Yoder Lumber endures tough times,
begins to reap the rewards of
economic recovery
EPT
| BusinessWorld-
Magazine | 1
C
all it a downturn. Call it a
recession. Call it a really bad
stretch of economic road.
Whatever it was, Mel Yoder was all too
aware of it and the havoc it was wreaking on
the decades-old business – Yoder Lumber
Company Inc. – that bears his family’s
name.
Staff hours were trimmed and positions
were eliminated. The hardwood industry’s
production plummeted from a record-high
13 billion board feet in 2007, to only 5
millionwithin just a fewyears.
As leaders in corner offices across America
panicked, Yoder preached calm.
Now a few years later, staff levels are
exceeding pre-recess ion level s and
production is reaching 90 percent of the
pre-recession years. The steady veteran
hand is primed for sunnier days.
