Back to Basics: Zip-O-Log Mills Welcomes NAWLA's Wood Basics Class

Teaching the Next Generation of Lumber Pros

Every industry depends on the people coming up through it. This September, Zip-O-Log Mills had the chance to invest in ours. When the North American Wholesale Lumber Association (NAWLA) brought its fall Wood Basics course to Corvallis, Oregon, September 21–24, our team showed up in three ways: on the expert panel, as hosts for a mill and wood manufacturing tour, and in the classroom as students.

What Is Wood Basics?

Wood Basics is NAWLA's four-day, hands-on course in the forest products industry. Since 1981, it has graduated more than 1,500 professionals. It is built for new hires and for experienced people stepping into new roles.

The curriculum covers the whole supply chain, from forestry and harvesting to lumber manufacturing, grading, engineered wood, mass timber, logistics, and negotiations. Classroom time is paired with a forest tour, mill tours, hands-on grading, and an "Ask the Experts" panel where students put their questions to people who work in the industry every day.

A Seat on the Panel

KayCee Hallstrom, our Vice President and co-owner, joined the Ask the Experts panel. As the fourth generation of a family-owned mill, she brought a long view of the business: log supply, milling capacity and career advice.

"The connections you make here today will last your entire career." — KayCee Hallstrom

The Class Comes to Eugene

On Tuesday, September 22, the Wood Basics students made the trip to our Eugene mill to see lumber manufacturing up close. Zip-O-Log Mill team members walked the group through the Eugene Mill and Zip-O-Laminators Manufacturing facility, showing how logs become the dimensional lumber and glulam that end up in homes, schools, and commercial buildings across the West.

For many students, it was their first time inside a working sawmill. There's no substitute for hearing the saws, watching a log move through the line, and asking questions of the people who run it.

Learning Alongside the Class

We didn't just teach. Three members of our team, Gabbi McIntyre, Andrew Moiser, and Hannah Cole, completed the course as students. They spent four days learning next to buyers, traders, and sales professionals from across North America, and came back with new connections and a wider view of how the whole supply chain fits together.

"Seeing competitors, suppliers and customers come together to teach the next generation says a lot about this industry. And going from wood anatomy down to the cell to global distribution in four days was phenomenal." — Hannah Cole

Why It Matters

As a fourth-generation, family-owned timber and glulam manufacturer, we know our future depends on skilled, knowledgeable people across the industry, from the forest to the job site. Programs like Wood Basics build that bench. We're proud to support NAWLA's work, and we look forward to welcoming future classes.

Congratulations to the fall 2026 Wood Basics graduates, and thank you to NAWLA for bringing the program to Oregon.

Learn more about Wood Basics at nawla.org/Events/Wood-Basics.