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History

Tripp Lumber Company’s longevity is defined by CONSISTENCY and QUALITY.

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Dave Tripp, former owner of Tripp Lumber Company is candid about the success of this 24-year-old remanufacturing plant located in Missoula, Montana.

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“At Tripp Lumber, once we get customers onboard with us, we keep them. We value that personal relationship with them. Success in this business hinges on providing quality products and being able to adapt to changes in the industry. But most importantly, the lumber business is about people. It’s about service and treating people with respect.”

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Commitment to solid relationships with customers is a goal originally set for Tripp Lumber by Dave’s father, Don Tripp, who introduced his family to the lumber industry in the 1950’s. Dave joined his father in the lumber transport business, and by 1977, they had expanded their services from 3 trucks to 50. In the 1980’s, as the lumber industry endured a stifling recession, the Tripps forged new paths as businessmen. Don Tripp continued transporting lumber while Dave made inroads into lumber production, which led to the formation of Tripp Lumber Co.’s remanufacturing plant in 1985.

 

Tripp Lumber’s products have evolved through the years, and now the company specializes in several specific items, such as quality log siding. Even television stars have taken notice of Tripp Lumber’s superb craftsmanship. For example, Marg Helgenberger, who portrays Catherine Willows in the hit CBS-TV show CSI, recently built a home of various log products, such as log siding and log accents that were manufactured by Tripp Lumber.

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As recently as seven years ago, Tripp Lumber did not produce mass volumes of log siding. But today, we are one of the top 3 producers of log siding in the industry.

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Our ability to change and bring niche products to market are key to our overall success. Through the years we have perfected new products that wholesale distributors appreciate for their fine craftsmanship. All while offering our customers the most competitive prices around.

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We listen to our customers, find out what they need and then we make it. We also offer added value through various services, and we do all this while promising a turn-around on the product within two weeks.

Installation of new equipment in recent years, including Yates American A20 planers, chop saws, trim saws and a resaw, has facilitated faster production, and thus faster deliveries. Our manufactured products include Grizzly Hewn Log Siding, which does not look manufactured and appeals to many of our customers due to its rustic appearance.

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Inland lumber species, such as Lodge Pole Pine and Douglas Fir, are primarily used for Grizzly products. However, Tripp Lumber manufactures smaller quantities of siding in White Fir, Cedar, and SPF.

We also offer such items as 2×6 and 2×8 tongue and groove boards for floors and ceilings, to complement log siding. We find these products tend to appeal to customers who are building either log homes or luxury homes. Customers tend to want a consistent look for their entire home, rather than have just the exterior of the home appear to be a log home. For these customers we also produce 1×6 and 1×8 pattern boards for interior paneling, as well as circle sawn 1×6 for flooring and 1×8 for flooring.

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Tripp Lumber further enables customers to assimilate the “log cabin look” in their homes by manufacturing accent items, such as log corners, posts, beams, stair railings and stair treads. We have complete interior and exterior log home packages to achieve this; from 30-foot long, 10-inch diameter logs for use in making trusses, to the 2x6s and 2x8s. We manufacture ALL of it.

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Tripp Lumber Company is capable of producing 250,000 board feet per day at our 6 acre facility. Our inventory is maintained at 5 million board feet in a variety of widths and thicknesses, ranging from 1×4 to 3×10 in Lodge Pole Pine, Hem Fir, Ponderosa Pine and Cedar.

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Our customers are located in every state in the United States; however, our products are in highest demand in the Midwest, Northwest, and the South.

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Tripp Lumber, which ships via BNSF railroad and independent trucking carriers, offers such value added services as transport of mixed loads, repackaging, reloading/unloading and bar coding of yard packs to assist in tracking customers’ inventory.

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A need will always exist in this industry for more product, and for new and creative ideas. We will continue to find ways to develop these products, and lead this industry.

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Our secret to success is simple; We focus on making products that people want. This approach has worked for decades, and I’m proud to say that many of our customers have faithfully been with us for more than 37 years.

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