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Jim Colier, DJ Enterprises

12.2 Mile Zimovia Highway, Wrangell, Alaska 99929 | (907) 874-3886 | djcolier@aptalaska.net


What are your main products?

I personally prefer to work in with large timber. The only limit to the size of the product is the physical size of the tree, and working with larger raw materials keeps my work interesting, and is a nice niche market to be in. I also make beveled siding and some value-added products, which I would love to make more of. Anybody can make lumber, but not everybody can make cabinets, so I'd like to use those more refined skills.

Why did you decide to open a small mill?

I’ve always loved working with wood, even when I was a kid. It is all I’ve been doing for my whole life, and it looks like it is what I’ll be doing for the rest of it. I really enjoy what I do-- I bought my mill 11 years ago, and it feels like yesterday. 11 years ago I made the decision to do something I love, use the skills I already had. Since then, I have continued to learn more and more about something I am passionate about, and that reward makes the struggles I face as a small outfit worth it. I also got to stay in Wrangell, which is a place I am invested in and somewhere where I can fish out the front door and hunt out the back and I really get to live the Southeast way of life.

I’m glad that I can look at an old-growth yellow cedar and instead of seeing chunks of firewood, I see beautiful moldings or a high value oar. Having that perspective is important to what I do.

What is the most rewarding thing about your work?

How does your small mill contribute to a strong Southeast economy?

It is important to realize that my small mill is still running, I'm still here, and I'm still doing my work. That proves that small harvest and small mills can be economically feasible and you don't have to do 100-acre clear-cuts.

 

 

 

Jim has contributed his products and processing to the Shakes Island Tribal House restoration project. To look at his work and check out the project, click here.

2011 Advertising Campaign

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