Simon Lussier Ltee: Providing High Quality Hardwood Lumber For Three Generations

Simon Lussier Ltee: Providing High Quality Hardwood Lumber For Three Generations

Simon Lussier Ltee, headquartered in Blainville, QC, was founded in 1938 by Simon Lussier. Originally a dairy farmer, Simon sold off his farm and bought tracts of timber. He sent logs into Montreal to be sawn and kiln-dried before he sold the lumber to shoemakers.

“As my grandfather’s business began to grow, he bought a sawmill in Lanaudiere and opened a wholesale yard in Montreal. He initially had a large customer base that he offered 10/4 Hard Maple in Heel Stock (our specialty at the time) and Yellow Birch,” said Mario Lussier, president of Simon Lussier Ltee.

Mario is the third generation in his family to serve the company and has held the position of president for the past 15 years. “Since I was five years old my grandfather would take me to the sawmill. I saw him check the lumber that was being sawn, and we walked the timber lands that he was considering purchasing,” Mario stated. “The time that I spent growing up and learning the industry from my grandfather really influenced my decision to work in this industry and further my family’s legacy in it.”

While Simon Lussier started out by offering Hard Maple and Yellow Birch, the company now has a much broader range of species that they are able to offer their clients, including Soft Maple, Red and White Oak, Walnut, White Ash, White Birch, Aspen, Yellow Poplar, Cherry, Sapele and Khaya Ivorensis. They offer grades No. 1 Common and Better in 4/4 thickness and grades No. 2 Common and Better in thicknesses of 5/4, 6/4 and 8/4. The company dries 12 million board feet of lumber per year.

“Our region is well known for its quality Hard Maple, White and Yellow Birch and Aspen. We have a lot of bright colored species here that come from our cold winters,” Mario said. With the high-quality lumber that Simon Lussier is able to get from their own backyard they take extra steps to make sure that any lumber that they purchase from other sawmills meet this same standard of excellence. “We currently buy from 30 different sawmills across the U.S. and Canada, and we inspect every load of green lumber that comes in so we can better evaluate the quality of every supplier we purchase from,” he continued.

In order to produce the high-quality lumber that they are able to offer their customers, Simon Lussier’s Mirabel, QC, concentration yard sits on 18 acres of land and has 10 dry kilns. “We have a HOLYTEK Strato planer that enables us to surface the lumber for any customer when desired. We also have two grading chains which allow us to grade over 300,000 board feet weekly,” Mario noted. Their grading chains are computerized which allows them to track every pack that they build. “We are always seeking to meet our customers’ demands and pay close attention to details regarding widths, lengths, grades and color depending on what each customer’s needs are.”

Simon Lussier is constantly taking special care and extra precautions to ensure that they are providing their clients with the highest quality products. “We are extra cautious in the spring and summer months. We want to ensure that our bright colored lumber doesn’t have unwanted stains and that the thicker stock doesn’t crack once it becomes humid outside,” Mario said. “We stack every pack with Breeze Dried sticks and place them in T-sheds with thin curtains to cover the open sides to slow down wind. Once a pack has been stickered, we automatically end wax the lumber as it comes off the chain.”

The care and detail that goes into every pack that Simon Lussier puts together for their clients is at the forefront of everything they do.

“We have the National Hardwood Lumber Association come out twice a year to check our lumber and make sure that we are grading accurately. All of our lumber inspectors are constantly making sure that they are within the four percent of the monetary value,” Mario said.

“We don’t pretend to be the best company in this industry, but we are striving to be one of the best,” Mario remarked. “Our goal is satisfying our customers’ needs and whenever a problem arises, we listen to them. This is how we earn their trust and maintain a loyal base. We will make mistakes. We are only human but it is how we respond to our mistakes and learn from them that shows our customers that we are a company worth working with time and time again.”

The high standards that Simon Lussier holds themselves to is proven in each and every pack of lumber that they ship out to their clients. “We know that when we ship a bundle of 500 board feet that every piece of lumber will be looked at, and we treat the full trailer orders the same way,” Mario stated. He also noted that since Simon Lussier is a one-stop-shop for many of their customers. “Our customers take advantage of the fact that we are able to offer a little bit of everything. So, they will build loads that sometimes have between five and six different products,” he noted.

Simon Lussier sets up programs with their customers. “Once we know exactly what a customer is going to need from us every month, we are able, in some occasions, to set up a program where we can guarantee the supply and the price three months out,” said Mario. This enables the company to meet their customers’ needs and ensure that there are no surprises. “I purchase according to demand. There are times however when I am caught off guard and we have a customer that is needing to purchase more than we anticipated, so we outsource kiln-dried product to meet their needs,” Mario noted, adding that about 25 percent of his business is outsourced.

“A major part of our customer base here in Quebec are stair manufacturers. We also supply a lot of moulding, furniture, cabinet and flooring companies, although with the evolution of hardwood and thermal substitutes that are continuously being released into the market place this segment of our customer base has subsided over the past five years,” said Mario.

Simon Lussier started exporting 25 years ago, now making up 40 percent of their business.

Today, the company sells to countries all over the world, including China, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Japan, Taiwan and Cambodia. “The first company that we exported to was a Japanese flooring company that wanted green White Birch in very specific widths and lengths, four faces clear, four faces white and completely pure. On top of all of that, they needed us to ship it to them frozen in containers that were -17 degrees Celsius,” Mario recalled. “Not only was it one of our first export customers, but we were one of the first companies in North America to accept the challenge that this company posed. This company was one of our largest customers for over a decade and still remains a customer today.”

In order to fulfill such intricate orders, and uphold high standards for all of their customers, Simon Lussier has a team of 42 employees, four of which comprise the sales team. Mathieu Lussier oversees U.S. sales, Éric Sauvé is the export sales manager, and Daniel Larose is the procurement manager.

Simon Lussier Ltee, is a member of the Penn-York Lumbermen’s Club, the Quebec Wood Export Bureau, the Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen’s Association and has been a member of the National Hardwood Lumber Association since 1957.

For more information, visit simonlussier.com.