141 Cerulean Road in Cadiz has long been a location for local lumber.
Now, the property is taking on an even more familiar feel.
Officials of PJ Clark Lumber have recently announced its purchase of the site — which last hosted Midwest Hardwood’s offshoot named Little River Dry Kiln, before it was forced to close in 2019.
It once was the home of the Bailey Lumber Company, but with each new owner has come upgrades. Now with 11 kilns, a grading facility and a warehouse posted on the 23 acres of property, PJ Clark CEO and Cadiz native Jacob Wadlington said it’s the perfect place to root successful business.
Already, Wadlington noted there are eight people working on site as a skeleton crew — including a pair of recognized locals in General Manager Jake Wallace and Director of Lumber Purchasing Steve Biggs, who were announced as company leaders in early July.
Among the highest demand by contractors, Wadlington noted, includes the hardwoods of poplar, white oak, walnut and red oak and the softwoods of pine, which can readily be found in the forests of western Kentucky and northwest Tennessee.
Poplar, Kentucky’s state tree, often serves cabinetry and trimming needs because of its ability to absorb paint, while pine wood is usually conscripted as a framing lumber for 2×4’s, 2×6’s, 2×8’s, 2×10’s and 2×12’s — both of which are critical in the U.S.’s recent surge in housing developments and renovations.
Wadlington added that part of PJ Lumber’s production in Kentucky will be delivered to some of his contacts in Texas and Tennessee, and he’s currently working to service and broker lumber for a project in Roswell, New Mexico.
But home is business, business is home — and business is booming. And there’s plenty of logging to be found in the immediate area, with little need for his company to plant a sustainable crop of pine or hardwood.
The plan is to immediately create 13 full-time jobs, with an attainable model for 35 employees by the 2023 fiscal year. Wadlington said it’ll be up to Wallace and his staff to flesh out the rest of the employee pool, while he continues to navigate back and forth from Texas to west Kentucky with great regularity.
The kiln will be a driving force in PJ Clark Lumber’s efforts to remain competitive in single-family, multi-family and manufacturing markets.
