1. SMART Holdings USA Issue # 6, Economic Development, Jan 2013
SMARTvt MAGAZINE
Bringing People To Vermont Your Issue
SMARTvt Matches People With Vermont Companies
Contents
Ward Lumber CEO, Jay Ward meets
with SMARTvt Delegation discussing
Timber Technologies and Job
Creation in the Adirondack Region.
Scott Decker appointed Editor-in-
Chief SMARTvt Magazine. Decker
assumes command of the New
England Economic Development
Publication
Changing Faces
SMARTvt’s John Mayer takes over
Shelburne Plastics as CFO of the
multi-state bottle maker for the
consumer products market
Rose Computer Technology Services
and David Rose poised as a next
generation IT / IS solution provider
SMARTvt has been adding Says, VT State Economist Art Wolfe, has the largest IT Sales Force in
people to Vermont workforce in Vermont’s population and especially its Vermont.
work force are shrinking. Economic IT Innovator from Virginia joins
record numbers for two years. Developers are strategizing on how to SMARTvt and Rose Computer
Businesses are puzzled in how attract younger workers. Smartvt.org Technologies.
to attract innovators earning seems to have figured it out.
great wages from places like Working in Washington, D.C. is a long
Wash., DC. Despite SMARTvt’s way from Burlington, VT but that did
not stop Daniel Eyers, an IT
efforts, the state’s Labor Force is
Engineering Innovator from Virginia
shrinking; fewer are starting who recently decided to move to …..Economic Development Vermont…..
businesses as tax revenue Vermont.
declines. ……See story next page 3…
Vermont’s Power Center for Business & Job Creation
consultancy offering sustainable socially responsible applications such as Hands-
SMARTvt.org – SMART Holdings USA
on Engineering, Accounting, Finance, Marketing, New Product Development,
Chairman, Mark Renkert, President, Michael Kipp, Michael Hussey, Gabrielle
Research, Medical Devices and Technology, Pharmaceuticals, Telephony, E-
Meunier drive SMART Holdings USA economic Development Engine Creating US
enterprise, IT / IS implementation - service, Merger & Acquisition, LBO, Business
Companies and Jobs . SMARTvt created a task force that provides resources,
Valuation, Forensic Accounting, SEC
education, training, financing solutions to business startups for approved plans.
Compliance, Petrochemical Extraction, Defense
About SMARTvt.org. Vermont's largest solution provider featuring teams of
Systems, and global manufacturing enterprises.
subject-matter experts with one voice as one firm; SMARTvt.org, a global
.

2. SMART Holdings USA Issue # 6, Economic Development, Jan 2013
When Dan Eyer thought about moving to Vermont he was amazed by how many employers told him not to.
"First they started with Vermont's high cost of living, then they described the State's taxes, then the few choices
that residents have for health care, then how they rated as among the poorest payers, and last," he added, "... they
described that on any given day that Vermont and Maine are tied with the nation's oldest populace," and then
said, "they said I'd never last a winter."
His wife Carolyn said, "Hmm ...... with all that news -- what's not to love about Vermont?" The couple in their
late 20's see the conundrum that faces Vermont employers in attracting a "farm league" for their work force.
Nonetheless, Eyer, with his wife Carolyn‘s parents living on the Champlain Islands, decided to move his family
to Vermont despite what the Human Resources Department employees told him.
Eyers (Linked In) ( Powerpoint Slide Deck) was unique. He features a rare set of complex computer engineering
skills that feature both human cooperation and complex problem solving expertise in Information Systems and
Technologies. While his college degree is English from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and University, he
continued to self-train earning powerful advanced certifications in IT. Working along the Washington DC belt-
line which has had the largest number of jobs during this depression he always found good jobs. He worked for
leading edge companies, while continuously self-training, gaining valuable expertise that Vermont employers
are eager to have. Four employers actively sought him.
Says, SMART Holdings USA Board President, Michael J. Kipp, CPA, "This is the essence of what avid Rose, CEO of RCTS works
SMARTvt.org is about. driving the mantra of taking ownership of your own continual self-development and
constantly showing value to potential employers and making the pursuit of innovation relentless." with SMARTvt bringing Dan
Eyer to the state.
Kipp adds, "Look at Eyer's Slide Deck.... too few of today's professionals show this kind of progression and
personal ownership of their careers...... and he did this all while working full time and raising a family. "
SMARTvt.org's, Mark Renkert, who from a Washington Belt-line source learned that Eyers was seeking to live
in Vermont. He introduced Rose Computer Technology Services of Williston, VT that is working on leading-
edge projects and a great diversity of power-clients. The chemistry between the two was palpable and despite
having another offer, Eyers joined RCTS. Vermont’s Fastest
Before joining RCTS he was with Jorge Scientific Corporation,
Growing Managed IT
a company that specializes in providing mission-critical national
security solutions to the U.S. armed forces, intelligence
Services Company.
communities and federal civilian agencies. The company
provides adaptive support focused on counterinsurgency and
intelligence, secure logistics and secure technology, cyber
defense, advanced infrastructure, legal analysis and program
Dan Eyers Moves From VA to VT
management.
