photo by Tim Engstrom

Roy Stockwell runs a plank through a saw Thursday at Alamco Wood Products, which is now owned by Bell Lumber & Pole. Alamco is at 1410 W. Ninth St. in Albert Lea.

Alamco’s partners sell

New owner looks to expand the facility

By Tim Engstrom | Albert Lea Tribune

Published Saturday, June 13, 2009

The 10 owners of Alamco Wood Products Inc. have sold the wood-lamination company to New Brighton-based Bell Lumber & Pole.

According to officials with both companies, Alamco will keep its 85-person workforce. Employees will keep their insurance benefits, too. The name will change to Alamco Wood Products LLC and become a wholly owned subsidiary of Bell Lumber & Pole, owned by Tom Bell of White Bear Lake.

The transaction took place May 29. The amount of the sale was undisclosed.

Chris Shaw, who is with the management team at Bell Lumber & Pole, said the company hopes to expand the Alamco facility. He said within 18 months Bell intends to have in place the infrastructure to double the capacity of Alamco Wood Products.

Alamco President John Formansigned a five-year contract to manage the plant. Shaw said Forman also was brought in as an investor in Bell Lumber.

Alamco makes glued laminated timber beams and arches for uses such as park shelters, trusses, bridges and ceilings ranging from sports facilities to schools. Some of the company’s work can be found in Albert Lea: lobby of the Albert Lea High School, shelters at Edgewater Park and Pioneer Park, the pool area at AmericInn and the light poles at Hayek Field.

Much of company’s products for the past 15 years have gone to Bell Lumber for post-production treatment.

The first wood-laminating plant was built in Albert Lea in 1939 by the Rock Island Lumber Co., or RILCO. It was along West Main Street by the rail yard. It built mainly barn rafters and machine sheds. The warehouses remain in use by pet and livestock food maker Merrick’s. RILCO built at the present Alamco site, 1410 W. Ninth St. in 1954. In 1960, RILCO became a division of Weyerhaeuser and soon production shifted to commercial and government buildings.

Weyerhaeuser in the early 1980s began to divest its wood-processing operations. In 1982, it closed the plant. Ten former salaried Weyerhauser employees purchased and reopened the plant later that year. Those original investors were Russ Wulff, Dave Furnace, Claire Vermedahl, Stuart Urdahl, Roger Olson, Ed Plantage Sr., Virginia Hanson, Wayne Miland, Ron Bolelman and John Forman.

Wulff, Furnace, Vermedahl and Forman have worked as presidents.

Forman said the sale was an asset sale and included the name Alamco Wood Products.

“All active workers at the time of the sale were rehired with benefits but did lose all seniority since all were terminated from the old company and rehired by the new company,” he said.

Bell Lumber turns 100 years old this year. The fourth-generation Minnesota business was founded by M.J. Bell Sr. in 1909. Great-grandson Tom Bell became the sole owner in 2006.

Bell has facilities in New Brighton, Barron, Wis., Shingleton, Mich., Conway, Wash., Oldtown, Idaho, and Vernon, British Columbia. The company makes wooden utility poles, components for log homes, construction mats, fence posts and barn poles — all of which involves treating the wood. It also offers peeling, drying, milling, transportation and storage services.

The treatment of Alamco’s products for 15 years brought the management teams of the two companies to know each other, Shaw said.

When the Alamco owners were looking to sell, they went to a company they knew because they felt it would be best for the plant and the community, Shaw said.

“Bell was selected as the logical strategic buyer,” he said.

Vermedahl said Bell had a good reputation for quality and for commitment to its communities.

“We were very comfortable with Bell. We had a very good relationship with them,” he said.

Vermedahl said the Alamco owners sold mainly for reasons of age and retirement. For instance, Vermedahl’s retirement party was Friday night at the Elks Lodge.

Bell recently doubled the office size of its headquarters in New Brighton and doubled the production of the facility there, Shaw said. Bell Lumber also owns Bell Timber, a Barron, Wis.-based purchaser of pine trees in the Great Lakes states.

Shaw said Bell Lumber & Pole officials are glad to be in the Albert Lea community.

“We are pleased to be part of this opportunity so we can carry the success of Alamco forward in Albert Lea for decades to come,” he said.

He said the 10 Alamco owners should be honored for choosing Bell.

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