Sid Sigfusson, Jamey Dunse, Berny Power and Jim Dunse, Mill & Timber Products, located in Surrey, B.C.
Surrey, B.C.—Since 1951, Mill & Timber Products Ltd., headquartered here, has provided its customers with Western Red Cedar products “from the forest floor to the customer’s door.” The company, which was established along the Fraser River in British Columbia, has the capacity to manufacture over 70 million board feet annually of Cedar decking, fascia, posts and beams, rails, dimension and timbers.
Mill & Timber Products Ltd. is privately owned and operates three sawmills in the Vancouver area: Smallwood Sawmill Ltd. in Surrey, B.C., Flavelle Sawmill Co. Ltd. in Port Moody, B.C., and the company’s original Bridgeview sawmill in Surrey, B.C., together with Aspen Planers Ltd. in Merritt, B.C.; a remanufacturing facility, Pan-Abode Homes International in Richmond, B.C.; and the Port Hardy Division, which offers custom log sorting services and supplies Yellow Cedar and Western Red Cedar utility poles.
Mill & Timber manufactures Western Red Cedar lumber: 2x4 through 2x12; 4x4 through 4x12; 6x6 through 6x12; 8x8 and 8x12; 12x12; 2x4 and 2x6 (S4S); 5/4x4, 5/4x5 and 5/4x6 (S4S); and, 1x6 v-joint.
Jim Dunse, one of Mill & Timber’s three salesmen, said the company sells primarily to wholesale distribution centers in the United States and Canada, but also exports its products to Asia, Australia and Europe. “We’re shipping mostly by rail through reloads like Desticon, Westrans or Mountain View and by truck when the customer calls for it,” he said.
Mill & Timber’s Surrey, B.C., facility is located on 20 acres and saws logs into rough lumber. From there it is sent to the Richmond facility which operates resawing, chop sorting and planing lines as well as dry kilns and storage sheds.
Mill & Timber’s lumber products are protected from the elements and ready for prompt shipment.
Over half of the company’s log supply is acquired through its own logging. The company acquires the balance through arrangements with other producers and purchases on the open log market.
Aspen Planers sells its SPF kiln-dried. However, Mill & Timber sells most of its Cedar green. The Pan-Abode plant in Richmond has kiln-drying capacity, which is available when customers need it.
Mill & Timber is able to meet the needs of its customers, no matter how great or how small. “We’re small enough and big enough,” Dunse said. “As a small company, we’re much more flexible, and able to react quicker to the needs of our customers. But, we’re also big enough to handle those needs. Our focused team of sales, manufacturing and resource helps build credibility, and gives customers confidence knowing who they are working with and that they will receive their products as scheduled.”
Dunse also addressed the current market situation and explained how Mill & Timber is meeting the ‘new’ needs and demands of its customers. “People are looking for highly mixed orders now. So the business has changed and the distributors don’t necessarily want to keep a lot of wood under their own roof. They need a lot of mixed loads up and we ship them directly to their customers. So that has changed a little bit and we have responded appropriately. Maybe in the old days mills were a little shy in having a bunch of mixed orders but the model has changed now more toward mixed orders and we’re certainly a player in that market.”
At Mill & Timber, making sure clients are satisfied is the number one priority.
Jim Dunse stands beside some of the company’s paper wrapped products.
“We have a strong belief in good communication with our customers,” Dunse said. “Gone are the days when you can sit on the top of a hill, throw your offerings out and reel them in with a net. You have to work hard, and do what you say you’re going to do in a timely manner.”
Mill & Timber is committed to consistency and efficiency. “We don’t play around with grades, they never vary,” Dunse said.“We introduced the product to the market once and we consistently manufacture it no matter what the economics show. The result is that people come to us because they know the consistent quality is going to be there, and the service will be there. That hasn’t been changed through thick and thin.”
Berny Power and Sid Sigfusson are the other key members of the Cedar sales team. Power sells mainly 2x4,2x6, 5/4x6 decking to customers across North America. Sigfusson sells clears and low grades domestically and around the world. Dunse handles mostly common grades of 2x4 through 2x12, timbers and S4S Red Cedar. Mill & Timber also produces and sells Yellow Cedar, and Jay Puder manages the program. And, finally, there are the KD SPF sales. Dave Thiessen handles all of the SPF dimension sales for Aspen Planers both domestic and offshore.
The members of the Cedar sales team have a lot of experience in the industry. Dunse has been involved in the industry for over 30 years, starting in a sawmill as a lad, and working for several wholesalers before joining Mill & Timber 14 years ago. Sigfusson started his career in Spruce sales in 1972, switching to Cedar sales in 1973 and has been with Mill & Timber for eight years. The name Power is well known on the coast. Six of the 10 Power boys have made their mark in the Cedar industry, and Berny has been with Mill & Timber for 18 years.
Mill & Timber’s Surrey, B.C., facility is located on 20 acres and saws logs into rough lumber. From there it is sent to the Richmond facility which operates resawing, chop sorting and planing lines as well as dry kilns and storage sheds.
The sales team frequently travels to meet with customers throughout the United States, Canada and overseas, and welcomes customers to visit the Surrey operation.
Surinder Ghog, owner of Mill & Timber, takes a hands-on approach to running the business, Dunse added. “He’s primarily focused on the age of inventory and sales orders,” Dunse said. “In the rare instance where there’s aged inventory, he wants to know why it hasn’t been sold, and whether we should even be producing the item. He is here every day managing our company, involved and interested in every aspect of the business.”
Dunse said the team meets several times per week to discuss any production issues, and current and future customer needs. “If there’s a problem, we’ll discuss it and find a way to solve it,” he said. “Our goal is to provide exactly what we say we’re going to, and we take pride in shipping on time.”
For more information, contact Mill & Timber Products Ltd. at 604-580-2990 or visitwww.millandtimber.com.
A partial view of Mill & Timber’s dry kiln and planer staging.
