“In this industry, you have to know about the products you’re selling. We have knowledge of the products, where they are going, and the applications they are being used in. We offer a wide variety of services, specializing in custom millwork, CNC design and manufacturing and delivery.” ~ Buster Ferris, Vice President, Edensaw Woods Ltd.
Port Townsend, WA, is home to hardwood lumber and lumber products supplier Edensaw Woods Ltd. With a wide selection of products, current Vice President Buster Ferris said they carry around 100 species of domestic and exotic species. “Aside from that, we specialize in marine and cabinet grade plywood, rough and surfaced lumber, wood veneer, hardwood flooring and specialty decking,” he explained. “Our selection of slabs are second to none in terms of range of selection and quality and is one of the largest in the Pacific Northwest.”
Ferris said he is currently purchasing 500,000 board feet annually in Alder, Ash, Beech, Cherry, Hickory, Walnut and Hard and Soft Maple. In addition, he also purchases about 500,000 board feet in imported woods including European Beech, Bubinga, Jatoba, Spanish Cedar and Meranti. Additionally, 100 semi-loads a year of plywood products come from various sources.
Edensaw Woods was founded by Buster’s dad, Jim Ferris, and his now deceased business partner Charlie Moore with the initial goal to provide specialty hardwoods to the local Port Townsend and Olympic Peninsula boat-building community.
Today the company is preparing to celebrate its 40th anniversary. “As Edensaw grew, our product offering continued to increase,” Buster offered. “We now offer an assortment of shop and hand tools, craft and turning woods, live edge slabs, specialty burls, high quality veneers, marine and cabinet grade plywoods, and, of course, plenty of hardwoods.”
As for what sets the company apart from others and has kept the company in business for almost four decades, Buster said his staff are key. The knowledge, customer service and pride for what they do set them apart. “In this industry, you have to know about the products you’re selling. We have knowledge of the products, where they are going, and the applications they are being used in. When you call us for the first time, we can help walk you through what you need and what the product is going to offer for your application in terms of stability, durability and more. We offer a wide variety of services, specializing in custom millwork, CNC design and manufacturing and delivery.”
The company’s on-site millhouse works with customers to utilize the selection of wood, to design solid wood products according to exact specifications. Buster explained, “We pride ourselves on being able to individually hand pick our lumber from our own stock for each order, which increases the consistently high quality for customer projects. We supply custom materials for local boat builders, and fine home contractors. With our custom moulding capabilities, we can duplicate classic Victorian trim and siding patterns to renovate homes on the National Historic Homes Register.”
Continually reinvesting in the operation Buster said the most recent additions are a Weinig moulder and an iDry Vacuum Kiln increasing production and efficiency in both aspects. “With the installation of the new Weinig moulder we have reduced our lead time from three weeks plus down to just a couple of days,” he said. “We sent the entire millhouse to the Weinig Holz-Her Education and Training Center in Mooresville, NC, and I could not be happier with this addition. With the installation of our first vacuum kiln we can now dry material in a fraction of the time as a conventional kiln, which has been huge for drying our own stock as well as taking on customers’ orders.”
The CNC Department at Edensaw specializes in small custom and large production projects. Buster offered, “We specialize in cutting cabinet parts, furniture pieces, profiles, signs, templates, boat parts and fly cutting hardwood slabs to create flat tabletop surfaces. Our millhouse is equipped with a large variety of industrial equipment. We have a gang-rip saw, resaw, planer, wide-belt sander and moulder all on site to get our rough lumber one, two or three steps closer to the finished product. The wide-belt sander can accommodate pieces up to 50 inches across.
“If our customer doesn’t have the space for all necessary equipment, then we can mill it with ours,” Buster continued. “If you don’t have a planer, we can surface it. If you don’t have a table saw, we can straight-line it, if you don’t have the space or the time then let us do it for you. Our molder can create custom profiles to cut that piece you can’t find anywhere- in any species you want. Whether they don’t make it anymore, or they never have–we fill in the gaps. If the project is too complex for human hands, our CNC department can create even the most intricate patterns and repetitive cuts. With a 5-foot x 12-foot bed, the possibilities are virtually endless.”
Sustainability is at the forefront of concerns for Edensaw. “We have always been dedicated to sourcing woods from sustainable forests. Not only do we follow the Forest Stewardship Council’s® strictest guidelines, as well as those of the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, (PEFC) we also adhere to our very own standards when sourcing lumber, slabs and burls from our own backyard and abroad.
If we are not good stewards of the forest and land, then what is the point? To help lead the way in sustainability we took Edensaw fully solar not long ago. Installing 528 solar panels for a total output of 201.75 kWP now producing more power than we use.”
As for what the next 40 years will bring, he said he’s looking at new growth opportunities in the future and Edensaw Woods Ltd. has continued plans for year-over-year growth.
For more information visit www.edensaw.com.
