“We have always had the choice to do a little bit of everything, or choose one thing and become really good at it and be a specialty operation.” – Dave Cochenour, director of sales, Alta Forest Products
Alta Forest Products, based in Chehalis, WA, is the world’s largest manufacturer of wood fence boards and produces over 12,000 truckloads of wood fencing each year.
Alta Forest Products, based in Chehalis, WA, has been through its share of changes as it adapts to the market that it serves. The company’s orginal mill, built 80 years ago, produced 2×4’s and railroad ties to serve the war effort.
Today, Alta Forest Products, the world’s largest manufacturer of wood fence boards, produces over 12,000 truckloads of wood fencing each year. Proudly made in the USA, Alta products represent quality, sustainability and pride. “We have always had the choice to do a little bit of everything, or choose one thing and become really good at it and be a specialty operation,” said Dave Cochenour, director of sales.
In order to provide high-quality products to their customers, Alta employs over 600 people across the Pacific Northwest, with facilities in Chehalis, WA, Morton, WA, Shelton, WA, Amanda Park, WA, and Naples, ID.
Recently, Alta, partnered with Wood Defender, expanded its product line with the introduction of the Pro-Finish Oil Stain. This innovative product combines proprietary technology with a commitment to quality, offering both aesthetic appeal and protection from the elements.
The Pro-Finish Oil Stain is produced domestically, avoiding international supply chain issues.
Production of Pro-Finish Oil Stain occurs at Alta Forest Products’ multi-species sawmill in Shelton, WA, with an initial goal of 40 million board feet per year. “We believe this is sufficient to meet immediate demand, but the process is modular, allowing us to quickly increase capacity as markets develop,” Cochenour added.
While production is based at the Shelton facility, a dedicated building has been established solely for this new product. “Though part of the same property, the new product operates as a standalone operation,” noted President and CEO James Venters.
Venters stated, “We choose to work with Wood Defender because we have a similar culture. Just like we aren’t sitting at a desk selling lumber, we are out in the sawmill understanding our product, and they too aren’t just selling a product, they are working directly with it, connecting with us, helping us figure out what the right formula is for our products.
“Pro-Finish Oil Stain is the first of its kind. And our patent-pending process enables us to scale production and meet market demands for premium oil-stained products. This value-added process can be applied to any product line we currently produce, significantly extending product longevity for our customers. Applied at the factory, our oil stain eliminates the labor and mess of on-site staining, enhancing the natural beauty of the wood and extending the lifespan of your fence.”
Alta Forest Products partnered with Wood Defender expanded its product line with the introduction of the Pro-Finish Oil Stain.
Cochenour explained the motivation behind the product development: “Customers were staining the product on-site, which added labor costs and complexity. We saw an opportunity to meet this need by offering pre-stained products.”
Venters highlighted that Pro-Finish Oil Stain is produced domestically, avoiding international supply chain issues. “Each board is wax end-sealed to reduce splitting and checking while protecting against UV damage. Our proprietary oil stain penetrates the wood, offering protection from harmful UV rays.”
Cochenour noted that the stain is available for Alta Forest Products’ main species, Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar. “Douglas Fir, though less utilized than Western Red Cedar in the current market, is grown locally in the Pacific Northwest. This allows us to offer a competitive fence product against both imported and domestic options. Douglas Fir has proven performance characteristics similar to Western Red Cedar and has been a top choice in the construction industry for over 100 years.”
Alta also offers all of their products in a proprietary appereance grade. “We pride ourselves on wane free products, parallel edges and great manufacturing,” said Cochenour. “Our computerized grading scanner allows us to come within two percent of our grade allowance, which far exceeds the industry standard of five percent.”
Those that work at Alta go above and beyond the premium products that they sell to their customers, they also take into account the markets that they are selling into and the saturation rate of the products that are already out there. “We really respect our customers and the supply chain,” Cochenour noted. “When adding a new customer, we look not just at the value that we can bring to them, but the value that they bring to us and the value that we will both bring to the market with this new relationship.”
Production of Pro-Finish Oil Stain occurs at Alta Forest Products’ multi-species sawmill in Shelton, WA, with an initial goal of 40 million board feet per year.
“Our customers are large distributors and national retailers, and their relationships with us are extremely important and we will not bypass them just to keep our sales up. We understand that it is always good to have competition in the marketplace, but we also understand that an oversaturated market isn’t good for anyone,” Venters added.
Alta’s sales team consists of five employees, Dave Cochenour, Gib Gibor, Morgan Kelley (director of retail), Matt Poquette and Monte McLean. While Alta as a whole sells throughout the Pacific Northwest through the Midwest and down into Texas, their sales team doesn’t have a designated region. “We don’t assign territories to our sales representatives, we instead match our sales team to the customer,” said Cochenour. “This allows for us to have better relationships with our customers and allows us to support them in ways that we otherwise couldn’t.”
Venters noted that when the market gets tight, that’s when they realize how much these life-long relationships really mean. “When things get tight, people come to us and support us because we have been there for them and supported them over the years. These 30-plus year relationships that are vital to our company are what has helped us out the most when the market gets tough.”
It isn’t just the relationships with Alta’s customers that mean so much, it’s also the relationships with the products and the employees. “When someone comes to work here, they are coming here to start a career. So, we trust our employees and they trust in the reputation that the company has built up over the years,” Venters said.
“We recently joined the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association. They have vested interest in letting people know the difference between Western Red Cedar and all other Cedar products,” said Dave Cochenour, director of sales at Alta Forest Products.
Alta Forest Products understand the true importance of not just merely being in the industry, but taking part in it and helping to educate the public and the younger generations. “We recently joined the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association (WRCLA). They have vested interest in letting people know the difference between Western Red Cedar and all other Cedar products,” stated Cochenour. “One of the big things that we are doing by being a part of industry associations, like WRCLA, is helping educate the public and the people that we are selling to. So, whether that is us putting the information out there on our packaging, or through our advertisements and our website, we want to be consistent and help educate the public.”
Alta Forest Products is a member of the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association, North American Wholesale Lumber Association, Inland Lumber Producers and the American Fence Association.
For more information, visit www.altafp.com.
