Jim Waage with one of his customers Heidi Karasch, owner, Black Swan Cooperage LLC, displaying a whiskey barrel manufactured from staves provided by Park Rapids Hardwoods & Milling.
Park Rapids, MN¡ªAfter decades of success in the residential construction business, Jim Waage was facing a real dilemma back in 1991. He could either continue working in the physically demanding career ¨C which was taking a toll on his body and health ¨C or start his own woodworking business. ¡°I knew it was time to do something different with my life,¡± recalled Waage, owner of Park Rapids Hardwoods & Milling. ¡°I was so beat up that I really couldn¡¯t build homes anymore.¡±
And with that, Waage put down his hammer and decided to open a company to make a product that was sorely lacking in the construction industry: accurate casings. ¡°As a homebuilder I was always complaining about how there was no accuracy in casings,¡± said Waage.
Located in a 6,000-square-foot facility, the firm purchases about 140,000 board feet of Select-and-Better Red Oak, Birch, Cherry, Maple, Hickory, Basswood, Black Ash, and Alder annually.
Fast-forward to 2014 and it¡¯s clear that Waage¡¯s career change and industry insights have paid off well for this entrepreneur, who, along with a single employee, Steve Rairdon, manufactures V grooves, baseboards, casings, crown mouldings, flooring, cabinet rails, and whiskey barrel staves.
Waage, who does no advertising and relies primarily on referrals and word-of-mouth to generate new business, handles all sales for the company. Products are sold primarily to cabinet shops, contractors, lumberyards, and homeowners in Southern and Central Minnesota and in Grand Forks, ND. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of oil money in the Grand Forks area right now,¡± said Waage. ¡°Everything is booming, so we¡¯re seeing a lot of demand from that region.¡±
Waage invested in two Wadkin moulders to keep up with production needs.
Two years ago Park Rapids Hardwoods & Milling ventured into a line of business when a nearby producer of whiskey barrels needed staves, the side pieces of the barrels themselves for its finished products. Waage said his company makes ¡°straight¡± staves that the customer tapers, bends, and secures with a ring. ¡°They soak the staves in 165-degree water for 15 minutes and then pull them right in through the rings,¡± said Waage. ¡°It¡¯s a really interesting process and a great new product line for us.¡±
Such diversification helped Park Rapids Hardwoods & Milling deal with the recession and the subsequent loss of business. ¡°It helped to reduce our reliance on the home-building industry, which went through a major slump,¡± said Waage, noting that company sales were reduced by about 50 percent during that time ¨C a loss that he was able to offset by having low overhead (he owns the company building) and very few employees. ¡°I had to put some of my own money into the business during those lean times, but the last two years have been much better.¡±
Waage hasn¡¯t had to upgrade his facility or equipment much since opening the doors to his business in 1991. During the 1990s building boom, however, Waage said business was ¡°so good¡± that he did invest in a new Wadkin moulder. That investment allowed Waage to have one moulder for himself and the other for his sole employee.
¡°It was an unusual move but to keep up with production we needed both machines,¡± IWC Replica Watches recalled Waage. When demand for flooring waned, the other piece of equipment began gathering dust. ¡°Once we picked up the whiskey stave business we started using both moulders again,¡± said Waage, who estimates that he and Rairdon spend about 50 hours per month on the staves and the remainder of their time making the firm¡¯s wide range of Hardwood products and lumber.
Steve Rairdon (left) and Jim Waage stand in front of the company¡¯s finished product.
When asked what sets his company apart from its competitors, Waage wrapped his answer up in a simple word: quality. ¡°We manufacture as close to a perfect product as you can make,¡± he said. ¡°Our reputation for sticking to that philosophy precedes us and has mushroomed over the years.¡± Looking ahead, Waage sees ¡°more of the same¡± in Park Rapids Hardwoods & Milling¡¯s future ¨C and that¡¯s exactly how this entrepreneur wants it.
¡°I¡¯d like to see my company continue the way it has over the last 22 years,¡± said Waage, who estimates that company sales are about 15 percent off their early-2000s peak right now. ¡°The economy is still recovering but we¡¯ve already seen quite a jump over the last few years. A lot of mills have shut down since 2008 but we¡¯re pretty happy right where we¡¯re at.¡±
Located in a 6,000-square-foot facility, the firm purchases about 140,000 board feet of Select-and-Better Red Oak, Birch, Cherry, Maple, Hickory, Basswood, Black Ash, and Alder annually.
