3504 Chapter 28 



28-4 $275,000— BOLTER MILL OPERATION TO 



PRODUCE SHORT LUMBER FOR UPHOLSTERED 



FURNITURE' 



Short lumber has been produced on a bolter mill (fig. 28-3) at Marimont 

 Furniture Co., Marion, N.C. for over 3 years. Seven-foot hardwood bolts are 

 purchased by the cord, processed into lumber, air dried, kiln-dried, and manu- 

 factured into sound cuttings for use in upholstered furniture. Production aver- 

 ages 7 Mbf of lumber per 8-hour shift at a cost about 30 percent less than similar 

 lumber purchased on the open market. No real problems have been encountered 

 in processing, handling, drying, and using this lumber in furniture manufacture. 



Key statistics describing the enterprise are as follows: 



Capital investment $275,520 



Operating cost, annual 287,400 



Sales, annual 338,280 



Net profit (before taxes) 50,880 



Return on sales 15.0 percent 



Return on investment 18.5 percent 



Employees 5 



Energy requirement, annual 



Electrical 192,000 kWh 



A cord of bolts, mostly oak and hickory with ovendry weight of about 3,340 

 pounds, yields about 704 pounds of unsanded furniture cuttings, ovendry- 

 weight basis (fig. 28-4). For this analysis, bolt cost was estimated at $40 per 

 cord. Average lumber sale price was estimated at $175/Mbf. Annual wood 

 consumption was projected at 3,360 cords with lumber production of 1,680 

 Mbf. 



After 2 years on an experimental basis the operation was continued and 

 supplemented with a debarker and improved conveyors and chippers; this is 

 evidence that for this company the bolter saw operation was economically 

 satisfactory. 



^Abstracted from Smith (1981). 



