Having previously owned other sawmills, they built a new mill in Vincennes, Indiana to produce pallet lumber. John designed and built a new sawmill on the adjacent property in the mid 1970’s for the processing of small diameter logs into pallet decking material. The new operation was more efficient both in terms of labor and raw material consumption. The original sawmill was closed and un-needed e
quipment was sold at auction. Ford Sawmills expanded into pallet manufacturing in 1984 with a Viking Duo-Matic pallet assembly system. An additional cut up line was added to the sawmill in 1985 to produce pallet stringers from large diameter logs. In 1995 a completely new sawmill was constructed to replace the existing mill. Efficiency was once again improved and all pallet parts could be produced from small diameter logs. This mill currently produces all pallet parts for assembly in the pallet mill. After a fire in 1997 the pallet operation was moved into a new building and the Viking pallet assembly system was upgraded. Kilns drying of pallets were constructed in 2001. The kilns were upgraded in 2004 in order to heat treat wooden pallets for use with food, pharmaceuticals and exports. In 2006 David Ford and Emily (Ford) Ridgley purchased the business from their parents, John and Nancy who are currently too busy to enjoy retirement. Most recently, an E-Fusion electrostatic spray system was installed in the sawmill to apply mold inhibitor from X-Mold to pallet lumber. We know that the customer pays the bills. We have always been and continue to be committed to on time delivery of quality wooden pallets that meet or exceed the customer’s specifications.
