The Pine Mountain Hardwood Lumber Co., headquartered in Lexington, Ky., team includes John Foley, vice president; Marty Cornett, general manager; John Reinstetle, forest resource manager; and Richard Sturgill, president.
Pine Mountain Adds Services For Customers By Gary Miller
Whitesburg, Ky.—Pine Mountain Hardwood Lumber Co., that is headquartered in Lexington, Ky., with the lumber sales office being in Whitesburg, Ky., recently installed new sawmill equipment at the company’s large sawmill in Whitesburg. The firm designed the new equipment and had it custom built to accommodate specific customer needs for mostly manufacturing quartersawn Red and White Oak lumber.
Marty Cornett, general manager and in sales at Pine Mountain, said the company now offers its customers not only 4/4 through 8/4 random length and width lumber in all grades in most Appalachian species, but also quartersawn lumber in 4/4 through 8/4 in random lengths and widths as well in mostly Red and White Oak. He added that the company plans to offer other species of quartersawn lumber to those in need, too.
“We’re sorting our logs to make sure they are really high quality logs,” Cornett stated. “We already have several customers for our quartersawn lumber and we have more orders on the books to sell more of this product in the future.”
He continued, saying that in the first few weeks of production with the new equipment, the company produced approximately 100,000 board feet of quartersawn lumber.
“We wanted to diversify to meet our customers’ needs,” he said. “We would like to be a company customers can bank on. Whether its 8/4 flat sawn or 5/4 quartersawn, we want to be someone our present customers or potential customers ca
Phillip Freeman, yard foreman and quality control; Billy Hoskins, lumber sales and shipping; Cornett along with Reinstetle; and Gary Turner. Turner Is the production supervisor. These men are some of the key people at the Pine Mountain operation in Whitesburg, Ky.
n call up, place an order and know that we will ship them their lumber exactly as specified and in a timely manner.”
Cornett added that the company is capable of processing any species of logs into quartersawn lumber, as long as the logs in their yard are large enough to do so. He added that Pine Mountain’s main concern is always striving to make sure they are manufacturing a high-quality product for their customers.
“All of our customers have been really tickled with the high grade of lumber that we are providing,” he stated. “We are in the process of trying to maximize out productivity and make sure that the product is sawn and graded properly. We are looking at everything from two or three different points of view to ensure that we are getting the best yield at our facility.”
Pine Mountain has two sawmills on the same tract of land in Whitesburg, but the new equipment to cut quartersawn lumber was installed in the band mill. The other mill at their facility is a circle mill. The company has more than 100 different independent logging contractors that bring them logs to their mill in Whitesburg, and two other log yards within a 60-mile radius of Whitesburg.
Pine Mountain is owned by Richard Sturgill and John Foley, who work at the firm’s headquarters in Lexington. The men first worked together at Rockhouse Wood Products. The two developed Pine Mountain with Buck Harless of International Industries in 1995. In 2001, S
The company produces more than 35 million board feet of green Hardwood lumber and/or ties annually.
turgill and Foley bought International Industries’ interest in Pine Mountain. Cornett said that Sturgill, president, and Foley, vice president, are both very hands-on owners, and they are at the company’s sawmill operation on a weekly basis.
Cornett mentioned several key individuals at Pine Mountain who include: John Reinstetle, forest resource manager; Gary Turner, production supervisor; Phillip Freeman, yard foreman; Billy Hoskins, lumber sales and processing; Sheila Stewart, office manager and accounts payable; and Sheila Taylor, accounts receivable. The company employs approximately 106 people at the Whitesburg location.
Cornett also said that in his opinion, every employee is key because without everyone working together to manufacture the lumber and ship it out to customers, the company would not be successful.
Pine Mountain also has a sister company, Rockhouse Transport. This operation has 18 trucks and around 20 employees and Rockhouse ships Pine Mountain’s lumber products to various locations throughout North America. Cornett said that this enables the firm to guarantee delivery in a timely manner.
“That’s something that we really take pride in here at Pine Mountain,” Cornett said. “We are able to keep the lumber on count, on time and on grade at all times.”
The firm offers thicknesses of Appalachian Hardwood from 4/4 through 8/4 in Poplar, Hard Maple, Red and White Oak and Hickory.
The company cuts other species in addition to Red and White Oak, including Poplar, Hickory and Hard Maple. The operation produces more than 35 million board feet of green lumber and/or ties annually.
Pine Mountain Hardwood Lumber Co. is a member of the National Hardwood Lumber Assoc., Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Inc., the Kentucky Forestry Assoc., the Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen’s Assoc., the Kentucky Wood Landowner’s Assoc., the Virginia Forestry Assoc., the American Chestnut Foundation and the National Wildlife Turkey Federation. The firm also supports the American Tree Farm System and the Nature Conservancy.
