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
Housing Starts Decline, But Still Steady
U.S. housing starts were down 8% in June from May to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.434 million. May’s 1.6 million rated starts had surprised everybody, increasing 20% over April. June single-family starts were at a rate of 935,000, 7% below May, while multi-family starts were 482,000, down 11.6% from May…
Dale Brown Becomes USNR CEO
Wood Technologies International announced that President Dale Brown has been appointed CEO of the company, succeeding Craig Tompkins who now serves as a Strategic Advisor to the Board of Directors of Wood Technologies…
The Logger Supply Chain Strain
During the Southern Forest Products Assn.’s educational sessions at the 2021 event, longtime sawmiller and consultant Huey Long noted that early in his career, one of his mentors said that to help maintain perspective, it’s important to always keep a basic line chart graph showing 20 years of lumber prices on your office…
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.