Swedish Homestead Series: How to Operate a Successful Sawmill

We continue to share the Swedish Homestead video series telling about modern farm life. Helmut Fuchs, the founder of Swedish Homestead, shares how hard work made his LT40 sawmill a profitable investment.

Helmut and his wife Susanne grew up in Germany and eventually relocated to Sweden to purchase a farm. Their son, Simeon, interviews his dad about farm life and how his purchase of an LT40 sawmill fifteen years ago changed how their homestead grew.

"I prefer to work with my hands rather than sitting in a chair, so our lives completely changed when we left an office job in Germany to move onto a farm," Helmut remembers. One day, Helmut was walking through the woods in Germany with his son and saw a Wood-Mizer sawmill for the first time. "It was love at first sight," Helmut smiled. "I thought right away: this is it. Soon after, I got in touch with the local Wood-Mizer office."

After purchasing the sawmill, Helmut milled lumber for his farm and customers for over 5,000 hours. Some customers need several hundred logs milled at a time. With a powerful diesel engine, Helmut can mill anywhere.

Helmut also shares timeless wisdom about running a sawmill business. "The most important thing to remember in commercial operations is not to try to make fast money, but to produce a premium quality product," he says. "I always arrive to work for a customer but have a friend by the time I'm done." Because of his integrity, Helmut has eventually stopped advertising because he has attained over 100 customers.

"I would buy a Wood-Mizer LT40 anytime again for mobile milling," Helmut concludes. The Swedish Homestead has indeed profited from both a hardworking farmer and his long-lasting sawmill.

Shared with permission from Swedish Homestead.

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