Who’s Who in Softwoods

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Who’s Who in Softwoods 1

Cheryl Johnson is a Sales Assistant for DiPrizio Pine Sales in Middleton, NH.

DiPrizio produces approximately 14 million board feet of Softwood annually, specifically Eastern White Pine in NELMA patterns and grades such as Clapboards, Tongue & Groove, Shiplap and timbers, 3/4, 5/4 and 6/4 thicknesses. They produce texture finishes in striated, rustic rougherhead and bandsawn at 19 percent or below moisture content.

The company boasts single-pass and reman facilities, priming and mixed truck loads.

Johnson has been with DiPrizio for 23 years and in her current position for about a year and a half. She has been in the lumber industry over 35 years altogether. She started out as a lumber handler at TimCo in Center Barnstead, NH, where she was also trained as a grader and a planer operator. She has worked almost every aspect of the business, including sawmill, planer mill, retail, and administrative.

She graduated from Dover High School in Dover, NH and earned her Certificate of Business Management from Great Bay Community College.

In her free time, she enjoys seeing her grandchildren, doing crafts, mostly decoupage, gardening and video games. She and her husband John have been together for 35 years, and the couple has three sons, one daughter, four grandsons and three granddaughters, with an eighth grandchild due in October.

To reach DiPrizio Pine Sales directly, call 603-473-2448, or email Johnson at cjohnson@lavalleys.com. Also, learn more at www.dipriziopine.com.

Who’s Who in Softwoods 2

Gunnar Brinck is the vice president of Lock-Deck operations at Disdero Lumber Co., located in Clackamas, OR.

Disdero Lumber has operated since 1953 as a distributor and manufacturer of specialty wood products. With over 67 years of experience, the company works to offer high-quality products at competitive prices. Species offered include Western Red Cedar, Douglas Fir, Southern Yellow Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Alaska Yellow Cedar and Redwood, with product offerings in addition to lumber, such as timbers, decking and flooring.

Brinck earned a master’s degree in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley in 1984. Shortly after graduation he went to work as a San Francisco Bay area representative for the Western Wood Products Association, where he worked for seven years. Brinck then went to work at Potlatch Corp. in their Lock-Deck operation before joining the Disdero team in 1995. Disdero Lumber has had exclusive responsibility for the sales and distribution of Lock-Deck engineered roof decking for the last 25 years.

Disdero Lumber is a member of the North American Wholesale Lumber Association, Western Red Cedar Lumber Association, West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau, American Plywood Association, Western Wood Products Association and the Portland Wholesale Lumber Association.

In his spare time, Brinck enjoys playing tennis, drinking red wine and traveling with his wife Marjie. The couple currently resides in Lake Oswego, OR, and has three sons: Eric, Brennan and Gavin.
For more information, visit www.disdero.com or www.lockdeck.com.

Who’s Who in Softwoods 3

Kyle Jones is a sales and marketing representative for West Bay Forest Products Ltd.

West Bay Forest Products Ltd. offers 100 percent Western Red Cedar products, including: patterns, siding, rails, trim and fascia boards, decking, fencing, posts, timbers, balusters, and all custom inquiries. The company produces approximately 40-50 million board feet annually.

Jones has been working in the forest products industry for 21 years, all of which have been spent at West Bay. He handles sales and marketing for North American business in the South and Midwest states of the U.S.

West Bay Forest Products Ltd. is a member of the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association and the North American Wholesale Lumber Association.

Jones attended the University of New Brunswick, located in New Brunswick, Canada, for economics and business administration. He and his wife Denise enjoy traveling, hiking, playing sports, and spending time with family and pets.

For more information visit www.westbaygroup.com.

Who’s Who in Softwoods 4

Larry Schmedding is the sales manager at Empire Lumber Co., located in Kamiah, ID.

Empire Lumber produces approximately 65 million board feet of lumber annually in the following species: Inland Red Cedar, Douglas Fir and Larch, White Fir, Idaho White Pine, and Engelmann Spruce and Lodgepole Pine.

