President and CEO
Premier Forest Products, Inc.

 

Jim Carlson, President and CEO of Premier Forest Products, Inc., started working in cedar mills at the age of 16. By 19 years of age Jim owned and operated his own cedar mill employing 2 of his high school friends. During the 1970’s Jim’s company continued to grow and by the 1980’s he employed nearly 100 employees, had a full scale logging company, sawmill, shake & shingle operation and a remanufacturing facility. The late 80’s and early 90’s brought much change to the forest products industry. Restrictive government regulations and environmental challenges virtually brought the forest products industry to its knees. However, with great determination and a will to survive, Jim worked through many of these challenges and today Premier Forest Products, Inc. produces over 10 million board feet of premium products each year and the company is again growing.

Today Premier Forest Products, Inc. has four manufacturing divisions: Shingle Division, Sawmill Division, Remanufacturing and Dry Kiln Division and the Wood Works Division. Premier recently purchased its third cedar manufacturing facility in Cosmopolis, Washington, home of the Wood Works Division. The Wood Works Division features our finger-jointed and laminated product lines. Recently, four new state-of-the-art dry kilns were completed and are now serving our various divisions. With the complete renovation, hi-tech upgrades and automation to all four facilities, Premier now employs approximately 35 employees.

Jim serves on the Board of Directors for the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association. Founded in 1954 and known as "the voice of the cedar industry" the WRCLA operates customer service programs throughout the United States and Canada to support its members' cedar products with information, education and quality standards. The WRCLA has 31 member companies and Premier Forest Products, Inc. is proud to participate in North America’s premier cedar association.

Jim also serves on the Board of Directors for the Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau which represents Certi-label brand products. Certi-label Western Cedar shingles manufactured by members of the Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau (“CSSB”) are the only products labeled with the “Certi” brand name. Certi-label Western Cedar shingles are made by experienced craftsmen who take pride in their trade and the quality of their product. Despite their varying sizes and sometimes remote locations, member mills are bound together by a rigid quality code. Premier Forest Products, Inc. is a proud member of the Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau and takes pride in their sidewall shingle products, which are all certified by the CCSB. The CCSB was founded in 1915 and has served as the industry’s leader in quality assurance programs.

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MEET OUR TEAM:

W.J. Carlson (Jim)
President and CEO

Kellie L. Daniels
Vice President

Sales

 

Premier Forest Products is a proud manufacturer of Real Wood and Real Cedar products.

 

We are a proud member of: WRCLA, CEDAR SHAKE & SHINGLE BUREAU, NAWLA and TEMPERATE FOREST FOUNDATION
Premier Forest Products ® , Real Wood ® and Wrap Your Dreams ® are Registered Trademarks of
Premier Forest Products, Inc.

Pictures courtesy of WRCLA