INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT:
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT: Tough Industry Brought Byers Great Satisfaction Kane, PA—His love for the outdoors led Randy Byers to a career in the forest products industry. Now, 40 years later, Byers has said good-bye to his colleagues at Kane Hardwood, a division of Collins Pine Co., and has embarked upon retirement. “When I first started, you Randy Byers were lucky to get a job. You were happy to get a job. You were elated to be a part of this industry,” the 64-year-old former salesman reminisced recently. “But it’s one of the hardest, toughest industries. From cutting danger all the way through to producing that board, it’s not an easy industry.” Noting that most of his Kane co-workers were age 55 and older, Byers wondered whether enough younger people were interested in a forest products career. “How do we get somebody who wants to stay in a position longer than a year?” he asked. The 24/7 work atmosphere of growing up on a farm in Mount Jackson, PA prepared him for the professional challenge. Byers enrolled in a pre-forestry program at Youngstown State, then transferred to Ohio State to pursue industrial management studies. “I had a great professor, Bob Touse, who was kind enough to sponsor me to go to the NHLA grading school,” he said. “There are a number of us in this industry who were mentored by Bob.” After graduating from grading school, Byers was hired as a second-shift grader at Kane Hardwood. Two years 36 JUNE 2020 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE
later, he became a sales coordinator and began his long run of selling Hardwood lumber for Collins, headquartered in Portland, OR. One highlight of his job has been the travel: Byers has visited all 50 states—North Carolina’s furniture country being his favorite spot—China, Vietnam, Europe and journeyed “all the way south to the very tip of Chile.” Dealing with people who became his friends has been another positive aspect. Byers said he will miss the annual NHLA convention—“that was always a fun one”—and attending Penn-York Lumbermen’s Club functions. “There’s such a tight fraternity/sorority. Everybody really does care about what’s going in our industry,” he remarked. Then, too, helping customers buy the right lumber product for their needs also has been satisfying, Byers said. “I would have the discussion, ‘Why are you buying uppers when you can buy a percentage of 1 Common and a percentage of 2 Common and keep your costs down?’ I felt good about the integrity of doing that,” Byers recalled. So what are his plans for retirement? Byers is an avid swimmer, runner and canoeist who plans to compete in partial triathlons. His late wife, Robin, taught him how to dance so he also intends to keep waltzing and polka dancing when he’s not busy working in the vegetable garden. n LAKE STATES Continued from page 6 get a little tighter,” a sawmill source in Indiana commented. “The flooring plants are having more issues with the distributors being shut down. That’s probably 50 percent of the business for the guys we sell to, so we’re thinking that in the next two months there’s probably going to be a slow-up because of that.” Red and White Oak and Poplar (FAS, No. 1 Common) in 4/4 through 6/4 thicknesses are in the greatest demand among his customers, who make Hardwood and truck flooring. “The truck flooring guys are the ones hurting the worst. Their business is probably off 60 percent if not more,” the source said. He reported that crossties were starting to be overproduced so quotas were being placed on them. “Pallet cants are not putting anybody on quotas as of yet, but they are cutting the prices,” the contact said. “As for grade lumber, with the flooring plants doing what they’re doing on the Red Oak and White Oak, I think No. 1 and Better lumber will creep up a little higher because of the fact that no one will be able to move the total amount of 2 and 3 that they need. So those markets will probably be pretty good for the next two months.” n JUNE 2020 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 37
