Collins is a family-owned American

forest product A forest product is any material derived from forestry for direct consumption or commercial use, such as lumber, paper, or fodder for livestock. Wood, by far the dominant product of forests, is used for many purposes, such as wood fuel (e.g. in fo ...

s company that began in operations July 28, 1855. Headquartered in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

, Collins was the first privately owned forest products company in the United States to have all of its hardwood and softwood

forests A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

certified by the

Forest Stewardship Council The Forest Stewardship Council A. C. (FSC) is an international non-profit, multistakeholder organization established in 1993 that promotes responsible management of the world's forests via timber certification. It is an example of a market-ba ...

(FSC). In addition to its forests and sawmills, Collins also manufactures siding and trim,

particleboard Particle board, also known as chipboard or low-density fiberboard, is an engineered wood product manufactured from wood chips and a synthetic resin or other suitable binder, which is pressed and extruded. Particle board is often confused with or ...

, hardwood, and softwood lumber, and operates retail hardware and

lumber yard A lumber yard is a location where lumber and wood-related products used in construction and/or home improvement projects are processed or stored. Some lumber yards offer retail sales to consumers, and some of these may also provide services suc ...

s in northern California. Divisions include: Collins Pine Company, Kane Hardwood, Collins Hardwood LLC, Collins Products LLC, Collins Builders Supply, and the Almanor Railroad.

History

19th century

Truman Doud (TD) Collins began what was later known as the Collins Companies in 1855 at Turkey Run near Whig Hill, Pennsylvania. He and five others, including his brother, Joseph Van Halen (JV) Collins, bought a steam mill and

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

from John Alexander. By 1864, TD Collins bought out the remaining partners including his brother.

20th century

Before TD Collins died in 1914, he owned, along with others, a large number of sawmills in the Tionesta Valley of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, over of timberland, the Tionesta Manufacturing Company, the Nebraska Box Mill, the Mayburg Chemical Plant, plus over of logging railroad, of main line, 25 locomotives, several oil companies, and a bank. Married to Mary Stanton Collins, they had one son, Everell (ES) Stanton Collins. Following TD's death, Everell took over the company. He moved the company westward, purchasing forestlands in northern California, Washington, and Oregon. By the time he died in 1940, ES Collins would oversee the operations of 15 timber, logging, railroad, and pulp & paper companies in four states, in addition to moving the company headquarters from Pennsylvania to Portland, Oregon. Following his father, Truman W. Collins became president. During his years in the timber business he began implementing sustainable forest management practices. These practices contributed to the Collins Companies becoming the first privately owned forest products company in the United States to become certified by the

. Truman Collins continued the family's charitable works including founding, among others, the Collins Foundation, the Collins Medical Trust, and the Collins/McDonald Trust. Following Truman's death in 1963, Truman's brother-in-law, Elmer Goudy took over the presidency, followed by his son, Alan Collins Goudy. Truman's wife, Maribeth Wilson Collins, also became involved in the company, serving first as president of The Collins Foundation and later as Chair of the Board of The Collins Companies.

21st century

In 2005, Maribeth Collins stepped down and her daughter, Cherida Collins Smith, became Chair of the Board of The Collins Companies; Maribeth's son, Truman W. Collins, Jr., became president of the Collins Foundation; and her son, Terry Collins, a

forester A forester is a person who practises forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including ecological restoration and management of protected areas. Foresters manage forests to ...

with the company, became president of the Collins Timber Company.

Environmental commitment

Collins has committed to being responsible partners in land and resource management with a policy of change through leadership. Collins asserts that third-party, independent certification of forest lands is the best way to ensure the viability of the total forest ecosystem. The company is also a member of

. In 1997 Collins began integrating the principles of

The Natural Step The Natural Step is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in Sweden in 1989 by scientist Karl-Henrik Robèrt. The Natural Step is also used when referring to the partially open source framework it developed. Following publication of ...

, an international organization dedicated to assisting organizations around the world use a systems-based approach to sustainable practices. By adopting The Natural Step principles, Collins is working towards bringing sustainability to all their business operations. As a commitment to land and resource stewardship, Collins joined ''Climate Leaders'', a

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon pro ...

partnership to develop

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

strategies. Collins has committed to reducing greenhouse gases by 18% by 2010.

Sawmill locations

*Collins Hardwood:

Kane, Pennsylvania Kane is a borough in McKean County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, east by southeast of Erie. It was founded in 1864 by Civil War General Thomas L. Kane of the famous Bucktail Regiment at an elevated site 2210 feet (674 m) above sea level. ...

;

Richwood, West Virginia Richwood is a city in Nicholas County, West Virginia, United States. In 2020, the census showed Richwood with a population of 1,661. During the 19th and early 20th century Richwood was a booming coal and lumber town. Richwood has a very rich hi ...

*Collins Softwood:

Chester, California Chester (formerly Big Meadows) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Plumas County, California, United States. Chester is located on Lake Almanor, north-northwest of Quincy. The town is located along State Route 36. The US Postal Service ZIP ...

;

Lakeview, Oregon Lakeview is a town in Lake County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,418 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lake County. The city bills itself as the "Tallest Town in Oregon" because of its elevation, above sea level. ...

*Collins Pine Particleboard:

Klamath Falls, Oregon Klamath Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The city was originally called ''Linkville'' when George Nurse founded the town in 1867. It was named after the Link River, on whose falls the city was ...

*TruWood Siding & Trim:

FSC-certified forest locations

*Collins Almanor Forest, softwood:

*Collins Lakeview Forest, softwood:

*Collins Pennsylvania Forest, hardwood:

Retail locations

*Collins Builders Supply:

;

Oroville, California Oroville (''Oro'', Spanish for "Gold" and ''Ville'', French for "town") is the county seat of Butte County, California, United States. The population of the city was 15,506 at the 2010 census, up from 13,004 in the 2000 census. Following the ...

;

Paradise, California Paradise is a town in Butte County, California, United States in the Sierra Nevada foothills above the northeastern Sacramento Valley. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 4,764. On November 8, 2018, a major wildfire, the Camp F ...

;

Chico, California Chico ( ; Spanish for "little") is the most populous city in Butte County, California. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 101,475 in the 2020 census, reflecting an increase from 86,18 ...

Closed locations

*Collins Pacific Albus Tree Farm, hardwood: Boardman, Oregon. Closes September 2016.

Notes

External links

The Collins Company WebsiteScientific Certification SystemsThe Collins FoundationThe Collins Medical TrustWinderemere Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins Forest products companies of the United States Companies based in Portland, Oregon Privately held companies based in Oregon American companies established in 1855 Manufacturing companies established in 1855 1855 establishments in Pennsylvania