April 2003        Volume 9, Number 4

Improvements Upgrade Iowa Hardwood Maker
Wieland & Sons benefitting from new McDonough equipment for primary breakdown, other changes.

By Alan Froome

WINTHROP, Iowa -- Wieland & Sons is a manufacturer of hardwood lumber, and the company has earned a reputation for appearance grade lumber it supplies to the cabinet and flooring industries. The company recently carried out a major upgrade of its primary breakdown system with an investment in the latest sawmill technology available from McDonough Manufacturing.

Wieland & Sons, located in the small community of Winthrop, about 45 miles north of Cedar Rapids, has a long history. The Wieland family originally came to the U.S. as immigrants from Germany and began a sawmill in 1856 using steam power on the north shore of Lake Superior. In 1948, Harlyn Wieland and his future brother-in-law bought a small portable sawmill in Alabama and hauled it to Lancaster, Wis. behind an old Army truck. He ran it for many years, using a diesel engine for power.

The Iowa branch of the family was established when Harlyn moved the sawmill and his family from Lancaster, Wisconsin and bought 80 acres in Iowa to start a farm. Over the ensuing years, the family bought more land; by the 1980s, the farming operations covered 3,000 acres.

After Harlyn’s sudden death in 1978, his two sons, Ted and Dean, took over the family business. They formed a partnership, and in 1982 Jeff joined and incorporated it as Wieland & Sons Inc. Three years later they decided the future was in lumber rather than farming, and they sold the farm equipment and purchased land in Winthrop to relocate the lumber operation. They expanded to two shifts and soon added a planer mill and then a drying operation.

Wieland & Sons has steadily expanded since then and is a thriving business. Naturally, the portable sawmill is long gone. In fact, the company now boasts the largest hardwood sawmill in Iowa, employing over 100 workers. Wieland & Sons also operates a second sawmill in Muscoda, Wis.

The company continued to run two shifts until 1996, when it invested in an extensive project to modernize the mill. The new machinery and equipment enabled the company to reduce labor costs significantly, and the company’s operations now require only one shift of personnel.

The three brothers have joint and separate responsibilities in running the company. Ted, the oldest of the three and who has a degree in music and business administration from UNI, serves as president of the company. He oversees log buying and is also responsible for sales of dry lumber. Wieland buys logs on the open market, and its employees are not engaged in logging. The company resells veneer logs to plywood plants in the region and also sells some logs via brokers for export to foreign markets, including China, Spain and Italy.

Dean Wieland, who earned a degree in mechanical engineering from ISU, is vice president; he serves a dual role and is involved in both technical and financial matters. Jeff, who received a degree from ISU in agriculture and business, also wears several hats. He oversees transportation, personnel and payroll, and he also is responsible for sales of pallet stock, railties and mulch.

The principal products sold by Wieland & Sons are skip planed and finish planed hardwood for the cabinet industry, hardwood flooring, pallet stock and railties. Mill production, running one shift a day, is currently 10 million board feet a year. It breaks down to about 77 % rough planed cabinet material, 15 % pallet stock or railties, and 8 % flooring material. Two of the most important customers for lumber are Bertch Cabinet Company and Omega Cabinets, which make cabinets for kitchens and bathrooms. Waste wood and bark are sold as landscaping mulch, although some is used as boiler fuel in the 600 hp cogeneration plant.

The principal hardwood species processed at the mill are ash, birch, cherry, elm, hickory, walnut, maple, red oak and white oak. The mill processes logs up to 42 inches in diameter and 17 feet long. Flooring is sold in widths of 1 ½, 2 ¼, 3 ¼, 4 ¼, 5 ¼ and 6 ¼ inches; thickness is normally 3/4-inch. The grades offered for sale vary by species. For example, hard maple is available in three grades: clear, sap or #1 common. Ash and birch are available as #1 common or select and FAS. "Rustic grade has become real popular," said Dean.

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