Illinois Man Grows Firewood Business
Jamie’s Firewood Service Uses Iron & Oak Equipment for Splitting Firewood
By Jack Petree
Contributing Author
COAL VALLEY, Illinois — Twelve years
ago, Jamie Myetich started a firewood
business as a young 15-year-old, trying to
make money to buy a truck.
“That first year”, he recalled, “I split
approximately 40 loads by hand, using an
old chain saw I had bought at a farm auction
along with an old splitting maul. There was
demand for firewood, and I figured I could
supply processed firewood just as good as
anyone else around here.”
He earned enough money so that in
his second year he bought a hydraulic
splitter from a company called Brave
Products. “They had both a homeowner’s
consumer line and a commercial line at the
time,” said Jamie. “I couldn’t afford any of
the company’s commercial splitting units,
which were being marketed under the Iron
& Oak name, so I started off with a
consumer unit.
“The reason I chose Brave Products
was because at that point in time, they were
the best and had the biggest bang for the
buck around,” he continued. “I could have
gone with several other brands back then,
but I felt dollar for dollar and production
wise, the Brave line was the best for my
young business.”
Reprinted from the January 2004 Issue of Timberline © Copyright 2004 Industrial Reporting, Inc.
Jamie eventually bought
the truck he wanted and
finished high school. Today he
is employed full-time as a tool
and die maker, but firewood
still is a big part of his life.
Each weekend he continues
building the business he started
as a teenager, working 10-14
hour days producing firewood.
The weekends are in addition to
working four or five hours some
week nights.
All the extra work has
paid off, according to Jamie.
His business, Jamie’s Firewood
Service, has grown into a
substantial enterprise serving
northwest Illinois. “The
business has grown to the point
where I am moving between
500 to 600 truckloads (350 to
400 cords or more) of processed
firewood a year,” Jamie
reported.
He has come a long way since
his teenage years, when he used
that old chain saw and a
splitting maul. Brave Products
now is known as Iron & Oak
Commercial Products. Jamie
has used an Iron & Oak
BH4003 Commercial Firewood
Splitter for years and recently
added the upgraded, redesigned
version — the Iron & Oak
BHV2202 22-ton, fast cycle
Vertical/Horizontal splitter. He
added the newer model to keep
up with the growth in his
business. Instead of selling the
smaller splitter, he decided to
keep it to give him some added
flexibility in his operations.
He also recently
invested in an Iron & Oaks’
heavy-duty, three-point grapple
skidder. When he talked with
TimberLine, it was still in a
crate, and he was waiting for
some hydraulic lines to be made
for it. He hoped to have the
machine in operation soon,
working behind an International
574 tractor.
Jamie’s Firewood
Service operated from a threeacre landing near Coal Valley.
It is part of a 44-acre tract
that Jamie is actively
managing — generally
removing dead, dying, or
misshapen trees and leaving
behind a healthy forest. He
also gets logs by clearing
small lots for new homes and
from tree service businesses
looking to dispose of wood.
Most of the hauling is
done with a 7x14 tandem
axle dump trailer from Bray
Manufacturing. “It has been a
big asset to my business,”
said Jamie.
Felling the trees,
removing the branches and
bucking the logs are
accomplished with a Stihl
chain saw. “I just love them,”
said Jamie. “They just do an
outstanding job for me.”
About 75% of the wood that
Jamie cuts and sells for
firewood is oak; the remainder
is a mix of ash, hickory and
cherry. His forest tract also
contains other species, such as
pine, willow, cottonwood,
headge, mulberry and locust.
“I actually sell every
stick of wood I cut each year,”
Jamie said. “Business will go in
spurts, and weather can be a
major factor. Right now, for
example, I’ve already run
through all my oak. This
probably already has been one
of my biggest years.”
Jamie has come to rely a
lot on Iron & Oak and its
firewood processing equipment.
His experience with Iron & Oak
and its service have made him a
dedicated and enthusiastic
customer.
“Their service and
reliability is just fantastic,” he
said. “If there is a problem, they
Reprinted from the January 2004 Issue of Timberline © Copyright 2004 Industrial Reporting, Inc.
just come out and take care of
it. All I have to do is call up
John Fideo (sales manager for
Iron & Oak) and say, ‘Hey
John, there is something wrong
here,’ and he is there to take
care of the problem. John has
come out on Saturdays with
repair parts for me. If I have
problems with a cylinder, they
just send me out another one.
With other companies, my
closest dealer is in Chicago,
three to four hours away.”
The Iron & Oak
equipment also has proven to be
very durable and reliable,
according to Jamie. “Down time
is very minimal on this
equipment. Generally, if
something breaks, I was doing
something with it that I was not
suppose to be doing. As to fuel
efficiency, I will go through
around 8 gallons of fuel on the
weekend, running the
commercial machine 16 hours
for the two days,” which works
out to two or two and one-half
hours per tank of gas. “I am
really getting my money’s
worth out of these machines for
the cost of the equipment.”
Maintenance is minimal,
said Jamie. “You put gas in and
change the oil. I change the
hydraulic oil every 4 months.
You don’t have the large cost of
other large processors with 30
to 40 gallon tanks.”
Iron & Oak designs its
equipment to be easy to use,
noted Jamie, an important factor
in a business known for its
back-breaking work.
“Compared to other equipment
that I previously owned and
used, I am more comfortable
with and consider the Iron &
Oak equipment a lot more user
friendly,” he said. “What I
really like about the commercial
log splitter is it sits higher. I am
six feet tall and weigh 200
pounds, and I don’t have to
stoop over it all day. It’s more
comfortable, and I can split
about a load and a half of wood
in an hour very easily. (His
truck-loads are equal to half or
three-quarters of a cord.) The
log lift on the commercial
splitter is a real back saver. It
will lift up to 750 pounds, and I
have had 900 pounds on it. My
personal best with this machine
on a good day (10-14 hrs.) is
approximately 12 truck-loads.”
Efficiency and
productiveness are other
attributes of the Iron & Oak
equipment that he has come to
appreciate — especially since
he does most of the work
himself for Jamie’s Firewood
Service. “Over the past year
especially, my dad has helped
out a lot,” he said. “And I get
help from a couple of buddies
whenever I can, especially Bob
Hoskins. For the most part
though, this is still a one horse
show, and I do just about
everything.”
Standard equipment on
the Iron & Oak BH4003
Commercial Firewood Splitter
includes a log lift, hydraulic
four-way wedge, log holder and
auto cycle valve. It also features
an 11 hp engine, 22-gallon
hydraulic pump, 12-inch tires,
10-gallon hydraulic system, 8inch beam, and 12-inch wedge.
The machine has an 8 second
cycle time.
The smaller BHV2202
is used for second splits,
especially when Jamie wants
smaller pieces of firewood.
Splitting large, over-size logs
on the new machine some times
leaves large pieces of firewood;
they are put through the smaller
machine to split them in half.
“That way I don’t have to run it
back through the big machine,”
he explained. “With two guys
working it, I can run wood
through the big machine and the
second guy can pull the big
pieces before they go up the
conveyor and recycle them back
through the smaller machine.”
Jamie believes there is
still plenty of room for his
firewood business to grow. “I’d
like to get a couple of more
commercial units from Iron &
Oak and start doing wood
processing full time and do tool
and die part-time,” he said. “I
love the outdoors and being
outside.”
Iron & Oak Committed to U.S.-Made Quality
Iron & Oak was founded
as Brave Products in 1982. The
company’s headquarters was in
Annawan, Illinois, a small town
just a few dozen miles east of
Iowa’s Quad Cities.
According to marketing
director Bill Bontemps, the
company quickly gained a
regional reputation for quality
and reliable wood processing
products. Soon it began to offer
equipment for homeowners and
also more heavy-duty,
commercial quality equipment.
The quality of the
company’s equipment has
continued to attract the attention
of commercial firewood
producers like Jamie Myetich,
noted Bill. As the company
expanded, it created a separate
commercial division, Iron &
Oak Commercial Products, and
began to build a national
reputation. Today its products
are available through more than
800 outlets coast to coast.
Iron & Oak has
distinguished itself with proven
products that are still being
improved on a continual basis,
said Bill. “Quality is stressed,
with only U.S.-made
components used,” he said.
“Cheaper components can be
purchased overseas, but we
don’t believe they pay off for
the customer. All of our
equipment is designed with the
power to do the job, fast cycle
times, and user friendly designs.
It is built using the finest
materials available. Over the
long run, we believe that
dedication to quality and the
needs of the customer shows in
the equipment.”
The company’s founder
sold the business three years
ago and retired. The change in
ownership has led to further
expansion and a move to
Streator, Illinois. Iron & Oak
Commercial Products now
operates under the umbrella of
PMW Holding. The parent
company is committed to
continuing and expanding the
reputation for quality machinery
and customer service that Iron
& Oak has built over the years,
said Bill.
Iron & Oak’s core
business is designing and
manufacturing commercialgrade equipment for processing
and handling firewood and also
specialty tools and equipment
for farms and woodlot
operations. The company
supplies log splitters, skiddergrapples, hydraulic power
supplies, hand tools and
accessories. Customers include
firewood businesses, woodlot
owners, farmers, contractors,
landscapers, tree services,
equipment rental businesses,
and others. Most customers are
small businesses, but many of
them are growing.
“We believe in quality
manufacturing, quality
components, and an on-going
customer support,” said Bill.
“All our log splitters and other
wood handling products are
designed, fabricated, welded,
and powder coated in-house for
total quality control. We use
the best American-made
components available so
customers won’t be plagued
with unexpected downtime.
That includes commercial
horizontal shaft engines, Haldes
Barnes pumps, Prince control
valves, thick-walled hydraulic
cylinders with added sealing
capabilities, and machined tool
steel splitting wedges. All
hydraulic cylinders, valves, and
tanks are built to our rugged
standards and pre-tested to
ensure quality.”
Iron & Oak is constantly
developing new products, noted
Bill. “There is a lot of
equipment out there designed
for large-scale firewood
producers, but little equipment
in the modest price range for the
smaller operators. We recently
introduced a heavy-duty grapple
log skidder, worked on some
major improvements, and now
have two different versions – a
skid-steer and a three-point
hitch for mounting on a tractor.
Both are ideal pieces of
equipment for smaller
operations. The units are
capable of grabbing logs up to
40 inches in diameter and have
a maximum lifting capacity of
3,000 pounds, depending on the
size of the tractor.”
“We manufacture log
splitters 12 months a year, and
we know the importance of
providing trained personnel to
promptly answer your
questions,” Bill said. “Our
people can recommend the Iron
& Oak product that just right for
your operation, provide you
with technical support on all our
products, and expedite parts
when and where you need
them.”