Jim Colier
Jim Colier has been a resident of Wrangell since 1987 and has worked in the timber industry since 1971. Below, he shares why mills like DJ Enterprises are important to the Alaskan economy.
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?
I think my work is like any type of craftsmanship in that I take a lot of pride in what I do. 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.
How does your small mill contribute to a strong Southeast economy?
Small harvest and small mills can be economically feasible and you don't have to do 100-acre clear-cuts
I opened my own small mill partly because I wanted to contribute to a culture where Alaskans are sending full barges down to the lower-48 instead of empty ones—exporting instead of importing. The best thing you can do for local economies is to get people working, and my business keeps jobs and dollars here in Wrangell.
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.
The new boat haul out is the most active place in Wrangell. Sometimes the whole town is quiet until you go by the boat yard where it is busy all the time. Small mills and the boat yard have opened up an entirely new market to our community. The shipwrights tell me they wish they had high quality, ready-to-use material all the time, and that they prefer to buy local.
How does your business represent economic and ecologic efficiency?
My thin kerf band mill can utilize over 95% of the tree. When mills are small and run by people interested in trying to reuse and reinvest as much waste as they can to run an efficient business, they also use less wood and have a part in preserving the forest. The forest is a renewable resource only if we use it that way and try to get the most out of every tree and each piece of wood.
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.