Eyers is eager to participating in creating a state
vibrancy that attracts other like-minded innovators. "I
am going do all I can do to drive job creation and
resource generation and will participate with colleges
and universities in designing curriculums that feed
today's work force and, with SMARTvt.org I will
drive skill development in its members so they meet
the needs of the State's employers in providing
solutions to global businesses. Readers are invited to
connect with Eyers thru Linked In.
Vermont’s Workforce Is Leaving Vermont.
A Technology Innovator
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3. SMART Holdings USA Issue # 6, Economic Development, Jan 2013
Frontier Family technology pioneers in Today‘s Modern World
whole valley was stripped at one time,‖ he remembers his
An Aggregated Story from Several Sources and from Reporter Notes father saying, ―part of it by fire and the rest for farmland
During January’s visit. and timber harvesting.‖ He pauses. ―Now, of course, it‘s all
forest. That parcel back there,‖ he says, pointing over his
Jay, New York, the upper tier of New York State and nestled in the shoulder, ―is some of our own timberland.‖
Adirondack Mountains.
Recently a delegation from SMART Holdings USA, SMARTvt.org
toured Ward Lumber Corporations Headquarters and Manufacturing
Operation.
Looking around the valley from the central vantage point of
the Ward Lumber log yard, the mountains today look almost
pristine—untouched save for the widespread damage recently
inflicted by nature herself in the devastating ―Ice Storm of
‗98.‖
Indeed, it would not be unreasonable for tourists to think they
were looking at virgin forestland, following the Ausable River
as it winds through the valley down from Lake Placid, a short
drive to the southwest. That‘s because both Placid and the
town of Jay are located within New York‘s Adirondack Park—
a six million-acre ―forest preserve‖ in which timber harvesting
is prohibited on the roughly 2.5 million acres of stateowned
land and restricted to some extent on the remaining 3.5 million
privatelyowned acres.
SMARTvt’s Mark Renkert and Ward CEO, Jay Ward
Jay Ward, CEO and his brother Jeff, SVP of Operations, have
mastered the wisdom of the mountains and integrated into today‘s
technological generation integrating some of the most advanced
computer and sawyer applications in the market.
To be sure, it is still dangerous work but the Ward‘s are proud of their
Record Setting Days-Without-An-Injury Ratio to some of the best
data in the US.
The plant can have over 150 workers during peak demand periods and
the training involved is intensive.
Said Jay, ―It can take years to train product quality inspectors who rate
and grade product faster than most people can run.‖
Jay remembers his father, an economic development leader, who
passed away years ago. The Timber business was so large that.. ―This
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4. SMART Holdings USA Issue # 6, Economic Development, Jan 2013
V i s i t o r s — mo s t o f wh o m a r e a w a r e t h a t t h e y a r e i n a
― fo r e ve r wi l d ‖ p r e s e r v e b u t m a y n o t kn o w t h a t f o r e s t
m a n a ge m e n t i s a l l o w e d o n t h e p r i v a t e l a n d i n t h e
P a r k — o ft e n c o n fu s e t h e t wo . To t h e u n t r a i n e d e ye , i n
f a c t , s o m e o f t h e l a n d m a n a g e d fo r t i mb e r p r o d u c t i o n
i s mo r e i n vi t i n g t h a n t h e ― fo r e v e r w i l d ‖ p a r c e l s .
But beyond the superficial similarities with other operations, Ward
O b s e r ve r s w i t h a l i t t l e m o r e fo r e s t r y s a v v y, b y Lumber Co. is not a typical white pine sawmill. Over the generations,
c o n t r a s t , s e e a n o b vi o u s d i s t i n c t i o n . S t a t e - o w n e d l a n d the company has joined an elite group of mills in the region, combining
i s d o mi n a t e d i n m a n y c a s e s b y o v e r - a ge d t i mb e r , creative utilization of the forest resource—white pine logs in this
wh i c h , s i n c e t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e A d i r o n d a c k P a r k case—with aggressive and imaginative marketing of the resulting
F o r e s t P r e s e r v e mo r e t h a n a c e n t u r y a go , h a s b e e n lumber and all other byproducts.
a l l o w e d t o f a l l o v e r a n d d e c a y. M a n y w i l d l i f e s p e c i e s
p r e f e r m a n a ge d fo r e s t s b e c a u s e t h e y c o n t a i n m o r e
d i ve r s i t y a n d t h u s , mo r e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r fo o d a n d
shelter.
―I think it‘s a shame New York St ate doesn‘t manage
i t s l a n d i n t h e P a r k, ‖ J a y r e m e mb e r s h i s f a t h e r s a yi n g.
O n o n e l e v e l — a s a fa m i l y - o wn e d wh i t e p i n e s a w m i l l —
W a r d Lu mb e r C o . i s a f a i r l y t yp i c a l e n t e r p r i s e i n t h e
n o r t h e r n P i n e B e l t . H u n d r e d s o f c o mp a n i e s f i t t i n g t h i s
n a r r o w d e s c r i p t i o n a r e s c a t t e r e d a c r o s s t h e r e gi o n
s t r e t c h i n g f r o m t h e Ad i r o n d a c ks t o t h e A t l a n t i c c o a s t .
Th e y r a n g e i n s i z e s a n d c o n d i t i o n s — fr o m 1 2 0 mi l l i o n
b o a r d fo o t p e r - ye a r b e h e m o t h s , t o o p e r a t i o n s s a wi n g a In fact, the company is involved in every aspect of converting white
< 1 M s q f t . S o m e a r e s u c c e s s fu l , wh i l e o t h e r s j u s t pine into useful consumer products—from growing the trees to selling
b a r e l y h a n g i n t h e r e . M a n y h a v e b e c o m e t e c h n o l o gi c a l what they yield to the end user. As such, retail sales represent a big part
m a r v e l s , wh i l e a f e w s t i l l l o o k mo r e l i k e s o m e t h i n g of the company‘s recent growth.
o u t o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y. S i z e h a s l i t t l e t o d o
w i t h s u c c e s s o r f a i l u r e i n t h e mo d e r n p i n e b u s i n e s s . The Ward Lumber Co. hardware store and building center, located
adjacent to the sawmill complex, has long provided a retail outlet for
some of the mill‘s finished products. The company expanded retail
operations when it acquired a store from the defunct Grossman‘s chain
in Plattsburgh, a small city and major population center about 35 miles
to the north on the Canadian border but then after years of operation
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5. SMART Holdings USA Issue # 6, Economic Development, Jan 2013
tactically closed that store after Lowes opened 700 yards away. Failure Analysis Engineer Scott
Decker appointed SMARTvt
On a typical day, harvested white pine logs enter the Ward log yard on Magazine‘s Editor-in-Chief with
trucks, pass through and X-ray type device and then are quickly turned the primary mission to expand
into a dazzling array of useful products. Maximizing lumber landscape readership on Linked In,
mulch (ground bark) to chips for making paper (chipped slabwood) to Facebook, SMARTvtnotes Blog–
fuel for the company‘s lumber drying kilns (various wood wastes). the information source for
business professionals seeking to
Not long ago, these residues were considered (and disposed of as) grow their business base, enroll in
waste. Today, they‘re called ―byproducts‖ and can mean the difference on-going professional
between profitability and bankruptcy. Virtually all white pine sawmills development programs, access
in the region today have markets for non-lumber byproducts. resources to grow their businesses
and to connect people, resources, opportunities, and capital.
What distinguishes Ward from most other pine mills, however, is the
lengths to which it goes in producing and marketing lumber. And how Says SMARTvt President, Michael J. Kipp, CPA, ―Decker‘s an
much effort goes into grading the lumber and it starts as soon as its engineer and he has an uncanny ability to perfectly describe and
delivered when computerized machines Scan in an X-ray type machine translate complex matters for the every day person and this is
that finds imperfections in the logs to include saw blade killing metal great resource for employers seeking training platforms.‖
fragments, nails, and spikes. Many times trees grow right around a
metal sign post or rail and when a blade hits them it can cost thousands Dr. Michael Olson, SMARTvt‘s Director of On-Line Learning
of dollars in damage. says, ―Readers will have marvelous opportunities to learn about
the Subject Matter Expertise of our organization and Scott will
The two retail stores are a good example. Sid Ward says that the be able to print and apply training modules.‖
combination of product diversity, niche markets, production flexibility
and quality have been essential to the company‘s success. He points Chairman, Mark Renkert, said, ―When I met Scott I was struck
to largedimension green timbers, used in such upscale projects as post- by his passion of syntax, grammar, and his unique ability to write
and-beam buildings and log homes. ―Years ago when we first got into about the impossible. We hold that today‘s workers are
the log home market I figured it was a passing fad,‖ he says, ―but it‘s personally responsible for their own professional development
and he‘ll be able to make that happen for others.‖
become a steady, long-term market for us.‖
From the timber sorting area, he crosses the yard to the planer mill,
where wide, dry pine boards are being turned into different kinds of
siding. At one end of the planer mill, pine clapboards are stacked. In
another, cove siding emerges from the planer. A shipment of rustic pine
siding is being loaded onto one of the company‘s distinctive
green trucks for shipment to New England.
