Softwood Forest Products Buyer - January/February 2019

At Robbins Lumber, the

At Robbins Lumber, the sales team is comprised of Jeremy Wadsworth, Tonia Tibbetts and Kris Heald, who serve the company’s wholesale/wholesale distributor customers. After 138 Years, Robbins Lumber Still Puts Customers And Sustainability First By Terry Miller Searsmont, ME–In the 1880’s, the city of Searsmont had five sawmills. To set its brand apart and bring distinctive products with valued service to each customer, Robbins Lumber has expanded well beyond its humble beginnings. Over and above the Eastern White Pine mill with an annual production of 30 million board feet, product offerings include Cedar and numerous other items upon customer request. The company serves clients in Maine Alden Robbins, vice president and sales manager for Robbins Lumber and president of Georges River Energy, said, “Two years ago an opportunity presented itself for us to bid on a renewable energy contract. There was legislation signed 10 years ago that gave allowances for such a project, but the sunset period for it was 2018. By the time we were presented with the idea and had won the contract in 2016, we had just two years to complete the entire project before “We want our customers to be able to get their jobs done as efficiently as possible and any time a customer knows you’re doing everything you can to make their work come together faster, it gets them excited to do business with you.” Members of the fifth-generation management team at Robbins Lumber include (left to right): Alden Robbins, vice president and sales manager; Catherine Robbins- Halsted, co-owner/manager; and Jimmy Robbins Jr., president. –Catherine Robbins-Halsted, Co-owner/Manager of Robbins Lumber and Vice President of Georges River Energy as a distributor to retail lumberyards, while outside the state customers are primarily wholesale/wholesale distributors. Recent years especially have seen many changes at Robbins Lumber. The acquisition of a coatings operation (Penobscot Bay Coatings) added pre-finishing to the company’s capabilities. And construction of an on-site bio-mass energy plant was just wrapped up. The plant will convert wood waste material from the sawmill into renewable energy for the local community, as well as power to the sawmill. While daily operations require the whole Robbins Lumber team to work together, construction on the bio-mass plant necessitated a particular focus as construction was taking place nearly 24/7. It also required the founding of a subsidiary business called Georges River Energy, which will operate the biomass plant separately from the sawmill business. the law was no longer in effect.” Catherine Robbins-Halsted, co-owner/manager of Robbins Lumber and vice president of Georges River Energy, remarked, “We were already looking for a solution to our residuals issue and this plant is the perfect solution. It won’t solve the residual problem for the entire industry, but it is going to greatly reduce the abundance of pulp and fiber our facility and other nearby forest products businesses produce. We will still sell some of our residuals to paper mills, but now we don’t have to rely on them as the only source for shifting this commodity.” Robbins Lumber’s sawmill cuts 4/4 through 8/4 Eastern White Pine lumber, in addition to 1x4 through 1x12, 5/4 x 4-inch through 5/4 x 12-inch pattern stock. Alden noted, “We aren’t viewing this biomass plant as an opportunity to increase our own efficiency and The track dry kiln (pictured) offers efficient, reliable drying capabilities for lumber products. Total drying capacity per week is 700,000 board feet. reduce waste just for ourselves. This plant will have a positive impact on other businesses that need to offset the lost income that would historically come from paper and pulp mills. Also, we conducted a study that found by building this plant we are directly and indirectly creating 170 full-time equivalent jobs. In more ways than one this plant is doing a lot of good for our community and surrounding counties.” Continued on page 42 Page 4 Softwood Forest Products Buyer n January/February 2019

We are not just THE leader... We write the rules!!! Why buy anything less!!! TM www.GORMANBROS.com For Distribution near you Call 1-800-663-5087 PEFC/26-23-04 Softwood Forest Products Buyer n January/February 2019 Page 5