Who is Yoder Lumber Co, Inc. and why would you want to do business with them? This is normally where the experts would tell you to insert your 45 second elevator speech. Time for me to disagree with the marketing experts - Yoder Lumber cannot be described in 45 seconds.

Yoder Lumber is a 70+ year old family-owned Appalachian Hardwood business comprised of seven very distinct divisions and operating in four locations in two states with domestic sales primarily east of the Mississippi coupled with a very active lumber and log export operation to Asia and Europe.

The seven divisions are comprised of:

• Forest Management division that handles our timber procurement to support our sawmill operations.
• Sawmill and Kiln division that processes the timber into lumber which provides green and kiln dried lumber to the other divisions.
• Lumber and Millwork division handles all of our direct sales of lumber and operates a full service millwork operation.
• Hardwood Components division is a major supplier of color sorted glued panels and cut to length stock utilizing a WoodEye Scanner optimization system.
• Architectural Wood Solutions (AWS) division is a major supplier of hardwood solutions to architects, designers and contractors that cater to the store and restaurant 'fixture' market.
• Rolling Ridge Woods division handles procurement of veneer logs and 'saw logs' for both domestic and export sales.
• Yoder Logistics division provides direct logistics support to all the other divisions as well as providing logistics for other timber operations in the area.

Yoder Lumber's "elevator speech":

• We have 8MMbf of the finest Appalachian standing timber under contract. This standing timber is managed by a team of Foresters and loggers that harvest the timber utilizing only recognized 'best management practices' logging and reclamation techniques. Appalachian hardwood forests are naturally certifiable as 'sustainable' and require no reforestation as the timber is harvested.
• At any one time Yoder Lumber has over 1MMbf of mixed Appalachian species logs to produce 'flat sawn' lumber and another 500Mbf of Appalachian White Oak to produce either quarter sawn or rift sawn lumber.
• Our saw mills produce over 10MMBF of Appalachian hardwood lumber annually that we sell green or kiln dried to the furniture and flooring markets both domestically and internationally
• We average over 6.75MMbf of Appalachian hardwood lumber in process at any one time.
• Our sawmill operations are further enhanced by a 45 bay bin sorter operation that allows us to more precisely fill customer requests for specific lengths and widths.
• We have 10 kilns with over 520Mbf of kiln capacity on a 30 day turn cycle. This drying cycle is augmented by using a 750Mbf 'pre-drier'. The kiln and pre-drier capacities allow us to meet unexpected customer just-in-time delivery schedules.
• Appalachian hardwood 'live edge slabs' and lumber is an emerging market for our Forestry, saw mill, millwork and Architectural Wood Solutions divisions. Furniture makers, architects, and designers have discovered the beauty and warmth and uniqueness that 'live edge slabs' and hardwood lumber brings to a design is unmatched by market substitutes.
• Our AWS division caters to the national store fixture market. Our unique hardwood solutions to Designers and Architects requests ensure that their marketing visons fulfill the store owners' requirements. This division is supported by the rest of the Yoder Lumber team to deliver the ultimate customer experience that only Appalachian hardwoods can provide.
• Our Rolling Ridge Woods division focuses on the procurement and sale of Appalachian hardwood veneer logs. We sell 50% of our veneer logs to foreign markets. Rolling Ridge also is actively involved in the export of Appalachian hardwood saw logs to the Asian markets.
• All of the Yoder Lumber production and sales divisions are supported by our Yoder Lumber Logistics division. The Logistics division operates 25 semi-tractors and straight trucks to meet our customers ever demanding delivery schedules. Without this division our customers' "just-in-time-inventory" requirements would just be an empty promise.

In following issues I will try to cover whatever is current and pertinent at publication time that concerns not just Yoder Lumber but also the domestic and export markets for Appalachian hardwoods as seen through the eyes of you our customers and through our eyes as we strive to provide you with the very best quality and service possible.

Wishing you all the best,
Bob Mapes
President