The Meltz family has been sawing wood in Columbia County since Emil Meltz Sr. started his mill in 1946, and the business remains family-run across four generations. The family added Ghent Wood Products in 2003 after purchasing Tipple Logging & Lumber, growing from a small handset sawmill powered by a car engine into a modern operation supplying carefully milled wood for builders, contractors, and woodworkers.
Mellott Manufacturing Co., IncRooted in a family sawmill and farming tradition, Mellott Manufacturing designs and builds log and lumber handling equipment for sawmills, pallet producers, and woodworking operations in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. The family-owned company began in the early 1960s with Hayes Mellott’s hydraulically operated log turner and now operates a more than 50,000-square-foot plant, pairing in-house engineering and fabrication with equipment service and support. Mellott says it has produced more than 3,400 log turners along with other long-running lines of forest-products machinery.MERCERSBURG, PA
Southwood Lumber & Pallet, IncThe Hochstetler family has worked in the lumber business since 1950, and Southwood Lumber & Pallet has carried that legacy forward as a third-generation, family-owned company since its founding in 1984. Based in Wayne County’s Amish Country, Southwood grew from one nailer and five employees into a pallet manufacturer serving customers across the Eastern United States.ORRVILLE, OH
Hud-Son Forest EquipmentFamily roots run deep at Hud-Son Forest Equipment, a New York company that began as Oscar Hudon’s logging business in 1946 and remains family-owned. Now operating with a fourth generation entering the business, Hud-Son manufactures portable sawmills for people who want to process timber themselves, from homesteaders to commercial forestry users.BARNEVELD, NY
Mount Airy Lumber Co., LLCFamily-owned since Lloyd “Jimmy” Schneider founded it in 1948, Mount Airy Lumber Co. has grown from a small sawmill into a fourth-generation business serving customers across the Mid-Atlantic. Based in Southern Lancaster County, it is known for adapting its operation to customer needs while maintaining a strong emphasis on personal service and support for local community organizations.NEW PROVIDENCE, PA