NAWLA Special Edition 2023

J.H. Huscroft: Supplying Customers Across North America
With a Wide Range Of Quality Softwoods
Lumber packaged, wrapped and stored in a
dry shed awaiting trucking at J.H. Huscroft
Ltd.
In 1927 John Henry Huscroft, along with his children,
founded a bush-run sawmill in nearby Dodge Creek that
was eventually re-located to its present location. Following
in his father’s footsteps, Ken Huscroft carried on the company
business for decades that bore his father’s name – J.H.
Huscroft Ltd., located in Creston, BC.
During that time, Justin Storm started working at the
sawmill in 1999 when he was 16. In 2007, he was promoted
to general manager, and in 2013 signed a purchase agreement
with the Huscroft family and now serves as president/
Pictured is the beginning of the new 52 bin
mill sorter at J.H. Huscroft.
general manager and sole
owner. Through the years,
J.H. Huscroft has steadily
grown and today employs
85 people on a one shift
basis.
“We operate a two-line
sawmill,” said Storm. “Our
big headsaw handles
any log over 12 inches in
diameter, and we have
a hew saw that handles
logs that are less than
12-inches. We buy logs
within a 125-mile radius.”
Those logs are used
to produce high quality
Softwood products at
J.H. Huscroft. Storm
explained, “All the wood we buy and harvest is SFI certified.
We buy mainly Spruce, Pine, Douglas Fir, and Larch. We
have an allowable cut of 80,000 cubic meters, but we’re
cutting beyond that – up to 110,000 – and we purchase the
rest from our local community forest and from private timber
sales. We also have a joint venture with the lower Kootenay
Band, which is Kootenay-Huscroft Forest Products, where
we run a pattern moulder and end-matcher.
As for products manufactured at J.H. Huscroft, sales
representative Chris Schofer said, “Our main species are
DiPrizio Pine Sales
A Team of Over 50 Dedicated Men & Women Producing
Eastern White Pine Lumber
Products for Our Valued Customers!
ESLP and DFL. We cut 1x4 through 1x12 boards in both
ESLP and DFL and pattern stock up to 1x8. We also cut
Douglas Fir and Larch 2” dimension 2x4 through 2x12 and
supply a lot of 1 and 2-inch lam stock for Canadian and U.S
customers. Operating in-house moulder and end-matcher,
we run 1x4, 1x6, 1x8 into many different profiles including a
high quality flooring product. We do a lot of specialty things,
such as Hemlock and White Fir custom orders. We try to
add as much value to those difficult species as possible.”
Storm added, “We do turn a lot of products into paneling
and glulam stock. It’s all very high end, value-added products,
and in our location, we have all the high quality fiber
we need to sustain our operations.”
J.H. Huscroft Ltd. has the dry kiln capacity to complement
the 26 million board feet of production, and Storm said that
total could go higher. “Kiln capacity is our main limiting factor
in production at this point,” he explained. “At the volume
that we operate, we run into bottlenecks sometimes, but I
view a bottleneck as a good thing because it means you’re
pushing yourself.”
J.H. Huscroft Ltd. is currently in the process of adding a
52 bin sorter and advanced scanning to the sawmill. This
will help alleviate some of the production bottlenecks and
allow them to run multiple species at a time to better utilize
both the large log line and small log Hewsaw line.
Storm estimated that 18 million board feet of the company’s
production is dedicated to producing 1” boards, with the
remaining annual production is 2” and specialty products.
Wholesale distributors comprise the bulk of J.H. Huscroft’s
clientele, said Schofer, who
added, “We deal with a lot of contract
customers. Once we set up a program,
we do our best to keep everything
running smoothly with our customers in
those categories. We treat our customers
like business partners, both sides
need to be happy.”
Our company has been working with this
MAJESTIC RENEWABLE RESOURCE...
since 1938
Great People. Great Facilities. Great Solutions. Great Pine.
Mixed Truckloads • PTL • Partial Units • Partial Loads • Custom Programs
Custom Kiln Drying • Trucking Arrangements
800-647-8989
or 603-473-2210
Route 153, Kings Hwy
Middleton, NH 03887
NELMA Patterns & Custom Patterns
Double-milled with Weinig Moulder Finish
4/4, 5/4, 6/4 and Timbers • 1/2 x 6” & 8” Bevel Siding
Primed D Select Boards • DPS- “Band - Tex” Finish
dipriziopine.com
Email Jamie Moulton
jmoulton@lavalleys.com
J.H. Huscroft primarily manufactures
boards made from ESLP and
Douglas Fir/Larch. The company
also handles Hemlock and White Fir
custom orders.
Forty percent of the company’s products
are shipped to the United States,
and the remainder is sold within Canada.
J.H. Huscroft utilizes the services of two
railroads to transport its products, as
well as via trucks, on which the lumber is
tarped for protection from the weather.
As a high quality lumber producer,
Storm attributes his company’s success
to product diversity and hard work. “A
lot of companies in our area choose to
do one wood species very well versus
what we do,” he said. “We choose to do
many different species, and do our best
on each one, so we can serve a broad
selection of customers.”
Schofer, who handles all marketing
and sales for the company, added, “One
of the things that sets us apart from our
competitors is our willingness and ability
to go the extra mile for our customers.
It’s not always about what makes us the
most money, it’s about providing our long
term customers with what they need.
If we are there for our customers, they
will be there for us. Our focus is on the
future, and we plan on being around for
a long time.”
J.H. Huscroft Ltd. is a member of
the North American Wholesale Lumber
Association and the Interior Lumber
Manufacturer’s Association.
For more information, visit online
at www.jhhuscroft.com.
Visit us at Booth #216
Operating between the improbable
and the impossible.
www.zipolaminators.com
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