NAWLA Special Edition 2023

Cersosimo Lumber: 75

Cersosimo Lumber: 75 Years Young And Still Going Strong Cersosimo Lumber Company President Michael Cersosimo and Chairman of the Board Butch Cersosimo. Cersosimo Lumber Company Vice President and General Manager Jeff Hardy and Eastern White Pine Sales Manager Ryan Satterfield. Cersosimo sells Eastern White Pine in a variety of grades and in thicknesses up to 12/4. In 1947, Tony Cersosimo was planning to open a premium lumber company and decided to brand his product from the start. He chose the Red Hunter, a mark now known throughout the world as a symbol of quality. Over the ensuing 75 years, the Cersosimo Lumber Company, located in Brattleboro, VT, has continued to carve out a reputation for itself as a locally-renowned family-owned lumber company. In fact, company president Michael Cersosimo represents the third generation of his family to run the business, with his father, Butch, still serving as chairman of the board. The business has, in particular, carved out a niche for itself in terms of its sales of White Pine. Jeff Hardy, Vice President and General Manager at Cersosimo ARCHITECT: MARTIN FENLON | PHOTO: ZACH LIPP A family-run operation. An international reputation. Highest quality, select knotty, fascia & trim, siding and specialty products. Wide range of superior, clear, vertical grain decking, siding and specialty products. Paneling | Siding | Fascia & Trim | Dimension | Engineered pwww.ca | 604.946.2910 | Delta, BC, Canada Lumber, said the company caters to a number of industries. “We sell a variety of thicknesses up to 12/4 and a variety of grades, whether it’s products that work for the furniture industry or for moulding and millwork, along with a wide variety of NELMA grades,” he said. “We ship a lot domestically to distribution yards and end use manufacturers. We also ship lumber export, whether it be to Europe or Canada,” he said. “Our graders are trained over a number of different grading rules, whether it’s NELMA, WWPA, or proprietary grades for customers to fit their needs.” In fact, in any given year, the company produces anywhere between 25 million and 30 million board feet of White Pine alone. To keep up with this demand, the company employs 225 people and operates five sawmills. “We usually like to procure our Softwood logs within a 60-mile radius of the sawmills,” Jeff noted. “And the hardwood logs could run up to about a 100-mile radius. We certainly have some of our own timberlands, and we buy a large portion of stumpage. It is probably the biggest portion of our cut. Along with that, we do accept gatewood in all the sawmill locations. That mix seems to just give us a good supply of logs through most of the year.” This stable supply chain has been crucial to maintaining the company’s reputation as a reliable source for lumber. In fact, Cersosimo Lumber has been working with some customers for 30, 40, and even 50 years, a true testimony to the quality of the company’s products and its service. But the team at Cersosimo does not rely on its past; they remain committed to meeting their customers’ needs every day. “We tend to have a niche doing other things,” noted Ryan Satterfield, Eastern White Pine Sales Manager. “A lot of Pine mills here in the northeast tend to just cut one inch or 5/4 stock. We do everything from one inch to 12/4, even 4x4 White Pine squares, so we get into a lot of different thicknesses. We’re able to do things other mills in the area cannot.” Ryan added that one area where the company specializes is furniture grade lumber - Knotty Pine that is precisely dried to customer specifications and stress relieved, making it ideal for furniture and cabinet construction. “Not many people dry their lumber dry enough to use it for those applications. It’s become a specialty for us, whether it’s 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4, or 12/4. We dry a lot of products to that spec,” he said. Jeff noted that like every business in the industry, Cersosimo Lumber faces challenges, but unlike others, the company is uniquely positioned to meet those challenges head-on. “I certainly think finding good timber is always a part of the equation. Good labor can’t be replaced easily, and attracting new people to our industry can be tricky. What separates us is that we continue to have good people and our ability to purchase timber, and good timber has really been a part of the growth of this company for the last 75 years.” A trusted partner to the Industrial and Construction sectors for 70 years www.cersosimo.com Please visit us at Booth #313 Page 50 ADVERTORIAL Wholesale/Wholesale Distributor Special Buying Issue Wholesale/Wholesale Distributor Special Buying Issue ADVERTORIAL Page 51 westonforest.com info@westonforest.com 800-663-2271