August 2003        Volume 9, Number 8

Kendrick Forest Products Marks 20th Anniversary
Latest upgrade at Iowa hardwood mill is TMT Edger with Inovec scanning and optimization controls

By Alan Froome

EDGEWOOD, Iowa -- Kendrick Forest Products is not your typical hardwood saw mill for several reasons. First, it is the only sawmill business in Iowa that staffs its own log crews, trucking, mill and dry kilns, according to the company. Second, it has some of the most sophisticated optimization equipment in the sawmill industry. In addition, Kendrick likely is different in the respect that its co-owner and sales manager is a woman.

Kendrick Forest Products observed its 20th anniversary in 2003. The company is building new offices, upgraded its sawmill, and held a week-long open house to mark the occasion. The sawmill was upgraded with a new Timber Machine Technologies (TMT) edger with Inovec WaneMaster optimization controls. (In 2002 the company added a new McDonough slant head rig and carriage with Inovec StereoScan™ controls.)

New Timber Machine Technologies edger with Inovec WaneMaster edger optimizer with VisualPoint machine control; material moves from right to left, under the scanner and into the edger infeed.

“The mill modernization coincided with our 20th anniversary but is really the result of our long-term strategic planning for the future,” said Rhonda Kendrick, who owns the company along with her husband, Tim.

Rhonda described the benefits the company has realized with the new machinery and Inovec optimization, “Some of the new equipment has only been running a short time, so it’s a bit early to talk about payback in terms of production and recovery. But we are already seeing a lumber value improvement of around $100 per 1,000 board feet on red oak and hard maple from the new head rig and StereoScan system and another $100 per 1,000 from the new edger and Inovec optimizer. From a production standpoint, when I compare overrun figures (scaled volume versus actual ) before and after the upgrades, it’s still too early to say how much we’ve gained from the edger-optimizer, but the head rig with StereoScan is giving us an improvement in volume.”

Although the company was not able to put firm numbers on the gains in recovery yet, it has experienced a significant improvement in this area based on its reduction of wood fiber that winds up as chips and hog fuel. “We don’t have the numbers yet, but overall recovery has obviously improved,” said plant manager Kevin Funk. “We ship out only one and three-quarter truck-loads of chips and hog fuel a day compared to three loads before the upgrade.”

Kendrick Forest Products is a family owned company. “Tim and I work well together,” said Rhonda. “We have our individual responsibilities, and both of us really enjoy working at the company.”

Their daughter, Kerra, is the first of the third generation of the family to work at Kendrick Forest Products. A computer specialist, Kerra is in charge of the company’s information management systems. Two other daughters, Andrea, 15, and Morgan 13, plus a son, Kirby, 8, also help out and show signs of real interest in the sawmill.

Tim and Rhonda Kendrick became owners of the mill in 1983 when they were both only 24. It was hard slogging in the early days as the young couple learned the business the hard way.

The company was formerly owned by Tim and his brother, Don Jr., who bought it from a company based in Minnesota; the Minnesota business had purchased it from Tim’s father, Don Kendrick Sr., in 1976. Don Jr. left the company in 1983, and Rhonda started working at the mill shortly after.

In 1983 Kendrick employed 13 workers. Nearly two-thirds of the mill’s 33 acres was swamp, but they gradually filled in the swamp and expanded the mill. The mill buildings now are nearly five times larger than the 1983 sawmill, and Kendrick Forest Products has 50 employees.

Although Rhonda’s background is in marketing and she holds the title of sales manager, she oversees much of the day-to-day running of the mill, scheduling and other duties. Tim is out of the office most of the time, buying standing timber and supervising Kendrick’s logging division. Kevin oversees the plant to keep the machinery running, including the cabinet shop and dry kilns.

Being a full service sawmill is an important aspect of the approach of Tim and Rhonda to conducting business.  “Our mission is to control the whole process, from logging through sawmilling, kiln drying and finishing,” she explained. “We are the only mill in Iowa that does it all, and we feel this allows us to take better care of our customers’ needs.”

The company’s mission statement also includes a commitment to conservation. Kendrick Forest Products aims to practice sustainable forestry in an environmentally responsible manner, to reduce waste and process the entire tree in order to ensure maximum value and yield.

Kendrick supplies hardwood lumber to domestic and foreign markets. The foreign markets include China, Japan, Malaysia, France, Italy and Germany.

Kendrick Forest Products processes a full range of hardwood species, such as ash, basswood, cherry, elm, hickory, oak, walnut, hard and soft maple, hackberry, cottonwood and butternut. Red oak is the most abundant species in the region.

The company supplies both kiln dried and green lumber, surfaced or rough, from 6 feet to 16 feet long, molding, custom cabinets, and pallet cut stock. A separate plant houses the cabinet division, known as Forever Cabinets; it uses company-produced lumber and molding to produce quality kitchen cabinets. The company’s hardwood lumber is sold to markets to be used in the manufacture of furniture, windows and flooring. The mill, which operates an eight hour shift,  averages daily production of 40,000 board feet, and annual production approaches 10 million board feet.

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