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.
This is the story of how and why CT Logs To Lumber, LLC came to be.
In the summer of 2009, Kim and I had several large oak trees on our property taken down to allow more sunlight into our gardens. I've been an amateur woodworker for nearly 30 years, 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. The fact that I was facing a possible layoff at the end of the year added some urgency to my interest. 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 learned a great deal by reading and re-reading the archives of this forum, and most likely would never have started the business without the benefit of the knowledge I found there.
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, by practicing on my own logs.
In early 2010 I put the final pieces in place to start the business. Working with a lawyer, I registered the company name with the state of Connecticut as a Limited Liability Corporation, and I purchased liability insurance for the business, and property insurance for the mill. After these chores were taken care of, I launched my web site and began to promote it.
As it turned out I did not get laid off at the end of 2009, and my 25 year career as a computer programmer continued into 2010. So, I started CT Logs To Lumber, LLC as a part time business, milling only on weekends. My first job came in March. By mid-summer I had a waiting list that took me out a month. By early autumn I had work lined up through Thanksgiving.
With this level off success, I decided to retire from my 'day job' at the end of 2010, and make CT Logs To Lumber, LLC a full time operation. I will come to your site and mill your logs on week days or weekends, at your convenience.
Our mission is to save logs that could be turned into valuable lumber from the indignity of the wood stove, or worse, the worms. Lumber from your logs could become part of a project that could last hundreds of years. I can help you with one of the first steps in this process.