Page 11 - Tree Line - North Carolina Forestry Association - Fourth Quarter 2021

to hear our needs. We are members of several Southeastern forestry associations, including North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, because we purchase logs from all three states, the majority coming from North Carolina.
Q:Tell me about Lampe & Malphrus.
A:We run a sawmill for our niche specialty: decking product. We
purchase high-quality, appearance-grade Southern yellow pine. We mostly sell the product to regional building suppliers, then after that we sell to the big box stores like Lowes or Home Depot. The regional building suppliers don’t mind paying a premium price because they value high- quality lumber, which starts with the log. We have a reputation in the market for only buying the highest-quality logs; folks in North Carolina know our logs and have termed them “Lampe Logs.” We get quality logs by working with dealers upfront and consider them a partner in the process. We have been purchasing quality logs for a long time and therefore are consistent
in the market. Dealers can count on us to purchase the best logs.
We used to cut a lot of logs for exporting, but we now only deal with decking after evaluating the cost/benefit analysis of exporting our logs. When
we made this decision, the export logs were mainly going to Spain, Germany,
and Italy and buyers used the product in older homes with windows of all different sizes. We supplied quality, clear fiber for custom wood frames. Then new products were custom designed and produced using computers and most of the export market disappeared for quality, appearance-grade Southern yellow pine.
Q:What is the biggest issue facing Lampe & Malphrus today?
A:Lack of labor is a big deal, and it affects how people work long-term.
Employees’ expectations of how they
work are changing and you are seeing
it with an abundance of for-hire signs out. Lampe & Malphrus has been able to work through the COVID-19 pandemic and not lay people off, so we came out strong with a low turnover for day-shift operations. Our night-shift cleanup turnover is high though — it is hard work. In my opinion, some of the worker shortages are temporary, but there will be long-term effects.
Finished decking product ready to be shipped to Lampe & Malphrus’ regional building suppliers.
State-of-the-art sawmill technology allows the company to get the best-quality wood out of each log.
Thanks to
Lampe &
Malphrus
for their time and commitment to staying engaged with the NCFA on a routine basis. Wesley West has been the company’s representative on the NCFA Education Committee with Director of Education Amy Juliana and is a member of NC SFI SIC. He also manages the NCFA’s ProLogger certification program and has held several in-person classes over the past couple of years.
High-quality logs are being stacked on Lampe & Malphrus’ wet yard to help prevent blue stain.
ncforestry.org / FOURTH QUARTER 2021 9