplies both common
and hard-to-find Cedar, Cypress and
Pine lumber.
Owner Alan Walters took the reins
in his leadership position for the
nine-employee company in 2020.
His leadership team includes, Tracy
Kirkpatrick, administrative assistant,
Jim Jones and Mike Anderson, both
inside sales.
Charlie Miller, who at the time
had created a niche in the market by
representing the Potlatch Corporation,
founded the company in 1953.
He ran operations until the early
90s when Mark Windham bought
it. Mark sold the business to John
Behan in March of 2019. John unexpectedly
passed away in February of
2020 and for the remainder of that
year, Walters ran the business for
Behan’s family and bought the business
from them at the end of 2020.
“I enjoy interacting
with the people, we have
a lot of retail walk-in
business. I'm still very
much a part of that. I
sit at the counter and
greet people just like the
other two sales guys do,
in addition to my other
responsibilities.”
– Alan Walters,
Sales/Owner, Miller Lumber
Continued on page 51
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