Frerichs Sawmill

TENNESSEE BROTHERS’ SAWMILL FINDS SUCCESS IN FLEXIBILITY

A scenic drive alongside Coker Creek – where a small gold rush once occurred in 1827 – will
eventually lead you to the 62-year-old Frerichs Sawmill operated by brothers Terry and Rodney
Frerichs (pronounced Fray). It’s a mountainous area where the trees rise high and cell phone coverage is low, and that’s just the way the Frerichs like it.

While Terry says that the size of the operation hasn’t changed much since their father, Wayford Frerichs, started the sawmill in 1953, plenty else in the business has changed. Wayford was first in the area helping to build dams when he began cutting timber with a crosscut saw. That evolved into a portable sawmill and, finally, a stationary sawmill.

“I reckon he just enjoyed it,” said Rodney of his father’s choice of profession.

Rodney jokingly says that he has the fun end of the business, since he has run the logging crew for decades now while Terry runs the office and sawmill side.

“Logging has always been at the heart of our business,” Terry said. “We’ve been blessed. Through the economic turndown, we’ve had friends who put our name out there so we could continue to have consistent business.”

MEETING MARKET DEMAND

The Frerichs also found a few new avenues of business during the lean years. Initially, they were selling materials for log homes, with a peak year yielding 80 log homes. A point of pride is that Frerichs Sawmill provided all the wood for country singer Trace Adkins’ log home – as well as for the bridge and deck that are visible in his music video, “Just Fishin’.”

About 90 percent of their log home business over the years has been generated by word of mouth, with the other 10 percent originating from their website, www.FrerichsSawmill.com.

When the housing crisis hit its peak, they changed gears and began focusing more on the residue market.

“When log homes turned down, we got into the residue market for our wood waste. We’re really close to zero waste; I say 99 percent because we can’t sell the wood dust in the air,” Terry said.’

EVEN THE SAWDUST HAS A USE

They sell wood chips, sawdust bark and shavings, all for various purposes, including landscaping, boiler fuel and to spread on the floors of chicken pens.

Frerichs Sawmill pulls in 100 tons of wood a day, and 100 tons goes out every day in different configurations. Hardwoods have risen in demand since the housing renovation market increased and hardwood floors regained popularity, Terry said. Over the years, they’ve had to change with demand, moving from logging and selling 90 percent soft woods and 10 percent hardwoods to an almost inverse amount, 90 percent hard woods and 10 percent soft woods.

“A lot of our wood is being exported now. China is buying huge volumes of poplar. Where we didn’t have much of a market for poplar before, now we do. And a lot of the white woods and red woods are going to Europe,” Terry said.

KEEPING UP WITH REGULATIONS

On a walk through the property, Terry can identify each stack of logs or timber by its final destination–one stack will be rail ties, another one will create the frames for a popular brand of reclining chairs.

The brothers both came into the family business in the ‘70s, taking over when their father died in 1990. Since the days when they spent Saturdays making extra pocket money by working in the mill, technology has made that job considerably easier, Terry said. It’s a streamlined, but simple, set-up in the mill, and no worker ever has to haul a board around from one spot to another. Lasers help guide wood through the saw.

One of the most significant changes in the industry is the amount of paperwork required so the Frerichs can stay compliant when logging.

TENNESSEE TIMBER

Whether it’s on government land or private property, the last couple of decades have brought a heightened awareness and sensitivity to environmental issues, Terry said. In Tennessee alone, there’s been a gain of 1.1 million acres of forest land since 1989. That’s in part due to proper management and being environmentally sensitive, but also due to more farmers choosing to plant trees for consumption.

“Tennessee has what the land needs to grow timber,” Terry said. “And we’re not losing it.”
One aspect of the business that hasn’t changed since the early 1970s is that the Frerichs buy Cat® machines. The brothers can’t quite recall if it was 1972 or 1973, but they know their first Cat 248 machine purchase was a D5 dozer – and they chuckle as they recall why their father wanted to buy it.

“Daddy would always gripe about other machines running hot and we knew someone who had a D5 and daddy said, ‘Does it run hot?’ He stood in front of that D5 and it blew his hat off!” Terry said. “It got us started buying Cat machines.”

After that, the Frerichs purchased other Cat products including generators, loaders and skidders. Terry said that, besides the machines being top quality, they are also easy to fix through the support of his local Cat dealer, Stowers Machinery Corporation. Whenever he gets a new machine, Terry likes to get all the books and literature to go with it so he can troubleshoot any problems that may arise.

“I’ve got a library of Caterpillar books here. I always appreciate that I can get the literature from Caterpillar, because you can’t always get that from other brands,” he said.

Terry jokes that he calls his Stowers sales representative, Amos Burrell, so often that he owes Amos a dinner.

“I’ve got him in my rolodex and I call him up all the time. He helps me make my decisions about equipment,” he said.

STAYING WITH STOWERS

It’s that long-term relationship Terry’s had with the folks at Stowers that makes it so easy for him to call the store and get some advice on what parts he needs.

“Stowers is the only place where I can pick up the phone and call for parts and they’ll say, ‘New or used?’ Buying used can help us save on costs,” he said.

When Terry does buy new parts, he said he’s always impressed by Stowers’ parts network that can pull in what he needs from other regions in a day’s time.

“Stowers can get us a part quickly, and that’s another reason I love Cat equipment so much,” he said. “We’re hard on machines and they’re going to need parts. So I chose Cat machines because Stowers can support me when I need it.”

Neither Terry nor Rodney have a definite date in mind for their retirement, though there has been some talk as to who might take over the business when they do.

While Terry has a daughter and Rodney has three sons and some grandchildren, only one grandson has chosen to work at the sawmill thus far.

“I don’t know if he wants to inherit a sawmill or not, but he’s driving a truck for us,” Terry says with a chuckle.

Meanwhile, Terry and Rodney plan to continue the hard work of logging and milling. Surrounded by opportunities and some of the most beautiful countryside in the nation, it’s not hard to see why the Frerichs brothers count themselves blessed.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

This story first appeared in the Winter 2015 issue of ForestPro magazine, a national magazine for those who own and operate forestry equipment. Download the story as it appeared in the magazine.

Visit Frerichs Sawmill’s website to learn more about the services the company provides.