Pyramid Mountain Lumber Co. – Once-imperiled Seeley Lake, Montana mill survives with specialization, diversification

Like a walk down the grocery store cereal aisle, wandering through the lumber sheds of Pyramid Mountain Lumber Co. http://www.pyramidlumber.com/ overwhelms the visitor with the sheer number of different ways to cut a tree.

"It’s like with Special K, and Special K Protein Plus and Special K Strawberry," mill controller Loren Rose explained as he walked past stacks of packaged lumber. "We’ve got eight different grades of 1-by-4, depending on quality, length and species. And then there’s blue-stain."

By some estimates, Seeley Lake’s major employer can produce about 3,000 different wood products without once nailing one board to another. The mill’s department-store style stands in contrast to most others in the industry, where concentrating on basic construction categories like 2-by-4s and 2-by-6s dominates.

By ROB CHANEY of the Missoulian

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/once-imperiled-seeley-lake-mill-survives-with-specialization-diversification/article_3f2bbf30-23a9-11e1-b6f4-0019bb2963f4.html