CLANCY – Marks Lumber is opening its doors to the public for the second year in a row as part of a statewide effort to highlight the importance of forestry products.
The lumber mill will host a public tour on Friday, October 26, to demonstrate how the mill turns logs into finished wood products, such as flooring and siding.
The tour coincides with Montana Forestry Products Week, established in 2011 to encourage people to appreciate locally-made wood products.
Owner Steve Marks said timber is one of Montana’s biggest economic boosters, but not everyone understands just how important it is: “It is a very vibrant, very important economic engine.”
The company employs 22 people, and through a multiplier effect Marks said each employee contributes to the employment of five others.
He hopes giving people a look at the mill’s inner workings will help people appreciate all that goes into it.
“With the tours that we take folks through on the mill – they don’t really understand how a log is broken down. It shows them that,” Mark said. “They really like it. And it’s fun doing it. It’s something we can do to give back.”
Marks Lumber produces about 1.5 million feet of lumber each year, which Marks said is small potatoes compared to some timber operations in Montana. However, he adds his company creates highly specialized products.
You can see those products in the making at the Friday tour from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. Marks Lumber is located at 30 Lump Gulch Road in Clancy.
- Reported by Jacob Fuhrer
