On this episode, we’re getting to know Shane from Cape Cod Sawmill Company
Cape Cod Sawmill is located in Bourne, Massachusetts, the company started in April 2016. Shane started the business with his brother in law, Brian, a tree surgeon who wanted to do something positive with the timber rather than see it consigned to landfill.
Shane and Brian started putting together a business plan, Shane dealt with the financial side of things while Brian took care of the creative side. From there, they went on to source their equipment and set up their sawmill company.
Brian had a lot of the equipment needed to start Cape Cod like skid steers, trucks, and trailers. it was simply a case of purchasing a Wood-Mizer LT40.
Shane readily acknowledges his struggle to learn the ropes of sawmill work. Having a brother in law who is not just an expert but has the wood cutting down to a science is highly advantageous and has helped Shane become adept in the field himself.
What makes Cape Cod a well-oiled business machine is Brian’s expertise and ability in wood cutting, transportation of logs plus his extended network of contacts for sourcing combined with Shane’s own expertise in marketing and finance.
Shane & Brian are currently working on fine-tuning their processes along with research and development into potential markets before they properly focus on targeted leads.
The primary functions right now at Cape Cod are building inventory including a stock of creative slabs. Cape Cod is actively breaking into the woodwork market and have formed a partnership with JL Crafters to create high-end products.
Shane recognized the need to get into the sawmill community, to touch base with interior designers, homeowners, real estate agents, and other related clients. Shane & Brian are really focused on Eco-Friendly Sustainable Lumber and slabs right now and look to make inroads within those markets through their use of eye-catching content on Instagram.
Shane admires brands like Berkshire Products for their incredible slabs and great looking website, things that Shane aspires for Cape Cod to become in 10-15 years.
Shane believes the Sawmill Community needs more of a voice and larger presence on social media. Greater presence on the socials would help smaller localized sawmill business get their name out to interior designers and bigger companies. While he feels he is still finding that untapped market, he enjoys making the slabs.
All of Cape Cod’s inventory comes from locally sourced trees cut and brought in by Brian. Despite Brian cutting down a tremendous amount of trees, Shane is aware of the need to find more suppliers as the business grows. They are in contact with local suppliers who are willing to support this growing need for stock.
Shane is very keen to keep everything locally sourced. Cape Cod has a wide variety of tree species to utilize for salvaging and producing sustainable products.
Shane’s parting advice is to keep sharing great sawmill work-related content on the social media.