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Dead Trees Mined For Profit

Faced with dwindling access to old growth trees and increasing pressure from environmentalists, one Washington man has managed to find a profitable alternative to traditional logging: downed and dead trees.

John Hunt, president of Re-Tech Wood Products, Fork, Wa., has made a name for himself by finding dead trees from which he produces a clear, tight grain timber favored by many contractors and architects.

Using low-level aerial reconnaissance of Washington's Olympic Mountains, in addition to a network of loggers who spot for Re-Tech Wood, the company is able to zero in on potentially profitably "buckskins."

Although the surface of these trees may be rotting, Hunt notes that their sheer size often guarantees thousands ofbd. ft. of clear wood near the center.

Last year Hunt claims his company had more than $400,000 in sales.

Hunt sees himself as a responsible lumber producer, explaining, "I don't cut any green timber, it's all stuff that's salvaged." Yet some forest biologists argue that buckskins are often home to insects, birds, lichens, and fungus.

Hunt admits his methods may soon come under more fire from environmentalists, so he has begun moving into a different salvaging arena: reclaimed timber from old bridges and warehouses.

BigBox Defense Strategies

Do it Best Corp. is now arming its members with an information kit outlining strategies for battling warehouse retailers.

The Big Box Competition Kit provides information on big boxes compiled from industry data, market trends, Do it Best members and interviews with former big box employees.

The kits contains a manual with ideas to strengthen one's business along with big box tactics and strategies to combat them. Additionally, the kit comes with a planning worksheet and video featuring interviews with Do it Best members who have competed with big box retailers.

Do it Best's v.p. of marketing Bill Zielke said, "Our members compete with and win against the big boxes every day." He added that independents have many advantages over big box retailers:

. they are entrepreneurs in the community;

. possess the ability to respond to market conditions quickly; are able to develop a personal relationship with customers ;

. can join with other independents to increase buying power, and

. own a piece of the market big boxes can't get access to.

Do it Best Corp. also featured an information seminar and panel discussion on competing with big boxes at its recent fall market in Indianapolis.