The only thing better than our lumber is our service. - Miller ...

Cherry Forest
Expands Services
This is an aerial view of Cherry Forest Products family owned sawmill and Hardwood manufacturing facility, headquartered
in Guelph, Ont.
BY WAYNE MILLER
Guelph, Ont.— Established by Edward Baranski as a green sawmill over 50 years ago,
Cherry Forest Products, headquartered here, has remained a success by listening to its customers and
focusing intensely on providing for customer needs.
Today, the family owned sawmill and
Hardwood manufacturing facility is run by
brothers, John, Robert and Jacob Baranski.
For more than 25 years, Cherry Forest
Products has produced grade lumber, cutto-size
products and custom ripped planks.
The company also expanded into sliced
veneer several years ago.
Recently, Cherry Forest was awarded
Chain-of-Custody certification from the
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The
certification ensures that the firm’s quality
Hardwood lumber, cut-to-size dimension,
cut-to-size cabinet parts and veneers,
which are shipped domestically and internationally,
are all harvested from responsibly
managed forests.
Cherry Forest Products has four
sawmills, additionally procures green lumber
throughout New York, Pennsylvania,
southern Ontario and Quebec, and processes
approximately 25 million board feet of
sawn timber per year. Once the logs have
been processed through the sawmill, the
lumber is carefully sticked, and put into
one of nine kiln chambers.
Depending on grade, the lumber is then
produced into either sorted to width grade
lumber, ripped strips, dimensional blanks
or pallets. Cherry Forest processes all
domestic Hardwoods, and produces sorted
to width lumber in all grades of Hard
Maple, Ash, Red and White Oak, Walnut
and Cherry. The company maintains
approximately 6 million board feet of
inventory among five warehouses.
Built in 1986, Cherry Forest’s Guelph,
Ont., sawmill covers 25 acres, employs
approximately 130 workers and boasts upto-date
lumber handling equipment including
a new Walnut steamer, combination
sticker/sorter and optimized ripped-towidth
line. Everything but the log yard is
paved ensuring that products remain neat
and clean.
The Walnut steamer, which offers 15,000
FBM (foot board measure) of capacity per
charge, was added so the company could
steam its own Walnut and have better quality
control. The sticking/sorting line offers
two grading stations, and can sort and
grade 100,000 board feet of lumber daily.
The machine automatically tallies all
footages by computer, and includes a
moisture sensor to determine the moisture
content of what is produced.
Cherry Forest Products also has a dimension
plant that offers numerous re-manufactured
goods ranging from ripped-towidth
strips to dimensional blanks. The
company offers custom ripping and quality
checks for international customers.
Cherry Forest also hopes to install a thin
kerf band mill in Guelph in the future.
Jacob Baranski, whose responsibilities
include international sales and marketing,
said Cherry Forest’s specialty is increasing
customers’ yields and inventory roll over
traditional production methods. This helps
customers increase productivity and cash
flow, allowing them to focus their time on
pursuing profitable orders.
“No matter where you produce it, be it the
most expensive or least expensive labor
market in the world, wasted lumber is
wasted lumber,” Baranski said. “By buying
a product that is already semiprocessed,
you can definitely gain in efficiency.
The key is to utilize your resources
efficiently and to waste as little time and
Please turn to page 45
24 Hardwoods Have Versatility