For Immediate Release: Working Lands Enterprise Initiative Awards $75,000 To DCI,Inc.

In Blog, Green Manufacturing, Wood is Good by Morgan Dix

The State of Vermont’s Working Lands Enterprise Initiative awarded DCI,Inc. a $75,000 grant as part of their supply chain business impact grants. The grant supports Vermont companies who are contributing to the state’s forest products industry and positively impacting the supply chain.

DCI operates a domestic sawmill in Southeast Vermont. And the company will use the funds to expand the mill to house a new state-of-the-art high efficiency resaw to increase overall yield and diversify its products.

Doubling Production

“We are grateful to the State of Vermont for awarding DCI a Vermont Working Lands Grant. DCI will use the Grant to add a band resaw to our sawmill in Royalton, Vermont. This will double our production of high quality hardwood lumber. Furthermore, it will enable us to hire up to four additional employees. And because the new machinery is highly efficient, it will double the mill output without adding to our electrical demand,” said DCI President, Henry Kober.

Benefiting Local Economies

According to Kober, “We anticipate additional benefits to the local economy. For every job we create within the company, we generate new jobs in the logging, transportation, and service industries. We will supply more sawdust to Vermont farmers to bed their animals and more fuel chips to Vermont Schools and Hospitals to heat their buildings.”

“Vermont forests provide us with an abundant source of high value timber. The increased mill output will equip DCI to directly supply quality kiln dried hardwood to the many talented independent wood crafters in our state at affordable prices. Strategically, we believe this will positively impact Vermont’s sustainable forest economy.”

Future Focused

“Even during the most challenging times Vermont’s farmers, producers, and businesses are looking to the future,” said Anson Tebbetts, Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. “They are innovators and are bringing more value to their products while creating jobs and helping our rural economy.”

The Vermont Working Lands Enterprise Initiative grows the economies, cultures, and communities of Vermont’s working landscape by making essential, catalytic investments in critical leverage points of the Vermont farm and forest economy and facilitating policy development to optimize the agricultural and forest use of Vermont lands.

DCI,Inc. is a family-owned, fully integrated, American furniture manufacturing company specializing in sustainable solid wood furniture since 1976 and supplying the higher education and military markets. With its domestic sawmill and zero-waste manufacturing plant, DCI is committed to minimizing its ecological footprint and supporting rural North Country economies while making the highest quality sustainable furniture.