Source: United States Senator for Kentucky Rand Paul
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 21, 2022
Contact: Press_Paul@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, recognized Powell Valley Millwork of Clay City, Kentucky, as the Senate Small Business of the Week.
Dr. Paul entered the following into the Congressional Record:
Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, as Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, each week I recognize an outstanding Kentucky small business that exemplifies the American entrepreneurial spirit. This week, it is my privilege to recognize the small business, Powell Valley Millwork of Clay City, Kentucky, as the Senate Small Business of the Week.
Twenty seven years ago Jim Thornberry and his son Jimmy left the mining industry behind in search of a new venture. Shortly thereafter, Powell Valley Millwork was founded. The Thornberry’s started their mill with the desire to harvest a tangible product within a sustainable industry, and that mission has stayed at the heart of their business throughout their decades of growth and success.
The talent and substance of Powell Valley Millwork draws directly from our state, with the mill focusing on only one species of lumber: poplar. As the state tree of Kentucky, poplar is an abundant resource within Appalachia, which makes their location in rural Clay City a prime spot for their operation. Often referred to as “the painter’s wood” poplar is known for its clear grain, smooth milling, and paint-taking qualities. The versatile and fine nature of the wood allows Powell Valley Millwork to supply consumers with a wide variety of interior-trim products, such as stretcher bars, door and window jambs, stair parts, cabinetry components, primed finger-joint interior trim, and more. In creating all these products, the Powell Valley millworkers make sure nothing goes to waste. Poplar can be safely used as animal bedding which means the mill’s offcuts, those that are not already being used to fuel the company’s wood drying kilns, are turned into shavings. These shavings are then bagged and shipped out by the truck load to be sold in a wide variety of retail outlets.
This Powell County mill maintains their technology at a topnotch standard. In 2019 the owners invested in a new addition to the team: a sophisticated scanning rough mill line from Eagle Machinery & Supply Inc. The new rough mill line is able to process 65,000 board feet of lumber in a single 8-hour shift with only six people required to operate it. The joint project between Powell and Eagle, both family companies, demonstrates that U.S. machinery manufacturers can successfully compete with Europeans in providing world-class technology to the North American wood processing industry.
The Thornberry’s keep their eye on efficiency and progress, opening up ownership of the company to experts outside the family, including Brian Lambert, Powell Valley Mill’s General Manager and Dale Budke, the Mill’s Operations Manager. As fellow owners of the company, these gentleman provide the expertise necessary for navigating the growing Kentucky lumber industry. In 2019 Powell Valley Millwork acquired the Metrie Poplar manufacturing facility in nearby Jeffersonville, Kentucky. With a new 125,000 square foot location only twelve miles from their original facility, the two locations utilize their natural synergies to support the needs of a diverse customer base across North America in full truck and railroad quantities.
Powell Valley Millwork is a testament to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of Kentuckians. Drawing from our beautiful natural resources and employing over 200 local men and women, this business illustrates some of the best qualities Kentucky has to offer –fine craftsmanship and dedicated hard work. Powell Valley Millwork is a decades-old dream the Thornberry’s had when they left the mining industry, a dream that has grown beyond what they had imagined. Small businesses like Powell Valley are the core of small towns across Kentucky, and like the poplars they use in their mill, their roots grow deep to help our communities flourish. Congratulations to the Thornberry’s and the entire Powell Valley team. I wish them the best of luck and look forward to watching their continued growth and success in Kentucky.
As Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Dr. Paul continues the tradition of honoring America’s small businesses and entrepreneurs. The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship oversees proposed legislation on matters relating to the Small Business Administration and investigates all problems relating to America’s small businesses.
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