Empire Lumber is a member of the North American Wholesale Lumber Association and the Inland Lumber Producers Association.

Schmedding has worked at Empire Lumber for 25 years and has held his current position for the past 20 years. His career in the forest products industry began 45 years ago with his first job on the clean-up crew at a remanufacturing company.

Schmedding obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Eastern Washington University.

In his spare time he enjoys fishing, golf, cooking and family time. He and his wife Shelly have been married 34 years. They are parents to a son, two daughters, one grandson and one granddaughter.

To contact Schmedding directly, call 509-534-0266, or email larrys@empirelumber.com.
Learn more at www.empirelumber.com.

Who’s Who in Softwoods 5

Mark Drone oversees lumber purchasing, sales and shipping in his position as general manager for Forest Products Supply in Kansas City, KS.

Forest Products Supply (FPS), a wholesale distributor of lumber and specialty building products, purchases 75-80 million board feet annually of multiple Softwood species.

These include: Douglas Fir (No. 2, kiln-dried, 2×4 – 2×12, including long lengths); Douglas Fir (green timbers, 4×6 – 10×10 and special order timbers); SPF (Nos. 2 and 3, kiln-dried, High-Line 4-square, 2×4, 2×6); Hem-Fir (No. 2, kiln-dried, Select Structural, 2×4 – 2×12); SYP (Nos. 1 and 2, kiln-dried, MSR, 2×4 – 2×12); Treated SYP (2×4 – 2×12, 1×4 – 1×12, 5/4 radius edge decking); Treated SYP (4×4, 6×6); Western Red Cedar (smooth and rough, full line); Pine boards and pattern stock, including radiata Pine (C & Better); and fire treated lumber.

The company, headquartered in St. Louis, MO, has divisions in Newton, KS; Oklahoma City, OK; Omaha, NE; Indianapolis, IN; Columbus, OH as well as Kansas City.

Forest Products Supply can provide the following unique services and value-added process: cut entire bundled unit of lumber to special trim length, which allows smooth surface on Cedar and Doug Fir timber and with the company’s new 12-inch resaw and 16-inch planer, FPS has a crosscut unit saw.

FPS is a member of the North American Wholesale Lumber Assoc., Mid-America Lumbermens Assoc. and the Northwestern Lumber Assoc.

Drone has been affiliated with FPS since 2002. He started his career in St. Louis with the company that year, later moving to the Kansas City office when that branch was acquired from Weyerhaeuser distribution in 2008.

His family roots are in the lumber industry. His father and uncle ran Carmi Lumber, a retail lumberyard in Carmi, IL, where Drone worked throughout his youth, alongside his grandfather.

Drone has held several positions in his professional lumber industry career following his graduation from the University of Notre Dame, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. He also obtained his masters degree at Washington University of St. Louis.

He and his wife Helen were married in 1995 and they have a son and two daughters.

In his free time, Drone enjoys woodworking, hiking, photography and rooting for ND’s Fighting Irish.

Learn more at www.fp-supply.com.

Who’s Who in Softwoods 6

Steve Banahan is the Industrial Sales Manager at Pleasant River Lumber, located in Dover-Foxcroft, ME. He handles all the low-grade sales for both the domestic and export markets.

Pleasant River Lumber is a manufacturer of Eastern White Pine Lumber, including kiln-dried boards (1×3 through 1×12) in all grades; and dry Spruce-Pine-Fir dimension lumber (1×3 through 2×10) in all grades. Annual production across Pleasant River’s sawmill operations is 335 million board feet.

Banahan holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from the University of Rhode Island, located in Kingston, RI.

He has worked in the forest products industry for a total of 40 years, with 17 years in wholesale and 23 years in mill sales.

Banahan has been an EMT for 20 years and a National Ski Patroller for 13 years. He enjoys skiing, kayaking, golfing and fishing in his spare time. He has been married to his wife Debbie for 25 years and the couple has one son, Patrick.

More information can be found at www.pleasantriverlumber.com.

By Miller Wood Trade Publications

The premier online information source for the forest products industry since 1927.

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