The Collins Companies

Infobox Company
company_name = The Collins Companies
company_type = Private
foundation = 1855
location = Portland, Oregon
key_people = Eric Schooler, President,
Cherida Collins Smith, Chair of the Board
industry = forest products
num_employees = appx. 800 (2007)
homepage = [http://www.collinswood.com www.collinswood.com]

The Collins Companies, which began operations in 1855, is a family-owned American forest products company. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Collins was the first privately-owned forest products company in the United States to have all of its hardwood and softwood forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). In addition to its forests and sawmills, Collins also: Manufactures siding and trim, particleboard, hardwood, and softwood lumber, and operates retail hardware and lumber yards in northern California. The Collins Companies include: Collins Pine Company, Collins Hardwood LLC, Collins Products LLC, Collins Builders Supply, and the Almanor Railroad.

Sawmill locations

*Collins Hardwood: Kane, Pennsylvania; Richwood, West Virginia
*Collins Softwood: Chester, California; Lakeview, Oregon
*Collins Pine Particleboard: Klamath Falls, Oregon
*TruWood Siding & Trim: Klamath Falls, Oregon

FSC-Certified Forest locations

*Collins Almanor Forest, softwood: Chester, California
*Collins Lakeview Forest, softwood: Lakeview, Oregon
*Collins Pennsylvania Forest, hardwood: Kane, Pennsylvania

Railroad location

*Almanor Railroad: Chester, California

Retail locations

*Collins Builders Supply: Chester, California; Oroville, California; Paradise, California; Chico, California

History

Truman Doud (TD) Collins began what would later be 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 from John Alexander. By 1864, TD Collins and his brother bought out the remaining three partners.

Before TD Collins died in 1914, he would own, along with others, a large number of sawmills in the Tionesta Valley of Pennsylvania, over convert|60000|acre|km2 of timberland, the Tionesta Manufacturing Company, the Nebraska Box Mill, the Mayburg Chemical Plant, plus over convert|100|mi|km of logging railroad, convert|41|mi|km 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 Forest Stewardship Council. 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.

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

Further reading

* [http://sfp.cas.psu.edu/collins.htm "Collins Pine: Lessons From a Pioneer"] ISBN 1-55963-621-1, Island Press, 1999-06-01.
*"The Collins Story", ISBN 0-97667-770-9, 0-97667-771-7, 0-97667-772-5, 2005

External links

* [http://www.scscertified.com Scientific Certification Systems]
* [http://www.thecollinsfoundation.org The Collins Foundation]
* [http://www.collinsmedicaltrust.org The Collins Medical Trust]
* [http://windermerebooks.org Winderemere Books]