Oregon’s Hull-Oakes Lumber Company Embraces Niche
With one foot in the past and one in the future, Hull-Oakes Lumber Co. took a big step last year. A timber-milling outfit famous for having one of the last steam-powered sawmills in the United States, Hull-Oakes converted the last of its daily operations to electric power in July 2013.
“It was a very difficult decision,” said Todd Nystrom, grandson of the mill’s founder, Ralph Hull, and the owner and president of the company.
However, Nystrom said the decision was necessary for the business, which employs around 65 people, to continue in the long term. “If steam power was the most efficient way to make lumber everybody would be doing it,” he said.
The mill, which was founded in 1937 and has a steam engine dating back to 1906, is on the National Registry of Historic Sites. Its milling operations have not been computerized even through the changes.
Nystrom added that the mill, located north of Monroe, still has all of its steam machinery in place and operates with steam power a few times a year to make sure the equipment is in good condition. But, he said, it was expensive to operate on a daily basis with machinery for which parts are no longer made.
From the Statesman Journal: statesmanjournal.com.
Latest News
700MMBF, 3 Million Tons, Is It Real?
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-1548381510056-0’); }); Article by Rich Donnell, Editor-in-Chief, Timber Processing 2013 Austria’s Klausner has created a buzz with its plans to build at least two, and probably three, giant southern pine sawmills. Each project…
New Southern Pine Lumber Design Values Approved
On January 31, the American Lumber Standards Committee (ALSC) Board of Review unanimously approved the new southern pine design values previously submitted by the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau (SPIB). The new values were rescheduled for…
Huge South Carolina Lumber Mill Could Start Up This Year
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-1548381510056-0’); }); Klausner Holding USA’s plans to construct a large lumber mill in Rowesville are taking a little longer to come to fruition than elsewhere, but officials say the project is still under…
Find Us On Social
Newsletter
The monthly Timber Processing Industry Newsletter reaches over 4,000 mill owners and supervisors.
Subscribe/Renew
Timber Processing is delivered 10 times per year to subscribers who represent sawmill ownership, management and supervisory personnel and corporate executives. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.
Advertise
Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative.