Parker Ranch, Kamuela Hardwoods’ joint venture focuses on sustainability

Kamuela Hardwoods and Parker Ranch have reached an agreement to jointly form a new company aimed at milling, processing and marketing sustainably sourced specialty hardwoods and salvaged timber, which also will prioritize the availability of wood to local businesses, craftspeople, artisans and musical instrument makers.

The new venture is an integral component of Parker Ranch’s strategic forestry initiatives and will leverage the experience and expertise of Kamuela Hardwoods, an urban timber salvage company. Parker Ranch, one of the largest and oldest cattle ranches in the United States, will become the strategic capital investor in the joint venture, and the existing owners of Kamuela Hardwoods — Alex Woodbury and Josh Greenspan — will become its operating members, responsible for managing the company’s day-to-day business and operations.

The new joint venture company, Paniolo Hardwoods, will acquire the assets and business operations of Kamuela Hardwoods and will license its intellectual property. The new company will retain all the employees of Kamuela Hardwoods. Paniolo Hardwoods will complete the transaction prior to the end of 2021.

“Our strategic plan is focused on generating value through sustainability, including a broad range of resource-based opportunities such as renewable energy and forestry,” Parker Ranch President and CEO Dutch Kuyper said Monday in a statement. “We recognize the importance of forests in our ecosystem and in maintaining a healthy environment. This joint venture will support the economic viability of our forest restoration efforts. We believe the Kamuela Hardwoods team will provide tremendous value to our forestry initiatives.”

Kuyper said that as part of Parker Ranch’s forestry strategy, it wants to maximize the value it can achieve from its timber resources so as much value as possible can be captured and reinvested back into the forests.

“Our goal is to triple our forest footprint, which will take time and significant investment,” Kuyper said. “A share of the revenues and profits from this venture will be reinvested into our forestry expansion. An important objective is to ensure that most of the wood is sold locally to ensure local craftspeople and artisans have access to these high value wood species. Whether it’s turning into dimensional lumber, large slabs, bowls, or other artisan products such as musical instruments like ukuleles and guitars, we want to make sure the majority of locally sourced wood remains in Hawai‘i rather than exported to the mainland on a wholesale basis.”

The new business will mill and market diverse species of hardwoods sourced from Parker Ranch lands and culled from the urban landscape. The joint venture will selectively harvest dead and dying trees, which makes room for new growth, while also making use of wood that would otherwise end up in the landfill to turn into high-quality lumber and slabs.

“Parker Ranch is a logical strategic investor for us,” Woodbury, president of Kamuela Hardwoods, said in a statement. “Kamuela Hardwoods needs access to forest resources and capital to grow over time. A steady availability of both is critical to ensure the sustainability of the enterprise and the reinvestment in the forest. We see this as an extraordinary opportunity to optimize the combination of value creation and sustainability of the resource. We look forward to the future of this strategic partnership with a partner that shares our values and goals.”