Meet The Sawyer
Hi! My name is Peter Nyberg and I am the sawyer for CT Logs To Lumber, LLC. I'm also the driver, the mechanic, chief cook and bottle washer. My wife, Kim, helps with bookkeeping and business advice and may answer the phone when you call.
I started CT Logs To Lumber, LLC in 2009 after learning that I was to be laid off at the end of the year. I've been a computer programmer for 25 years, and at the advanced age of 56 with the 'Great Recession' in full force, I thought the chances of finding another job in my field were slim. So, I decided that I would try a different path.
My interest in sawmills developed at about the same time I learned of my impending layoff. Kim and I decided to have several large oak trees on our property taken down to allow more sunlight into our gardens. I've been an amateur woodworker longer than I've been a computer programmer and I wanted to have the straight, branch-free trunks turned into lumber for my workshop rather than firewood for my stove, so I began to look for a portable sawmill service.
If finding a local sawmill had been easy that probably would have been the end of the story. However, it wasn't easy, and that made me consider the possibility that there was a market not being fully served.
I began researching portable sawmills in more detail with the idea of starting a business. I found a wealth of information about sawmills and related topics on the Internet. The Forestry Forum, in particular, was a valuable resource, holding the aggregate wit and wisdom of dozens of sawyers in over 125,000 individual posts.
I did eventually find a local portable sawmill to mill my logs. When I discussed the possibility of starting my own portable sawmill business with the sawyer, I received only encouragement in return.
And so I began the process of creating CT Logs To Lumber, LLC. In October of 2009, I ordered a new Wood-Mizer LT40 hydraulic sawmill, which was delivered a few weeks later, and I started to learn how to saw logs into lumber.
As fate would have it though, in December 2009, another computer programming job fell into my lap. The relative certainty of a regular paycheck, compared to the unknown territory of starting a new business, made it impossible for me to turn down the job offer. But, having come this far, I was not about to abandon my sawmill plans altogether.
So, CT Logs To Lumber, LLC is being started as a part time venture. For the most part, we work only on weekends. Rest assured that this does not mean that we take our business any less seriously than if it were a full time enterprise.