Company History

Extracted from a Birmingham News article written in 1980 & 1998.

With 70 years of lumber producing, Joseph Lumber Company has viewed milling and logging as a family business.

The first operation began in 1933 by Mr. L.D. Joseph. The peckerwood mill, powered by a Buick motor, included horses, drays and cross-cut saws. The mill was located on the tract being cut and was generally moved to the next tract after 4-12 weeks of mill operation. The set up was about 5 hours.

Before the end of 1935, Mr. Joseph began the family business and over the next twenty years, he would continue to develop the mill.

Mr. Joseph's first new pickup purchased was a 1937 Ford Truck. It was used to haul lumber at night and, for a short time, its engine was used to power the sawmill during the day. In addition to the 1937 engine, a Packard engine, an Allis Chambler engine and then a Detroit Diesel engine were used as time evolved and approached the 1950's.

The mid-fifties brought new changes. For the first time the mill remained on a single tract site for more than 3 years. Equipment was updated with the mill being powered by a Case Unit. The Company bought two more trucks and two mules named Mac and Nig for snaking logs. Also in the late fifties was a permanent mill location. The new location was on the Joseph Family Homeplace and Farm where the business has grown and currently resides. Now the logs were bought by truck for sawing into lumber.

The next decade would bring more change and progress for the young company. Logging operations moved as far as Chilton County. New equipment was bought, including a 130 Franklin Skidder and a new 1968 Chevrolet log truck. New additions to the mill were added. The first loader was purchased, a Ford major tractor, another lumber truck and the first forklift, a KD Ford. Mr. Joseph and his two sons modernized the mill by placing it on a frame, raided from the ground. The first debarker and chipper were bought.

New ideas and new enthusiasm brought on by the father & sons operation would soon expand beyond the mill to include pallet construction. “Let’s not waste our extra lumber, put it into pallets.” Another new marketable product, sawdust, was developed, which had earlier been a scrap or unsellable product. The remaining unmarketable waste product, bark, became marketable. Slabs were chipped by the new unit and sent to paper mills for paper production. The mill waste products were now products for sale.

The Evolution of Joseph Lumber’s Pallet Production Line

In 1967 Joseph Lumber began its first pallet production line with Mr. Wilkerson at Marrietta Harrah Marble Corporation. Mr. Joseph built the first pallet trim saw from a single wood frame one horse power electric cut off saw from an old washing machine and a saw from the local Western Auto Store in Columbiana, Alabama.

The pallets were nailed together by hand usually after the mill operation at night. Mr. Joseph cut the lumber and his two sons, Anthony and Douglas, nailed them together.

In 1968 Mr. Joseph moved the pecker wood sawmill back to the home place. At about this same time, his older son Doug began adding logging equipment that was more up to date, a 1967 Chevy with a cable side loader, a major Ford tractor for loading, and a Franklin skidder. Douglas and Anthony, like Mr. Joseph, spent most of their weekends and evenings making repairs and welding on equipment to grow their company. Gail, their sister ran the new office, built in 1971.

In 1978, the brothers and sister team created Shelby County Logging, which was a great timber opportunity for Joseph Lumber Company. Also, there was expansion of the pallet business into a large material building and updated equipment.

Also in 1978, bad luck hit the mill that Anthony and Doug has worked so hard to put together for the last 8 years—it burned. After the smoke of that weekend, Doug and Anthony regrouped on Monday morning, ordered a complete new mill from a longtime friend from Elba, AL. They both decided to come back with more electric and hydraulic equipment. In 27 days and nights of work, the first line was sawed on the new mill.

Shelby County Logging was incorporated in June, 1978 by Anthony and Douglas Joseph, along with Gail Joseph Owen. The new company specialized in timber purchasing and marketing. Timber, both hardwood and pine, included long and short pulpwood and logs.

Joseph's Short Pulpwood railyard was opened in Vandiver, AL in the early 1980’s, shipping by rail to its customers including: Great Southern, Union Camp, and Hammermill. A temporary short wood truck yard was opened at Selfville, AL and later moved to Locust Fork from 1982-1984.

The Columbiana truck yard was to receive long and short pulpwood and logs. The method of scale was by weight instead of stick scale as used at other locations.

In 1984, Shelby County Logging, a division of Joseph Lumber Company, was a primary supplier of pulp and logs throughout Alabama. Ingenuity and devotion of timber buyers and sub-contractors contributed to Shelby County Logging’s success.

Now, approaching its 70th Anniversary, Joseph Lumber, a division of Joseph Forest Enterprises, Inc., continues producing select hardwood lumber and standard pallets. Over the last decade, the business has expanded its product and service offerings to meet the ever-growing demands of the industry to include specialty products such as: Heavy Lift Pallets, Skids, Blocking, and Crates. In the late 90s, mulch and ground cover was added to its menu of product offerings. In 2009, Joseph Lumber launched its heat-treatment services to meet the growing demand for heat-treatment for wood products, especially for the export market.

In addition to the pallet, blocking and lumber business, for the last 35 years, Anthony Joseph, President of Joseph Forest Enterprises, Inc. continues to evolve his passion and vision for wildlife and forestry conservation. Over the last two decades, Anthony has implemented his vision by applying his “green-friendly” technique to each of his site development projects. At the hands of carefully skilled operators, his land solution techniques develop some of the most park-like and pristine developments.

In 2007, Anthony was eager to welcome his daughter, Ashley to the team. He is proud to have his daughter, Ashley join him as they move the family business into the next generation.

Anthony Joseph teaching his daughter Ashley how to saw a log at their sawmill in Columbiana, Alabama.

Joseph Forest Enterprises, Inc.
320 Joseph Drive, Columbiana, AL 35051
Phone: (205) 669-4631

© 2012 Joseph Forest Enterprises, Inc.