A family legacy celebrates a century of business
HOBOKEN — There are many family-owned and operated businesses which have a rich history. But, not all of these stand the test of time, or at least, not to the extent that Varn Wood Products has.
This local staple celebrated a major milestone in February with its 100th birthday.
Originally founded February 9, 1926, by brothers K.S. and George Varn, who purchased the business from Jay Larkins. The business is now operated by Varn Wood Products CEO Laura Morris, and subsidiary Varn Inc. president Will Varn, grandson of K.S. Varn.
Morris took her current position after the retirement of George Varn, great-grandson of the founding George Varn.
The Varn family initially worked in the naval stores business, beginning in the late 1850s. When the two brothers first began the business, they had a wood-fired still, which was used to produce turpentine and rosin from pine gum.
They acquired 100 acres when they purchased the still, and had acquired 34,000 acres before the end of the 1930s.
“It formed the core of our land holdings,” Will said.
Come 1938, the brothers caught wind of a new turpentine process being developed at the Olustee USDA research center. This process involved filtering out the bark and pine needles before the cooking process.
Their interest piqued, the Varns sent an engineer to learn the process for months, leading to Varn Wood Products being the first to utilize the Olustee process.
However, over the decades, as substitutes for pine rosin were developed, and as minimum wage laws changed, the family found their business in peril.
“Here we were, a turpentine family, and it was going to pot,” George said.
So the family adapted. Having already acquired a chip mill and wood dealership, they then expanded to develop a saw mill. Going further, a pellet facility has since been added to the saw mill.
“It was a matter of necessity, they had to do something,” said George Not only has the family adapted to the changing industry, they have also maintained the original financial arrangement — a 50/50 split.
“Since 1926, this has been a 50/50 partnership of two wings of the descendants of my greatgrandfather, and his grandfather,” George said. “So for 100 years, we’ve maintained a 50/50 partnership, which is not an easy thing to do, but we’ve prospered.”
Now, Varn Wood Products employs roughly 98 workers, between the saw mill and other facilities, and holds land in six counties, along with land purchases from private land owners and timber owners.
“We’re continuously looking at what we ought to be doing,” George said, “and staying up with what needs to be done.” This adaptability is very necessary at present, with trials and issues facing the industry.
“From my perspective, because I do the wood procurement, as well as manage the property, it’s pretty tough times,” Will said. “We had one big pulp mill and one small pulp mill close along the Georgia coast. It’s kind of got the whole timber industry kind of spooked in this area. That was almost unheard of, the way they’ve been closing pulp mills over the last few years in this country.”
The Varn family has truly achieved a remarkable milestone.
“The old saying is ‘One and three generations,’ and here we are on our fourth, fifth, in a 50/50 partnership,” George said, “and we’re flourishing.”
“We’ve lasted this long, and we’ve benefitted by having good loyal employees,” Will concluded. “And, we’ve had people who have worked for us almost their whole lives.
“We’ve tried to be good employers for them ... we’ve tried to be good stewards of the resources that have been given to us, and we hope to continue that tradition as we move into the next 100 years.”
