From Raw Logs to Finished Products, Valley View Industries Stands for the Perfect Outcome
By Ryan Akhurst
Proudly manufactured in Kamloops, BC, for over 30 years, Valley View Industries believes in making premium western red cedar products that look good and are built to last. Cedar is the preferred wood where the aesthetic appeal, durability, and weather resistance are essential. Valley View is proud of its products’ heavy-duty construction, originality, quality, and craftsmanship, where the natural beauty of the cedar can be enhanced with various finishes or left in its natural state.
Valley View is unique because logs enter one side of their facility, get processed then leave as a completed product. Logs are processed through a sawmill into lumber and then through a dry kiln and finishing equipment. The lumber is then available for sale by the board or truckload. Their carpenters also use lumber for their fencing, gazebo, and pergola products, and these products are available for supply anywhere and installation in Kamloops and the surrounding areas. Special orders can be structurally engineered to support customers’ specifications.
As a very hands-on business owner, the process of operating a moulder and the precision of the equipment is interesting to Price. From handling moisture content to making and sharpening knives, making thousands of feet of lumber with uniform size and finish is satisfying. It’s great having control over quality and lead times.
A New Moulder. The Perfect Way to Go.
Valley View decided to purchase a Leadermac USA moulder rather than use other ways of producing (planers, jointers, shapers) because, in the past, they used a smaller single-head shaper to make tongue and groove. “This was a slow, inaccurate process compared to the moulder. We would table saw pieces to width, run the tongue, change the head over, run the groove, not to mention any thickness planing that needed to happen. Now, the moulder does everything in one pass, including jointing the material, which removes any inconsistencies from rough boards,” adds Price.
Comparing numbers and production capacity was hard before Valley View Industries had a moulder. After getting and not expecting too much-increased production capacity, they went from about 3-4 hours to produce a lift of T+G to 30 minutes with a better product. “This has allowed our small operation to increase revenue by over $200,000 per month. We are continuing to scale the business and looking forward to what the new moulder has to offer”, says Price.
Cedar prices have slowly decreased this year for knotty products where clears remain of high value. All of their products focus more on quality, so even with rising interest rates, Valley Views’ clientele is mostly un-effected. If the markets were to shift, they would be able to shift with them. People will always need renewable wood products, particularly cedar, for their natural durability to rot, decay, and insect attacks. The versatility of our moulder is easy to cater to different profiles and finishes for any product.
What’s Next for Valley View Industries?
This year, Valley View Industries has started its journey into lean manufacturing. All their staff spends 15 minutes each morning doing “3S” Sweep > Sort > Standardize, eliminating waste and fixing what bugs us before we start any work. “The results are a great company culture of continuous improvement, improving the entire manufacturing process daily. It’s a lot of fun to come to work and create products that look good and are built to last.”