“We recreate a lot of different historic mouldings. Sometimes it’s a little bit of a treasure hunt,” George Townsend, owner of Community Lumber, says – and you can hear the smile in his voice.

Community Lumber is a lumber manufacturing business in Tremont – just outside of Greenwood – that produces value added lumber products including kiln dried lumber and finishing materials. They specialize in pine lumber and moulding products and carry most common dimensions in stock. They also recreate moulding profiles and cut lumber in custom sizes for historic restorations.

George ran a lumber yard in Shelburne County back in the 90s, then served in the military for 25 years. With his retirement from the military pending, George “felt too young to retire” so he built Community Lumber 2 years before stepping away from active service.

Getting the business up and running was no small feat – George owns a 5-acre plot of land and cleared a total of 2.5 acres, building a kiln for drying and a wood planing facility. The business has a sawmill, kiln, 4 sided planer, moulding machine, and storage buildings.

During the initial set-up of Community Lumber, George turned to CBDC Hants-Kings for support. “CBDC gave me my start up loan and also helped finance my growth,” says George. “CBDC’s assistance and support for local small businesses outweigh anything a traditional financial institution can provide. They are really geared towards small business and that appealed to me,” he says. “They’ve been fantastic this whole time.”

Environmental integrity is at the core of the business. Community Lumber operates as a zero-waste facility. George sells scraps and off cuts for kindling and they bag wood shavings for use as animal bedding. They also choose to use “overlooked” types of wood. As a hard wood that takes paint well, poplar is ideal for mouldings. Hemlock is rot resistant and put to good use for decks. Meanwhile, tamarack, which is also rot resistant, is well suited to the bottom of fence posts. They also strive to purchase all our logs from woodlots under certified management plans.

“Our mission is to add value to the wood,” George explains. “We take that product and add some value to it. We buy the wood already milled out, then dry it in our kiln and make custom mouldings and a whole lot of different things.”

CBDC Hants-Kings Business Advisor Darren Sequeira reflects “George has been an exemplary client to work with. Right from the beginning he had a vision for his business and used his strengths and past experience to make that vision a reality. George was smart in his approach to the business, setting himself up for an effective transition to self-employment following his retirement.” Darren adds “After withstanding the challenges of COVID, you can see the results of George’s efforts pay off as his business grows, employing more people and providing more services. It is truly a community-oriented business, filling a demand in the marketplace in an innovative, unique, environmentally friendly, and efficient way.”

Four years in, George still enjoys running the business, especially the challenge of historical restoration projects. Community Lumber helped restore siding on an old railway museum in Middleton. In Chester, Mahone Bay, and surrounding areas, the local bylaws dictate that older homes and building exteriors must be renovated using historical materials and techniques.

“My experience with CBDC and their staff gave me a feeling of being supported right from the beginning,” says George. “From gaining financial assistance to helping to find support for employment services.”

Looking to the future, George wants to maximize the production capabilities of the equipment by getting more staff and creating more storage areas. A hardwood kiln is also in the plans.

“A lot of customers are asking about exotic hardwoods so I’m looking into that,” he says. “We’re also open to a wholesale/retail operation down the road.”

Thank you to our Government of Canada partners at the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), who collaborate with us to support small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs. Together, we will continue to build a stronger Atlantic Canadian economy, fostering job growth and strengthening our rural communities.