Founded in 1941 and settled in Marietta 20 years later, Haessly Hardwood has become one of the largest timber mills in Ohio.

Recently the mill installed a major improvement with new dryers – or dry kilns – that will save on energy costs and increase efficiency.

Vice-President Mark Haessly says the dryers, made in North Carolina, are for white woods or softer hard woods.

“And what it does is take the moisture out of the lumber so it can be used to make furniture, moldings, and flooring,” explains Haessly. “It makes it useable so when they build something, the lumber stays the way that it comes out of the dryer – stays straight and flat.”

The dryers feature high-speed fans and use less natural gas. “Everything is regulated to the proportions that it needs. The other big savings is the heat exchangers on the top – when it vents during too much heat, it goes into these heat exchangers, then we get a percentage of that energy back in to reheat the lumber…where the old models, it all goes outside.”

Mark Haessly adds that a shorter drying time increases productivity. “What used to take four weeks, now just takes two,” adds Haessly.

He says the new dryers cost half a million dollars. They were installed at the end of last year and – after working the kinks out over the past two months – are now fully running.