Photo credit: Larry Krueger.
The people who make Wisconsin’s forest products industry function are vast and varied. It’s estimated that more than 123,000 jobs in the state are tied to the forest industry. From the foresters and woodland owners caring for the forest to the loggers and truckers getting the logs from the forest to the sawmills and pulp mills throughout the state to the workers creating finished wood and paper products, it takes a wealth of passionate people to produce the many forest products you depend on every day.
Larry Krueger, a co-owner and sawmill manager of Krueger Lumber, is one of those working in the heart of Wisconsin’s forest products industry – fitting, as Krueger said he was born into it.
“My father Herb Krueger started Krueger Lumber in 1969,” Krueger continued. “The more you see the beautiful, natural products from our forest, the more you grow to love and appreciate its beauty.”
In his role, Krueger wears many hats. His day at the mill begins at 6:15 a.m. with a hard hat as he tours the sawmill to ensure smooth operations.
“I speak to various workers at different production points, checking for any problems and to see what’s new. I walk from the sawmill to the dry kilns and warehouses. I stop at the different lumber grading areas, speaking to the graders about any questions or issues they are seeing in the kiln-dried lumber being re-graded for quality,” he said.
Selling kiln-dried lumber is one of Krueger’s top priorities; after ensuring everything is running smoothly, he trades in his hard hat for a sales pitch.
“Throughout the rest of the day, I speak with and email regular and potential customers,” Krueger said.
Lumber prices fluctuate dramatically, so Krueger and his team regularly meet to assess market trends and plan ahead. Have rising or falling lumber prices affected how much they can pay for the logs? How large is the log inventory at the sawmill? What is the makeup of the species in their inventory?
Krueger also volunteers with several organizations to educate people about the forest industry and serves on the Wisconsin Freight Advisory Committee to work on restoring Wisconsin railroad service.
“An efficient rail transportation system is vital to keep our whole state competitive, but is even more important for keeping our forest products industry,” he said. “You do not have good forestry without good transportation.”
With so many moving parts, Krueger’s job might seem overwhelming, but his passion has only grown over the years.
“The longer you stay in the industry, the more you recognize just how renewable and wonderful our forests are. You can harvest in a hardwood stand, producing quality logs for the market, then 15 years later, go back and harvest again. All the while, the forest continues to provide magnificent scenery and home for a variety of wildlife, clean air and captures greenhouse gases,” Krueger said.
He also wishes more people understood the benefits of sustainable forestry, as he’s found there’s a common misconception around the work the industry performs.
“It is easy to read advertisements and articles promoting the idea that forestry and timber harvest is a bad thing. Nothing could be further from the truth,” he noted.
Krueger gave the example of synthetic flooring versus natural wood flooring. Where synthetic flooring relies on nonrenewable petroleum-based products, wood comes from a renewable resource – with the tree capturing carbon as it grows and storing it long term. Wood products will continue to store this carbon for the life of the product, which can be many decades.
“We need to recognize that wood is captured carbon and that letting our forest regrow after a harvest captures even more carbon,” Krueger stated. “Use real wood and help save the Earth.”
He added that forests are a beautiful resource that provides a nice cash flow for his company while also offering majestic scenery along with many other benefits and jobs for Wisconsinites. Still, there needs to be a market for the products the forests produce to ensure that sustainable forestry practices and harvesting continue well into the future. It’s why Krueger is encouraging more people to explore the forest products industry as a career.
“If you like socializing and meeting people, connect with a company that can help you learn the lumber markets and work in sales. If you like technology, go to a tech school. Learn about laser scanners and the many technologies that help make the forest industry efficient. If walking the forest is your passion go to a forestry school,” he said. “There are many different aspects to our forest industry – follow your passion.”