The other day I ran into an old friend by the name of Brooks Anderson. He was driving a truck around town with a logo on the side of it that read, 'Buffalo Barn Board'. In the back of the truck was a pile of old wood beams and planks. I asked Brooks what he was up to and he said, "I've started a business that specializes in salvaging wood elements from old barns and factories. I just landed 100,000 board feet of old southern yellow heart pine. The wood came out of a factory floor that had weak spots and was a liability for the company. I take care of the liability and the demo costs... then I re-mill the wood to give it another 100 years of life.
"My customer that typically buys the finished wood is looking for something with a cosmopolitan feel... most of the customers live in the city. I also sell to furniture designers and to contractors who are in need of hard-to-find structural timbers. In another year I'm planning on looking for a 25,000 sq.' building in the city (with heat and additional acreage)... it's going to be a totally 'green' production facility."
It's good to see another local company taking advantage of the re-use philosophy. Instead of dumping or destroying the old growth wood found in many structures, Brooks is harvesting the wood and making a business for himself in the process.
Buffalo Barn Board | 534 Delaware Avenue | Suite 301 | Buffalo, NY 14202 | Phone: 716-332-7158 | Fax: 716-332-7170 | E-mail: brooks@buffalobarnboard.com