Dennis Verrill grew up in Oakland, Maine, and spent 30 years learning all aspects of the Pine Tree State’s lumber industry, from sawmill operations to budgeting, project management, maintenance, and customer visits. In December 2022 he moved to Bedford County to be closer to his son and has served since then as general manager of Everett-based Blue Triangle Hardwoods.
Founded in 1980, Blue Triangle’s production facility employs 100 and offers a range of products from veneer logs to bark mulch. The company specializes in kiln-dried hardwood lumber in a range of thicknesses and lengths, hardwood logs, and hardwood byproducts that include chips and mulch. The primary tree species it processes include red oak, white oak, and poplar.
Aside from lumber products, Blue Triangle also provides services that include timber evaluation, harvest preparation, and advice on concerns that include forest management, stream protection, road building, and wildlife management.
Q: Where do you source your hardwood supplies?
Verrill: We try to source locally as much as possible, as well as within 100 miles of our mill location.
Q: Is there anything that sets you apart from your competitors?
Verrill: We manage everything here, from logs in the woods to our customers overseas. In terms of volume, we produce more than 25 million board feet of grade lumber annually. We pride ourselves on the long-term relationships we have developed with both our domestic and international clients. We export to more than 40 countries worldwide from our Everett location.
Q: How have you stayed competitive in terms of your operations?
Verrill: We operate a very updated sawmill and air-dried yard. We have 17 kilns and three boilers on our kiln-dried line. Over the last couple of years, we have undertaken a tremendous number of projects to improve operations here.
Q: What changes have you made?
Verrill: We pride ourselves in using computer assisted technology in every aspect of our operations. This helped us eliminate our toughest positions that required a lot of physical work, like green pullers who moved the boards from the mill into the drying yard, and sticker layers who placed the stickers between the layers of boards to ensure air circulation for drying. Those jobs are now 100% automated, and these employees have now been trained as machine operators who work indoors and no longer have to touch the products they’re working with.
Q: How do you work with the forest and woodland owners who supply hardwood resources to you?
Verrill: We offer help with land management through our three foresters who purchase standing timber, and we also manage the crews that cut standing timber. We are certified through the Forest Stewardship Council, which ensures that our products come from responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social, and economic benefits.
Q: Blue Triangle has a lot of large-scale commercial customers. Do you also provide any service and support or collaborate with local businesses?
Verrill: We’ve been able to help the Bedford Fair by providing sawdust for animal bedding during fair week. We also provided square logs and block ends for the recent Pennsylvania Lumberjack Championships that were held in Schellsburg.
Q: What makes Everett a good location for Blue Triangle Hardwoods?
Verrill: This is a perfect location to find quality Pennsylvania hardwoods. The Pennsylvania Turnpike is nearby, which helps with our logistics, and we have a large number of available resources nearby.
Q: Aside from your job, is there anything else that attracted you to Bedford County?
Verrill: My son and I love the area. We have already explored many caves and enjoy kayaking, and we like hiking the mountain trails in this area. We’re looking to buy some land in the county now. Prices are reasonable enough to rent, but we’d like to own our own property and have the ability to raise animals and have large gardens.