Tuesday, 02 April 2013
People of FSC: Jack Mackin of Sterritt Lumber
April 2, 2013
“People of FSC” is an ongoing series that highlights the people who are growing the FSC marketplace and ensuring responsibly managed forests embrace environmental and social values.
Jack Mackin is CEO of F.D. Sterritt Lumber Company, a family owned and operated lumberyard serving the Greater Boston Area and New England. Founded in 1841, Sterritt is FSC chain-of-custody certified to distribute, remanufacture, and pressure and fire treat FSC-certified wood products.
Growing up as part of a family that owned a lumberyard, Mackin was connected to forest products from birth, but he never really expected to go into the family business. Ironically, it was the controversy over redwood forests in California that started him thinking more deeply about the relationship between the lumberyard and the forest.
After spending several years in the banking industry, he came to the family business in 2001 and began researching where the forest products sector was headed. It was not long before he learned about the US Green Building Council’s LEED program, which was still very new.
It was during a meeting with the real estate development office at Harvard University that Mackin became convinced LEED was the future of construction. Harvard was committed to making all new construction LEED certified and they were adamant about securing the credit for use of FSC-certified products whenever possible.
At that moment, Mackin saw a business opportunity. This is what the future was going to look like, from his perspective. And he knew that if he did not have FSC-certified product available, he could not serve the growing market.
So at the end of 2002, he made the decision to purchase a railroad car of FSC-certified plywood from Roseburg Forest Products, still one of their primary suppliers. Mackin was determined to develop the market for FSC products.
“People thought I was crazy,” Mackin said, adding, “They thought I was the young owner’s son trying something new. Ten years later everyone is really glad that we did this.”
Today, he still believes their success selling FSC is due to their investment in stocking FSC products and making them readily available to their customers.
When asked about the more important parts of FSC, Mackin highlighted transparency and independence from the forest products industry. “It is critical that FSC is able to bring real change to forest management. Organizations like FSC have raised the bar on what is acceptable,” he said.
Mackin acknowledges it can be challenging to secure adequate supply of FSC-certified products, especially since some sources fall out of the chain of custody and are sold without an FSC label. He also notes that while FSC products can cost a bit more, he sees no reason to charge “exorbitant premiums” others try for.
In general, Sterritt keeps at least $500,000 worth of FSC-certified lumber in stock at all times in their two yards. “It’s not rocket science. If you want to supply the market, you need to have material available,” Mackin said.
Today, all western red cedar sold by Sterritt is FSC certified. By maintaining their commitment to source, stock and sell FSC, Sterritt is creating predictable demand and guaranteeing the supply chain.
Now they are supplying the vast majority of new Microsoft retail stores with sub-flooring, all of it FSC certified. With a contract to supply stores around the country, Sterritt has already sold sub-floor to 25 stores,with another 30 in the pipeline.
Today, F.D. Sterritt employs 75 people and has more than $20 million in annual sales. To date, they have sold more than five million square feet of FSC-certified plywood.
Like others in the FSC marketplace, Sterritt is re-shaping the forest products industry, supplying customers with high quality FSC-certified products, one business deal at a time.
