Nobody expected the waterlogged wood lining the bottom of Quakish Lake in Maine would become anything but pulp. But Tom Shafer is harvesting that wood for a new purpose. And it’s given him a new purpose, too.
For two decades, Shafer chased down daily profits as a market maker on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Now, instead of quick returns, he and Steve Sanders, co-founders of Maine Heritage Timber Co., plan to cash in on an investment that’s taken centuries to mature: the market value of unique wood locked in logs stacked deep in the silty bottom of that 1,000-acre lake in Millinocket.
Shafer says between 700,000 to 1 million cords of wood — enough to harvest for around 20 years — is estimated to have sunk into the lake during log drives to Great Northern Paper’s nearby mill. For the past two years, Maine Heritage Timber has been reclaiming the mostly century-old wood. In the first year, most of the logs were turned into pulp to feed biomass boilers. But in the last year, Shafer has been seeking a niche market that promises a much greater return for the wood — high-end flooring.
“Last year, we did about 90 percent biomass and pulp and 10 percent flooring and furniture. This year, I hope that it’s 80 percent flooring and furniture and 20 percent biomass,” Shafer says. “The only thing that I want to [sell for] biomass is the stuff that I can’t saw.”
From The Bangor Daily News: https://bangordailynews.com/2013/05/24/business/millinocket-company-unearths-logging-history-for-niche-market/?ref=latest