By NICOLE CARTRETTE
Staff Writer

A defective piece of lumber with knotholes may be of little value to most, but for Idaho Timber it is the foundation of a booming business.

Idaho specializes in turning low-grade lumber from United States, Canadian, South American and European sawmills into higher-grade lumber by cutting out the defective parts. Most of the dimensional lumber is used in home construction.

The company recently opened a plant in Chadbourn at the old Cold Point building along N.C. 410. It is the largest remanufacturer of dimensional lumber in the country. About 30,000 truckloads of wood products leaving the company’s 11 plants every year, said Chadbourn Plant Manager Jim Bowen at the plants dedication ceremony held Feb. 16.

“Nine truckloads left out of here today,” Bowen said.

Chairman of the Columbus County Board of Commissioners Sammie Jacobs thanked Sen. R.C. Soles Jr. and Rep. Dewey Hill for their involvement in helping the county obtain grants totaling more than $166,000 to help with the purchase of a required fire suppression system and a $55,000 grant for a railway spur used in transporting box cars of timber from the port in Wilmington.

“Rep. Hill and I have worked very closely on this,” Soles said. He said the plant opening in Chadbourn was a good example of state and local government working together.

Jacobs said he hoped the company prospered and would become “a big part of the community.”

“We’re a very thrifty company,” Bowen said of the debt-free corporation that self-insures its employees. “We don’t spend a lot of money.”

The company takes (for example) a 1 X 12 sheet of cedar with a defect on one end and cuts the board into two 1 X 6’s. One of the 1x6 cuts is now flawless (a higher grade) and can be sold for more money, Bowen explained to a small crowd of local business leaders and government officials who attended the dedication.

Scraps don’t go to waste at the plant either. Scrap wood is ground into wood chips and sold to a plywood plant. “Everything is usable,” Bowen insisted.

The company also bundles home center boards imported from as far away as Chile and New Zealand for large retailers such as Lowe’s and Home Depot. It makes up about 20 percent of the company’s business.

“These guys stand here all day long and sling boards,” Bowen said as a group of workers in hard hats demonstrated how wood was graded, stamped and sorted along a rolling assembly line.

Rep. Hill even tried his hand at stamping and sorting by taking up Bowen’s offer to “give it a try.”

The Chadbourn plant currently has 39 employees; five are office staff. Greg Reynolds, the Chadbourn plant’s supervisor, is a former International Paper employee.

“I left International Paper after 16 years,” Reynolds said. “I’m glad I made the change – it’s a learning experience.” Although he says he left “a lot of good people and friends,” the job with Idaho gives him more personal time even though he has a “huge responsibility.”

Local businesses have established relationships with Idaho. Youngblood Staffing is handling job applicants for the company.

Local trucking companies are being utilized for deliveries of wood chips and other products.

Bowen pointed out that good employees are behind any successful business. “There’s opportunity for anybody,” he said, pointing out that the minimum starting hourly wage of about $7 an hour may not be much but the company offers good benefits, 401k, profit sharing, and the opportunity for advancement. Three employees who had been at the plant in Chadbourn for at least a year received quarterly profit sharing checks for around $975, he pointed out.

In October 2005, Idaho began renovations on the 63, 185 sq. ft. former Cold Point building in Chadbourn. Officials said being near the Port of Wilmington was a major selling point.

A water sprinkler system and unexpected building inspection obstacles left Idaho executives to speculate opening a plant somewhere other than Chadbourn.

The $166,260 Rural Center grant played a major part in helping the company cross that hurdle and remain in Chadbourn.

The company is eligible for and will receive an economic incentive in addition to the grant.

The incentive is based on the number of employees and property improvements or investments.

The company will receive a percentage back of the amount they pay in taxes.

State tax credits and local incentives are available to industries that locate to Columbus County.

Greater Whiteville and the State Certified Southeast Regional Park are within an Economic Development Zone and are eligible for additional incentives such as a credit of $8,000 per job created, a 7 percent credit on their investment, and job training monies.