John Mayer, SMARTvt‘s
In a warehouse full of tongue & groove paneling and planed boards— Manufacturing Finance Guru is joins
the premium stuff—Ward points to a pallet stacked with short boards Shelburne Plastics. Mayer will lead
averaging about one foot wide and two feet long. These are defective operations in New Hampshire,
sections trimmed from premium boards to increase their grade and thus, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York
their value. In the past the mill would have chipped themfor pulp. and Maryland as SP‘s Chief Financial
Officer.
Ward says of the short ends, ―but we‘ve developed a market for
‗hobbyist‘ wood sold through retail outlets.‖ The Vermont based company produces
custom engineered molds using (CNC) equipment and (CAD)
The list of markets and potential markets goes on and on. Some systems. CAD systems enable SB to quickly modify designs and
companies specialize in trimming high-value sections out of knotty and custom design bottles.
other defectladen boards. Ward has a supply of lowgrade lumber ready
for shipment to one of these ―chop-shops.‖ One big industrial customer Shelburne Plastics with expertise in high quality HDPE and
uses low-grade pine to make pallets and shipping crates for Polypropylene bottles and containers to the dairy, water, juice,
its machines. Ward employees sort out the right boards, accumulating chemical and food markets throughout the Eastern United States
loads to fill the orders. changing personalities within the company and Eastern Canada. Each of our plants is IMS rated for the
and attitudes towards the business are perhaps even more important. It‘s highest sanitary standards.
just tough to sustain the interest in, and commitment to, a family-owned
business from generation to generation, particularly as the distance from Shelburne Plastics operates a fleet of tractor trailers to provide
the founder increases. feet, and proud of how the company payroll of timely deliveries on a 7 day/3 shift operation.
147 people pumps millions of dollars directly into the regional economy
every year through paychecks and job creation. Shelburne Plastics has grown significantly since its inception
in 1978. The company has established a reputation for
competitive pricing, quality workmanship, on-time delivery and
service and has expanded heavily into applying green-friendly
plastic products that decompose quickly in landfills and never
enter the groundwater.
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6. SMART Holdings USA Issue # 6, Economic Development, Jan 2013
SMARTvt’s Gabrielle Meunier appointed Coming Next Month: Gordini / Combi and international leader in the
Financial Controller for Leading National design engineering, development, manufacturing, distribution,
Engineering Solution Provider Moscow warehousing and a world leader in specialty all environment handwear
Mills, Inc, in Stowe, Vermont. Meunier was - gloves. Seniors Executives from SMARTvt.org, CFO Matthew
selected following a international search and Wilcox and COO, Greg Kogut will explain how theymay be using
her subject matter expertise with Tax, engineering from SMARTvt to install a world class RFID Inventory
Currency Conversions, Financial Modeling, Control Technology Center.
Investor Dialogue, Federal and State
Investment Vehicles, Contracts, and multi- You‘ll learn about RFID and how SMARTvt.org Partner Rose
national business were key factors in her selection. Gabrielle had Computer Technology will serve as interface with Leading
been a Senior Financial Advisor with Pomerleau in Burlington. She Technologist Bruce Miller. You‘ll learn about handwear…..
also is a leading advisor for SMARTvt where she, with a team from
SMARTvt, built one of Nantucket‘s largest employers, Nantucket
Property Works. Said Anderson LeVille, President of Moscow Mills
in extending invitations for SMARTvt Bench Members: ―Mark,Thank
your for the recommendation for Gabrielle.She is very sharp...started
this coming MondayOur team is very pleased to have her on The team expected to be: Greg Kogut, Bruce Miller, George
board...We have all sorts of fantastic things going on here... looking Thompson, Scott Decker, David Rose, and Jean Twombly. The CFO
forward to her high level support to take us to the next level...Again of Gordini is Matt Wilcox and will be reviewing the Cost Justification
thank you .. Proposals from the team:
Very Best -- Anderson Leveille, Moscow Mills Inc. Vibration Solutions
NorthP.O. Box 1076 Stowe, VT 05672 tel: 802-253 2036, ext.108
Direct:802-760-6470 fax: 802-253-4208 anderson@moscow-
mills.comwww.moscow-mills.com ―
Gordini CFO Matt Wilcox Pioneers Future
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