Hull Oakes Sawmill

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Originally uploaded by World Forest Institute

Hull Oakes Lumber, the last steam powered mill in Oregon, introduced Fellows to historic sawmilling methods. Click on the photo for more pics.

Frozen Mt. St. Helens

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Originally uploaded by World Forest Institute

Wow! What a beautiful winter day. We took advantage of a brief moment of sunshine to get up to Mt. St. Helens. The only other traffic on the road was the elk. The volcano was steaming, the snow was 5 feet deep, and we had a great time. Click on the group photo for more pics.

Storm Damage on Oregon Coast

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Originally uploaded by World Forest Institute

Retired Oregon State Parks forester Al Tocchini and Linsen Zhao (China) survey storm damage near the Klootchy Creek Sitka Spruce, the famous Oregon Heritage Tree which lost its top this winter. For more photos, click on Linsen.

Parr Lumber Provides Solutions, Not Just Products

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Originally uploaded by World Forest Institute

Thanks to WFC Director David Hamill, Fellows enjoyed a lively discussion with Parr Lumber’s procurement team at their Hillsboro distribution center. Parr is primarily a west coast lumber retailer, but the company also functions as a distributor, broker, wholesaler, manufacturer, and builder with 750 employees.

Parr managers did an excellent job explaining the complex wood supply chain to Fellows. When asked how they are able to stay competitive with such diverse offerings, Director of Procurement Matt Jeffries explained that they are constantly challenged to prove the value they bring to clients, otherwise they are the first to be eliminated in the supply chain. Providing excellent service and “solutions, not just products” has led to success.

A recent innovation from the company is their “Get Real” programs, a response to the green movement. Parr sees a need for smaller, energy efficient, quality homes in the market and the Get Real program provides customers with sustainable solutions without getting caught up in labeling and certification.

Fellows were impressed with the Parr managers’ passion for their work. Employees tend to stay with the company for a long time, and many managers worked their way up from entry level positions. Matt Jeffries, for example, started as a truck driver. His advice for success: “be innovative, and never assume that what you did yesterday will get you through tomorrow.”

For more photos, click on the Parr Truck!

Fellows Search for Innovative Products in New Homes

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Originally uploaded by World Forest Institute

Posing as an unusual nuclear family, Fellows went shopping for a new home in Portland. The US housing market has slowed to the lowest pace in decades, and real estate agents were happy to show Fellows newly constructed homes lingering on the market. This was an opportunity to compare construction practices and living styles between cultures, and to better understand the American lifestyle that drives the US lumber industry and economy.

The tour was of particular interest to Korean Fellow Namgon Kwag, who works for Eagon Ltd., a luxury building products supplier and builder. For his project, Namgon is searching for innovative home products that could be introduced to the Korean market, particularly in flooring or windows. Namgon paid special attention to heating systems, which are done quite differently in the US. Korea has a unique radiant flooring system for heating called the “Ondol.”

The average American house size has more than doubled since the 1950s and now stands at 2,300 square feet, although Fellows saw homes double that size with price tags of up to USD $700,000. Some memorable features included Brazilian hardwood flooring, extensive use of OSB, large kitchens, media and wine rooms, and creative storm water management systems.
Click on the giant house for more photos.