Against the Grain: Area startup Queen City Green rescues trees for wood products

While most Ozarkers were still mourning the countless trees downed and disfigured by the January 2007 ice storm, two soon-to-be business partners began mobilizing to save high-quality wood from chippers and burn piles.

Springfield native Kasey White and Dave Buehler, who lives on about 400 acres south of Mount Vernon, didn’t know each other when the ice storm carved through the Ozarks canopy a little more than a year ago, but they were on the same wavelength. Both were pondering how to reuse the precious natural resource and make a little money in the process.

In December, the duo formed Queen City Green. The startup’s mission is to rescue usable wood that might otherwise be treated as debris and destroyed. Their main suppliers are Mother Nature and real estate developers who have cleared trees to make way for subdivisions or strip malls.

When tornadoes trounced southwest Missouri two weeks ago, White had a unique take on the storm’s aftermath.

“Where most people see destruction, we see inventory,” the 30-year-old said, tempering his enthusiasm with sympathy for those whose homes were toppled by the twisters.

Buehler, 39, is likewise thrilled when local meteorologists forecast violent weather.

“I do get excited every time a storm comes through, because there’s all kinds of stuff lying around waiting to be salvaged,” he said.

To the rescue

Queen City Green is an equal-opportunity rescuer of wood.

Buehler and White happily accept just about any variety, but they are particularly jazzed by walnut, maple, pecan, oak and pine. Minor rot is OK, but too much decomposition will render wood useless, Buehler said. A limited amount of natural decay often leads to distinct decorative patterns and a distressed look – known as spaulting – inside certain kinds of wood, he added.

“Most of our stuff – I like to say – has character,” Buehler said. “It’s not perfect. It gives a true sense of nature.”

White and Buehler obtain most of their wood by offering to remove downed trees in exchange for permission to haul the wood to Buehler’s land in Lawrence County. Once there, Queen City Green contracts with Amish woodworkers in Mount Vernon who cut the wood into slabs with hydraulically powered tools, White said, noting that no electric power is used.

The wood is then returned to Buehler’s land, where it’s dried in a solar kiln at 150 to 160 degrees for 10 to 14 days, depending on sunlight and outdoor temperatures. Buehler uses a gauge similar to an electronic stud finder to measure the wood’s moisture levels.

Once the drying process is complete, the Amish carpenters mill the wood into planks for hardwood flooring, which White said accounts for about 80 percent of Queen City Green’s business. The finished wood is then stored in a dry place until it’s sold.

Carving out a niche

While Buehler and White expect hardwood flooring to translate into steady revenue, they hope to break into the modern furniture market with headboards, chairs and tables crafted from reclaimed wood, which is especially attractive to builders looking for U.S. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design credits.

“It’s going to be a niche product,” White said, noting that some buyers will find value in the story behind the recycled wood. “They can say, ‘This is from the ice storm a year ago.’ That’s great – to be able to bring a positive out of a negative.”

Buehler and a former business partner operating as Ozarko produced much of the wood used inside The Coffee Ethic, an eco-friendly coffeehouse that opened last month on Springfield’s Park Central Square. Buehler and his original partner split last fall, when he and White began pursuing a partnership.

“We’re pretty good as far as the yin and the yang,” White said, adding that he and Buehler are still seeking a third investor for a 10 percent buy-in.

Buehler’s agricultural background complements White’s experience in marketing and sales. The former pharmaceutical sales representative said he’s been busy building the company’s Web site, www.qcgreen.com, which should be complete early next month.

“We don’t want it to seem like we’re peddling wood out of the back of our car,” White said. “That’s the biggest challenge because we don’t have a brick-and-mortar store.”

Queen City Green is already brainstorming products with American Green Holdings, a Crane-based renewable energy firm featured in Springfield Business Journal’s July 30 Homegrown Alternatives series installment. American Green Holdings co-owner Rob Wood said the two companies are exploring the marketability of grilling sticks made from wood byproducts and vegetable oil. Wood said Queen City Green also is an ideal candidate for www.bidforgreen.com, a Web site run by American Green Holdings that serves as an online trading post for green businesses.

“Their flooring is a great idea because they’re taking stuff that’s basically going to be shredded into mulch, and they’re cutting it down and turning it into flooring and other products,” Wood said. “It’s taking a waste product and making it a viable product.”