Ingenuity, alternative energy formula for success in small-business sector

September 16, 2008

The Herald-Whig Staff (opinion)

A NORTHEAST Missouri company is demonstrating that ingenuity and alternative energy initiatives can yield impressive benefits even for a small business.

Cardwell Lumber of Novelty, Mo., is using a waste product— sawdust — rather than propane to fuel a new boiler system.

The company, which produces barrel staves and finished lumber, expects the sawdust system to cost $200,000 less to operate than a conventional propane system.

The new boiler system also sets the stage for an expansion that could mean up to 10 more jobs.

Owner Leroy Cardwell already employs nearly 100 people at operations in Novelty, New London and Jefferson City.

The new boiler will heat several kilns and an 18,000-square-foot building, which will house new equipment that will be used to enhance the company’s product line.

Cardwell Lumber produces hundreds of thousands of barrel staves shipped around the world each year.

Many of the barrel sets are exported to wine-makers and distillers in Scotland, China, France, Spain, Portugal and Japan. The largest domestic clients are in California and Tennessee, where Jack Daniel’s Whiskey is a major buyer.

Cardwell also has entered the finished lumber market. Wood molding, trim and hardwood flooring will be added to the company’s list of products. Value-added production is important in the lumber industry, which has been depressed in recent years.

The Cardwell initiative demonstrates that alternative fuels can prove beneficial for projects both large and small in scale.

More than that, the expansion of Cardwell Lumber during trying times is a testament to the vision of its management and underscores the ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that is the hallmark of the small business sector.