National Hardwood Magazine - October 2020

Kepley Frank Vertical

Kepley Frank Vertical REV 6-2019.qxp_Layout 1 5/28/19 10:03 AM Page 1 TRADE TALK EXPERIENCE QUALITY DEPENDABILITY 975 Conrad Hill Mine Rd. ~ Lexington, NC 27292 Phone 336-746-5419 ~ Fax 336-746-6177 www.kepleyfrank.com Information about our sawmill, planer mill and lumber inventory is below: 1.) Our three sawmills cut over 15 million board feet a year of fine Appalachian Hardwood lumber in 4/4 through 8/4 thicknesses in mostly Red Oak, White Oak and Poplar as well as Ash and Maple. Our crosstie mill manufactures about 100,000 board feet per week of crosstie and tie sides in species such as Hickory, Sycamore, Beech, Gum and Elm. In addition to the lumber we cut from our sawmill we also process millions of board feet of lumber per year through our concentration yard business. Recently our Hardwood lumber production has increased from processing 30 million board feet a year to 50 million board feet a year. We purchase and process all domestic species in all grades. 2.) Our modern planer mill runs two shifts to ensure ontime shipments of our lumber to customers. We deliver kiln dried or air dried lumber and offer export preparation and on-site container loading. 3.) We offer 600,000 board feet of fan shed inventory at all times, to provide efficient service to our customers. Kepley-Frank maintains an air dried inventory of 15,000,000 plus board feet of all species, to ensure back up inventory for our customers. LIBERTY, PA– Sean Kaczynski has joined the domestic sales team at Wheeland Lumber Co., based here. Wheeland Lumber Co. buys 3 million board feet of Hardwood lumber annually, mainly Hard Maple (FAS, No. 1 Common) and Soft Maple (Nos. 1 and 2 Common). Species also produced at the mill Sean Kaczynski include Red and White Oak, Hard and Soft Maple, Ash, Poplar and Cherry. Kaczynski began working in the forest products industry in 2004 as a laborer on the green chain and in the dimension plant at Wheeland Lumber Co. After attending Lock Haven University, he worked as an assistant golf professional for 14 years before returning to Wheeland to assist with domestic sales. Kaczynski and his wife of three years, Katrina, have a nine-year-old daughter. In his spare time, Kaczynski enjoys golfing, hiking and watching his daughter compete in sports. Wheeland Lumber Co. is a member of the National Hardwood Lumber Association, Hardwood Manufacturers Association, Penn-York Lumbermen’s Club, Wood Products Manufacturers Association, American Hardwood Export Council, International Wood Products Association, Sustainable Forestry Initiative of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Forest Products Association. For more information, visit www.wheelandlum ber.com. This is an inside view of one of Kepley-Frank’s sawmills cutting a large log. The firm cuts lumber in 4/4 through 8/4 thicknesses. We have 700,000 feet of kiln capacity at our KepWood dry kiln facility. Drying 80% Red and White Oak. NEW LONDON, WI– Jon Siebrase was recently promoted to Director of Sales at Granite Valley Forest Products Inc., located here. Siebrase has worked in the Hardwood industry for most of his life. Siebrase grew up on a farm and, at age 16, began working at Pingleton Sawmill Inc. Jon Siebrase 70 OCTOBER 2020 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE

AN UPDATE COVERING THE LATEST NEWS ABOUT HARDWOOD SUPPLIERS/VENDORS in Greencastle, IN. He graduated from Hanover College in 1978. He then helped his employer build a 7-foot Double Cut Band Mill. He graduated from the National Hardwood Lumber Association’s lumber grading school in 1978. After that, he went back to Pingleton Sawmill Inc., where he worked as manager. His next move was to Holmes & Company Inc., where he worked with dry kilns and manufacturing. He was part owner of a manufacturing plant in Wabash, IN. For about 10 years, he was in sales at Cole Hardwood and Indiana Dimension Inc. After that, he began working for Cranberry Hardwoods located in Beckley, WV. For about 10 years, he was part-owner of Specialty Hardwoods of Indiana, Inc. located in Nappanee, IN. He went to Granite Valley Forest Products Inc. in 2018. At Granite Valley, he has been general manager of the Marathon City Division and the Peak Lumber & Plywood Distribution Yard. “So, I am just glad to be working with a great group of guys (at Granite Valley)” where the company does high quality work, he said. Granite Valley Forest Products is located near the finest North American Hardwood forests in America. They are known for delivering custom products that exceed client specifications. They serve both domestic and international customers, exporting lumber around the world. For more information, go to www.granitevalley. com. LEXINGTON, NC– Brian Turlington, vice president of SII Dry Kilns, based here, has announced the recent completion of several kiln systems: • A 45-foot direct-fired pole kiln for Arnold Lumber, Bonifay, FL. • A 68-foot batch dry kiln for The Timberman, Brian Turlington Johnston, SC. • A 240-foot direct-fired Dual Path Kiln for Conner Holdings, Homerville, GA. Please turn the page OCTOBER 2020 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 71