Middle TN Lumber
Middle TN Lumber purchases lumber from 35 green mills, all within a 150-mile radius. Seventy percent of what they purchase is White Oak, with the remaining 30 percent being comprised of Red Oak, Hickory, Poplar and Walnut. Middle Tennessee Lumber, A Producer Of Superior Lumber Products Burns, TN – Middle Tennessee Lumber (MTL), located here, is deeply rooted in their community. They operate a successful lumber business, serving distribution yards throughout North America and around the globe! Their facility sits on 50 acres, 30 of which are utilized by 10 dry kilns, a wood waste boiler, a Lico rough mill, a flooring plant, dry storage facilities that house lumber and flooring products and a vast air-drying yard showcasing high quality No. 2 and Better Appalachian lumber in 4/4 thickness. MTL has been at this location since 1967 and CEO Bill Joyce became the sole owner in 1985. “We have grown substantially and we have tried a lot of things over the years,” said Joyce. “We started exploring a little bit, we tried making furniture parts for a little while then we moved into S4S for a while. Then I thought that the lumber around here would lend itself to the flooring business, especially the wide planks because there are a lot of tie mills around here. So, if you are running a sawmill, you are pretty much having to cut crossties and that type of lumber lends itself to making Hardwood flooring.” Fast forward to today and MTL is a partner in a green By Terry Miller Middle TN Lumber markets their flooring across the United States. Middle TN Lumber has a dry-kiln capacity of 800,000 board feet per charge with an average of two turns a month, according to John Patterson. circle mill. Vanleer Hardwoods Inc., located in Vanleer, TN, is owned by Bill Joyce, Ronnie Adkins, Lawson Lee and Jordan Louth. Vanleer Hardwoods produces Hardwood lumber, railway ties, crating stock and pallets in the following species: Ash, Basswood, Beech, Cherry, Hard Maple, Red and White Oak, Yellow Poplar, Sycamore, Walnut and Sassafras. MTL also owns two distribution yards located in Dickson and Clarksville, TN and a flooring plant that provides strip flooring, engineered flooring and solid plank flooring up to six inches wide and 10 feet long, and lastly, a concentration yard that puts up a superior lumber product at seven inches and wider for their distribution yard customers. “Our dry-kiln capacity is 800,000 board feet per charge with an average of two turns a month,” noted John Patterson, MTL’s lumber buyer and export sales manager. “We buy from about 35 green mills within a 150-mile radius. Seventy percent of what we purchase is White Oak and the balance is made up of Red Oak, Hickory, Poplar and Walnut,” Patterson continued. “We are providing our distribution yard customers with Face and Better in seven inches and wider premium lumber in White Oak, Poplar and Walnut and our eight inch and wider superior lumber in Red Oak and Hickory,” commented Joyce. “We run two distribution centers, so we know what these yards across the globe demand for their wood working craftsmen that make high end cabinets, furniture, flooring and millwork! We also supply rift and quartered White Oak to our discerning distribution yard customers.” All the lumber processed at MTL is dried to a six to eight percent moisture content. “We run two distribution centers, so we know what these yards across the globe demand for their wood working craftsmen that make high end cabinets, furniture, flooring and millwork!” said John Patterson, Middle TN Lumber’s export sales manager and lumber purchaser. “We have grown substantially and we have tried a lot of things over the years. We started exploring a little bit, we tried making furniture parts for a little while then we moved into S4S for a while. Then I thought that the lumber around here would lend itself to the flooring business, especially the wide planks because there are a lot of tie mills around here. So, if you are running a sawmill, you are pretty much having to cut crossties and that type of lumber lends itself to making Hardwood flooring.” – Bill Joyce, CEO, Middle Tennessee Lumber The distribution yards are run by a team of approximately 40 people and these facilities buy lumber that is not from this region, such as Cherry and White Hard Maple in grades Face and Better and thicknesses of 4/4-8/4, as well as Poplar in thicknesses of 5/4-10/4. Moreover, they also supply Mahogany and other tropical species. “This allows us to serve our distribution customers across the United States with all these other lumber products that we don’t process through our operations. We can pick up a pack on a number of different species from our own distribution centers to finish a load from the Face and Better seven inches and wider products that we produce here at our drying facility on a daily basis,” said Patterson. Common carriers are used on all shipments to MTL’s distribution customers. MTL has been in the export business for a number of years and Patterson is the export sales manager. Their Face and Better White Oak, seven inches and wider, lumber products are known throughout Europe as well as their other lumber products that they process, such as, Walnut, Red Oak, Hickory and Poplar in Face and Better seven inches and wider. “We put up a moulder blank for the international and domestic markets,” noted Patterson. Please turn to page 40 22 JUNE 2023 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE www.RealAmericanHardwood.org www.RealAmericanHardwood.org JUNE 2023 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 23
