After the war ended, Bill joined forces with three other loggers: Archie Simpson, Charlie Ames, and Fred Cox, forming SFAC Logging Company.
The majority of the outfit sought opportunity outside of Douglas County in the isolated town of Brookings, which was just showing signs of growth. They came across a small mill that showed true potential with a mill pond, a wigwam burner, and a limited amount of timberland. The loggers chose the name South Coast Lumber Company for their new enterprise and went right to work building a planer, purchasing road building equipment, and logging any timberland they were able to acquire. After the planer was built, they named it ‘South Coast Milling’ which is where our lumber brand ‘SOCOMI’ derived from.
Over 20 years after South Coast Lumber Co. was established, Bill Fallert became the sole owner of the business in 1973 when he bought out the last original partner.
Around the same time, Bill’s oldest son, Ron Fallert, returned to the company as a general manager and assumed the CEO position shortly after. With Ron’s uncanny sense of timing in making business decisions, he was able to grow the company exponentially through timberland acquisitions, industry expansion, and community development.
In the 1980s, the Brookings Plywood Company sold their holdings to the South Coast Lumber Company. Soon after, Pacific Wood Laminates was created and operated as part of South Coast Lumber Company from 1990 to 1998. It was then established as a specialty manufacturing affiliate to produce innovative alternatives to traditional millwork, specialty panels, and industrial products. Not long after, Ron Fallert saw potential in the laminated veneer business and began research into the idea of adding an LVL plant to provide another competitive dimension to the companies’ wood product offerings.