Business View Magazine | Volume 8, Issue 6

94 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 8, ISSUE 6 and local manufacturers. Waste from the business’s manufacturing process is repurposed. For instance, a partner company sells planer shavings to horse and dairy farms where it’s used to help absorb animal waste. A different partnership takes larger pieces of unused wood and grinds it for use in landscape products. With limited outside resources for training, Sears Trostel does most all the training of their employees – from the manufacturing process to sales. Viehmeyer admits, “My big concern in this area is the prevalent belief that everybody should get a college education, learn to code computers, etc. Working in professions that may be considered blue-collar are not encouraged. The result is a shortage of people in the trades, and in light manufacturing like we do. There’s certainly plenty of opportunity for people in the trades, especially if they don’t really have hardwoods, such as Poplar, Walnut, White Oak and Maple. Now, Sears Trostel is sourcing more from states east of the Mississippi River, such as Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New York. Millwork makes up about 80 percent of Sears Trostel’s commercial business today. Much of that work is for large commercial jobs including projects at Colorado State University, the Denver Art Museum, Eagle County Library, the Wyoming State Capital, as well as the Google facility in Boulder. The company’s Riverside Avenue location caters to independent contractors, homeowners and hobbyists, school woodshops, Let Timber Products be your go-to for all of your wood product and transportation needs! TimberProducts.com | 1-800-547-9529 • Plywood • Veneer • Composites • Decorative Overlays • Lumber • Imports • Transportation and Logistics