Page 12 - Tree Line - North Carolina Forestry Association - Third Quarter 2021

machine in the planing mill, which took the organization from human grading
to machine grading. Culp is constantly investing back into the company with new technology to improve the quality of our products.
Q:Why do you think your popular markets are New England and west
to the Mississippi? Do you ship into the southeastern U.S.?
A:Where we ship our product has changed a lot over the past several
years due to trucking. We used to ship to those locations because our salesperson had strong relationships with buyers and due to the proximity to I-85 and I-77. Today, Culp is shipping a lot more south and east of Culp because of the availability of trucks and ability to move product faster to these closer regions. In trucking locally, it is easier to get a short haul than get a trucker signed up for a long haul. The space at the mill has not increased, but our production has increased and we cannot afford to have product sit in dry sheds.
Q:Culp has been producing Southern Yellow Pine lumber for almost 100
years. How has the company evolved,
or what major modifications has the company implemented over the decades?
A: Technology — when I interned here in 2004, Culp was producing about
85 million board feet per year; last year alone, we produced 136 million board feet. Last year, we ran 40-hour work weeks,
and are now back to 45-hour work weeks. Technology allows us to put more log volume through the sawmill. We operated at 65,000 board feet per hour last year. We expect to reach an average of 70,000 board feet per hour this year.
Saw mills are all specialized — very few mills that cut hardwood of this size and caliber manufacture both pine and hardwood. We manufacture Southern Yellow Pine because of the availability of wood in our area.
Q:How has COVID-19 affected your operations?
A:2020 was the most profitable year in Culp’s history. From a company culture
standpoint, we never had to shut down because we quickly implemented safety measures like taking away breakrooms, but a large part of our culture here is that we are family-friendly and I would say some comradery was lost over the last year. We are starting to see that community feeling come back with vaccinations increasing.
Q:What is the biggest issue facing Culp today?
A:Transportation — both for procure- ment and sales (having people come
pick it up). We don’t control trucking coming in or out of the mill, but it is a huge concern because we need our product moving both ways. We are fully aware this high lumber pricing has to come down at some point; it’s simple economics that the market will have to level off. My concern is
that potential substitutes in the market will become competition for us — for instance, engineered products. Or will metal studs ever compete with wood? I can’t answer that, but I do know the price of metal is increasing right now as well.
Q:What sustainability measures does your organization take?
A:Culp has done a lot at the mill to create sustainability. We have:
• spent $300,000 to convert incandescent lighting to more efficient light-emitting diode (LED) technology;
• moved our compressors out of the mill to a central location where they operate in cleaner, cooler air and don’t pull as much amperage and consume less electricity;
• worked to eliminate hydraulics;
• follow growth-to-drain ratios (represent the number of tons that grow for every ton that is removed) and look at wood basket and consumption in the area;
• run a thinning crew that doesn’t bring wood to our sawmill, but helps with forest management in the area;
• work with individuals to coach landowners to coordinate reforestation and ensure their reforestation goes well;
• provide all logging crews with two sets of steel bridge mats to help ensure they have the necessary resources to comply with best management practices (BMPs) for stream crossings.
10 ncforestry.org / THIRD QUARTER 2021