Patrick Lumber Manufacturing has begun work to add a sawmill at its manufacturing facility located in Philomath, Oregon. The mill is being funded in part by a $1 million Community Wood Grant provided by the USDA Forest Service.
The new mill will be tooled to cut hardwood lumber, an unusual move in Oregon where the vast majority of mills process softwoods such as Douglas fir and Ponderosa pine, the state’s most common tree species. While softwoods dominate, the forests of Oregon and Northern California also contain large volumes of Oregon white oak, Pacific maple, tan oak, madrone, chinquapin, myrtle, and Oregon ash. Attempts by others to develop markets for these species have mostly failed, other than a few mills that primarily cut alder. With no commercial outlets for the fiber, hardwoods have become a nuisance for land managers working to improve forest health and are an increasing component of wildfire-threatened overstocked stands.
“We saw a real opportunity here,” said Patrick Lumber CEO David Halsey, “We can produce and market products that are in demand while also making it possible for forest managers to more economically perform activities that further the health of our forests.”
Image: Patrick Lumber project lead Dennis Sanders (left) and CEO Dave Halsey on site at Patrick Lumber Manufacturing in Philomath, Ore.
Halsey believes the mill will be the only commercial-sized hardwood mill in western Oregon that isn’t primarily cutting alder. As such, its fiber-sourcing area will extend hundreds of miles, from northwest Oregon to northern California, making it a critical outlet for land managers fighting pathogens such as Sudden Oak Death in SW Oregon and No. California. It likely will be the only commercial outlet for ash trees threatened by a recent emerald ash borer outbreak in NW Oregon. Logs for the mill will be supplied from private, tribal, state, and federal lands.
In addition to milling underutilized hardwoods, Patrick will produce long-length alder lumber that other manufacturers are unable to supply to the market. Patrick also expects to mill juniper, an invasive softwood species that is threatening the natural ecosystems on millions of acres of arid land in eastern Oregon and Washington.
The majority of species Patrick intends to process at the mill are highly valued for their unique grain patterns and physical properties. The company expects most of the lumber it makes will find its way into end uses such as wood flooring, wall paneling, moulding and millwork, countertops and butcherblocks, as well as niche markets such as guitar heads and necks and picture frame manufacturing.
Planning and site prep for the mill has been underway since 2022. Within days of finalizing the award paperwork, Patrick purchased a complete head rig equipment package which will serve as the mill’s primary processing center.
Equipment being installed at the mill includes a refurbished Salem head rig band mill with a 36-inch opening, three-knee carriage and Inovec light curtain scan optimization, along with a Powell rotary gang edger.
When complete, the mill is expected to produce about 150,000 board feet of hardwood lumber per month, a 4X increase over the smaller mill Patrick had been contemplating before the federal grant opportunity was announced.
The mill is expected to be operating at full capacity by June 2025.
Patrick Lumber Manufacturing is a subsidiary of Patrick Lumber Company, an Oregon-based wood products marketing and manufacturing company.
Founded in 1915, Patrick Lumber Company was one of the first true lumber trading companies, connecting buyers and sellers of mostly niche lumber products produced in the Pacific Northwest.
