Established by Charles Coomer in 1978, Coomer & Sons Sawmill is a family-owned and operated business that began in a Frankfort, Indiana garage with four employees producing approximately 75 pallets by hand each day. Throughout the 1980s and 90s, Coomer & Sons grew rapidly, moving into larger buildings and installing automated manufacturing equipment to keep up with the demand for their products. During this period of growth, the company developed a close working relationship with nearby Wood-Mizer headquartered in Indianapolis just 45 miles south of Frankfort. The Coomer family has been Wood-Mizer owners for decades since running one of the company’s first multi-head resaws in the early 1990s. Coomer & Sons has also become a valued partner in testing the Indiana sawmill manufacturer’s prototype equipment and blades.
In 2007, the family business
changed hands when founder Charles Coomer passed away.
Charles’ son, Jeff, purchased the company and became President
just before the economic hardships hit in the late 2000s.
During these unfavorable business times, Coomer & Sons
remained profitable by offering used pallets to businesses
that were trying to save money wherever they could. “When the economy was bad, we started doing used
pallets and within a year we were a full blown used pallet
operation selling a million and a half [pallets] a year,” said
President Jeff Coomer. “It grew so fast because everybody,
during those times, wanted used instead of new pallets to save
the dollars.” By
diversifying their business, Coomer & Sons had developed a
successful model by supplying new and used pallets to a
variety of global clients shipping automotive filters,
plastics, recyclables, tires, and more. When combined, the
market cycles of each client’s industry provide a steady
demand to avoid large gaps in production. In addition to new
and used pallets, today Coomer & Sons also provides
specialty heat-treated pallets for shipping internationally
and supplements their pallet operation by offering byproducts
from manufacturing such as mulch and firewood from log end
drops.
First, logs are debarked then transported to the main building for processing. Once logs are staged, they are run through one of three WM4000 industrial headrigs for primary breakdown and fed into one conveyor leading to the green chain. Next, the cants are edged and cut to length on cut-off saws. Cants are then run through one of two multi-head resaws to break down into deck boards and runners before final assembly into pallets with an automated nailing machine. Finished pallets are either shipped out the same day or stored inside their 88,000-square-foot facility.
Primary sawyer, Troy
Shimmel, has worked with Coomer & Sons for the past 15
years and says the WM4000 is simply “fun to run”. Compared to
the older model Wood-Mizer sawmills, Troy says the WM4000 saws
logs much faster and comments on the improved log handling
functions. “I can cut bigger logs and the log turner has a
dual turner on it,” said Troy. “The three backstops come up
instead of two which helps keep the logs on the saw bed.” Jeff
says the WM4000s are an integral part of the pallet operation
and points out the computer setworks provide accuracy and
efficiency during log breakdown. “The WM4000’s are a great
piece of machinery,” said Jeff. “I think Wood-Mizer’s proven
that you can take less material and make it a better saw,
heavy doesn’t always mean better. It’s the simplicity of
Wood-Mizer’s equipment that is just really nice.”
In addition to Jeff operating as President for the past decade,
multiple members of the Coomer family occupy key roles within
the company including Jeff’s wife Kathleen and son Jeffrey.
There’s a lot of hats you have to wear,” said Jeff. “You have to
be the grandfather, the dad, the employer and it’s really tough
sometimes, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” Jeff’s
brothers, Chris and Dennis, along with nephews Seth and Andrew
also hold positions in the operation. “In business you
need to have key personnel,” said Jeff. “My lifelong friend
Jeff Stewart oversees all the operations, Ed Cox manages the
used pallet facility, and Richard Miller is the maintenance
supervisor over all facilities. Without these people, business
wouldn’t be so smooth.”