The story of South Coast Lumber Company developed roots in Clackamas County, where Claremont “Bill” Fallert and his father, Carl Fallert, had a small mill, a tract of timberland, and a log truck.
The mill sawed shiplap and small dimension lumber. In 1939, a fire almost completely wiped out the timber, forcing the Fallert men to reevaluate their futures.
Claremont was determined to make a living in the logging industry. With rumors of a lot of timber being harvested in Douglas County, he packed up his family and traveled south in his log truck. With promising opportunity, the Fallert family settled in the Scottsburg area where the logging business was booming.
When the declaration of World War II was announced, everything changed. Most eligible employees were being scouted for the draft, leaving much uncertainty throughout communities across the United States. With a family, impaired hearing, and a position in the essential logging industry, Bill was well protected from heading overseas. He ended up selling his fleet of log trucks that he had acquired and became the Superintendent of Operations for a mill in Gardiner.
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.
In 2019, Ron Fallert’s nephew, Mike Beckley, assumed the CEO position as the second-youngest member of the family’s third generation.
Oftentimes, studies show that multigenerational family-owned companies tend to dissipate transitioning between the second and third generations. We are proud to state that each member of our third generation has been a part of the company at one point in time or another during the company’s extensive timeline. The majority of our family members have all contributed, short or long term, in some form or facet. With roots dating back to 1939, you can trust that we will continue to provide our communities with the jobs and support needed to flourish.