“It’s our mission to cultivate valued relationships with our customers, employees, partners, vendors and communities, deeply rooting ourselves in shared growth. Our signature dependability and transparency create value and inspire trust.” – LaSalle/Bienville Lumber Company LLC
From left to right, are members of the LaSalle/Bienville sales team, Holly Bridwell, John Harkey, Jim Olson, Leah Simmons and Robbie Temple.
LaSalle Lumber Company LLC and Bienville Lumber Company LLC are joint ventures between Hunt Forest Products LLC and Tolko. Both companies are family-owned businesses that have been involved in the forest industry for many generations. This partnership has created state-of-the-art, high-tech sawmills. LaSalle Lumber is located on over 200 acres in Urania, LA while Bienville Lumber is situated on over 400 acres in Taylor, LA.
In this image, an aerial view of Bienville Lumber Company, LLC is depicted.
Both the Bienville location and the LaSalle location are deeply rooted in a Southern Yellow Pine forest region. Jim Olson, sales manager for LaSalle/Bienville, explained the board footage they handle at each sawmill. “We’re producing 5.4 million board feet per week at LaSalle and currently 6.4 million board feet per week at Bienville. Bienville’s production continues to increase and will reach 8.0 mmbf weekly during the first half of 2025.
Depicted here is a log infeed system.
At the Bienville mill, due to log size, 95 percent of the product is 2 x 4 – 2 x 8 with five percent going to 2×10’s. We are producing 2400 MSR to No. 4 grades, plus No. 2 Prime, in 8’ to 20’ lengths,” Olson explained. Their main goal at Bienville right now is to get production volumes up to budgeted levels by mid 2025. At the LaSalle mill, they produce 2 x 4 through 2 x 8 and according to Olson, “95 percent of it is 2 x 4 and 2 x 6.”
Shown here are continuous dry kilns.
They also produce standard 8-to-20-foot lengths and MSR down to No. 4 grade lumber in addition to No. 2 Prime lumber at the LaSalle mill. Bienville’s rail spur is under construction and is on the Canadian Pacific Kansas City railway, operational by the second half of 2025. LaSalle is currently shipping rail on the UP railroad.
This photo is of a lumber unscrambler.
LaSalle/Bienville’s customers consist of Southern Yellow Pine lumber treaters, buying groups/co-ops, truss manufacturers, stocking wholesale distributors, industrial accounts and retail lumber yards. LaSalle/Bienville’s sales cover Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and the Midwest. “We have a strong foothold in our local markets but see sales expanding into the upper Mid-West. 2024 also has been a good year for exports into Mexico and the Caribbean markets. We are doing primarily rail into Mexico and shipping trucks to Houston, Pascagoula, and Mobile for the Caribbean,” Olson remarked.
Shown here is a warehouse of finished inventory.
Leah Simmons, sales representative for LaSalle/Bienville, explained that it’s “our sales mission to cultivate valued relationships with our customers.” Simmons continued describing the care their customers will receive, “they are not going to get taken care of by anybody else like they are with us and that goes hand in hand with quality. Maybe we’re not the best in the entire world but we are pretty close to it.” Besides Olson and Simmons, the LaSalle/Bienville SYP lumber sales team consist of Assistant Sales Manager Robbie Temple, Sales Representative Holly Bridwell and Sales Representative John Harkey.
In this image, a tilt hoist outfeed is shown.
Here, a stacker infeed is depicted.
They are members of Southern Forest Products Association, the North American Wholesale Lumber Association, the Lumbermen’s Association of Texas and the Mississippi Lumber Manufacturers Association in addition to a few co-ops such as Allied Building Stores, Lumbermen’s Merchandising Corporation, Lumber Advantage and Do It Best.
Shown here is the Bienville Lumber Company, LLC office.
Shown here is Bienville Lumber Company, LLC photographed from above.
Email sales@lasallelumber.com, call (318) 242-4007 or visit lasallelumber.com and tolko.com for more information.
