“We want to be a solution for our suppliers. We know that they are proud of the quality of their products, and we are proud of that quality, too. They work hard to source the logs, to cut and dry the lumber properly, and we want to help them market their products. We want to make sure that they get paid. We take care of the documentation, so they can focus on running their operations.” ~ Ian Langlois, Woodbox
Drummondville, QC – Primewood was founded in 1987, with their main purpose being to source lumber for their German sister company, Fritz Offerman KG. As Primewood continued to grow they became a producer of lumber with their own mill and dry kilns. Primewood began to sell their lumber in such quantities that they were unable to produce enough lumber for their German sister company, so they began to develop a broad network of sawmill suppliers across the U.S. and Canada, which eventually became the new trading office known as Woodbox.
When Woodbox sources lumber, they make sure that they find suppliers that can provide consistency. “We currently work with about 15 good mills and kiln-drying facilities on a regular basis and would like to expand our mill partners,” said Ian Langlois, sales representative for Primewood in the Middle East, and as sales representative for Woodbox. “We do our due diligence before dealing with suppliers. We make sure that they are consistent with their grading and that their width sorts are good for the customers,” he continued.
Woodbox mainly deals with Appalachian and Northern suppliers. They purchase lumber in thicknesses of 4/4 through 8/4 in a variety of species including, Cherry, Maple, Ash, Red and White Oak, Red and Grey Elm, Walnut, Basswood and Aspen. “It is important to us that we look at our suppliers’ product and look for quality and consistency in their grading standards,” Langlois said. “We want to build long-term partnerships. We don’t want to just move a load of lumber from these mills we work with, we want to have a relationship and be able to market several containers.
“With Woodbox, we want to be a solution for our suppliers. We know that they are proud of the quality of their products, and we are proud of that quality, too. We understand very well their reality, being producers ourselves. They work hard to source the logs, to cut and dry the lumber properly, and we want to help them market their products. We want to make sure that they get paid quickly by Primewood and Woodbox is the exporter of the lumber they produce. We take care of the documentation, so they can focus on running their operations.”
The Primewood Group is focused on finding solutions. They want to make things easy for everyone involved. Therefore, they opened the new branch of their company Woodbox, in the form of a trading office. Primewood stands firmly behind Woodbox, as the buying power.
Woodbox is helping the supplier get in touch with importers around the globe, while they do all the heavy lifting. “We are helping mills expand their markets through Woodbox, an experienced exporter. We know what price a particular product can go for and we are helping mills get a better price for these products, in some cases,” said Langlois.
“The biggest advantage with Woodbox,” said Guillaume Genest, Primewood’s general manager and Woodbox’s overseer, “is the experience from 35 years as a producer that has the knowledge of the lumber industry and the ability to go elsewhere and save costs, while maintaining lumber consistency.” Woodbox, just like Primewood, is interested in long-term relationships with both the supplier and the customer.
Woodbox, being a young company, is currently focusing on shipping mostly full containers with full bundles. “Of course, we can find and do whatever the customer needs. If they need width sorts, half bundles, mixed containers, we can do all that. We can find warehousing, build loads for them, we have many different capacities that help us service our customers,” Langlois said.
“We are not competing for the domestic market. We want to help other lumber suppliers send their product elsewhere. We want to help open the export market for these suppliers that meet our consistency standards in places like China, Vietnam, Egypt, and other places,” Genest stated.
To learn more visit, www.woodbox.net.
