Buse Timber Mill

 lumber merchant, sawmill

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www.busetimber.com

An employee-owned independent sawmill located near Everett, Washington, Buse Timber and Sales Inc. was founded in 1946.

The land where the mill currently sits was purchased in 1943 by two brothers, Delmer and Norm Buse. Previously a golf course, the land had been turned into a pea farm during the war effort. Relying on what they knew best, the Buse brothers turned to the sawmill business to make a living during times of post-war job scarcity.

In 1946, the Buses borrowed money and purchased a portable sawmill, as well as a surplus GI Flatbed and some Snohomish County second growth forestland near Lake Martha. An old hay barn on the golf course property provided a location for the portable sawmill, and the business began. The brothers would log Douglas Fir for two or three days and spend the remainder of the week cutting lumber, while their wives handled product sales. At this time the Buses were producing about 2,000 board feet of lumber per day.

A new mill was built in 1949, equipped with a permanent circle saw head rig and carriage, and edger, resaw, and hand trim saw. Sawdust and slab wood were sold for fuel, and production grew to about 20,000 board feet per shift. Rough lumber was produced and sold to remanufacturing plants with planers and resaws. In order for logs to reach the Buse mill, they had to be rolled off the trucks by hand into a pond and floated to their destination. The new mill enabled the Buses to increase production by 10,000 board feet per shift in just one year.

The 1950's were a time of constant growth for the Buse mill. A new planer was constructed in 1953, and at this time the Buses were able to sell directly to lumber yards instead of just cutting for remanufacturing plants. A sales manager by the name of Orville Johnson was brought in during this time as well, and his marketing approach of fairness, high quality, and honesty largely determined the success of Buse Timber and Sales. Production increased yet again with the addition of a gang saw in 1955, and Hemlock started to be processed along with Douglas Fir and Red Cedar. 1957 saw the installation of the first dry kilns and a dry shed for Hem-Fir dimension lumber, and as a result, Buse became a leader in opening up the local market to dry Hem-Fir product. This eventful decade ended with the construction of a new state-of-the-art sawmill in 1959.

Completely electric and push-button-controlled, the third Buse mill exceeded its design specifications almost from the start and is the same mill that stands today. More features were added from 1962-65, including two lumber trucks, forklifts, a tractor, a log stacker, steam dry kilns (to replace the direct fire kilns), and a new planer. Starting at 60-70,000 board feet per shift in 1959, a second shift allowed Buse Timber and Sales to reach production of 150,000 board feet per day by 1965. Ten years later, the mill had acquired a banding paper wrap machine to enhance the product's appearance and to assist in ease of handling, as well as a dip tank to treat lumber for the growing export trade. Also installed was a remote barker, which could bark ahead as many logs in one shift as had previously taken two shifts to produce.

Production has increased steadily, currently running at 340,000 board feet per day. For 2003, total production was 82 million board feet.

In the last 25 years, Buse Timber and Sales has adapted to the new technology of the sawmill industry, using an accurate computer system that can be programmed to cut an infinite variety of timbers and other specialty products including clear lumber and rail ties.

The past several years, David Buse has managed the mill founded by his father and uncle. In 2004, the Buse family sold the mill to its 129 employees through an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP. While the Buse family had considered other buyers, employee ownership was the best way to protect the character of the company and its commitment to the local community.

For over 50 years, Buse Timber and Sales has shown impressive growth and continues to supply the local region as well as national and international markets with top-quality forest products.