Meet Chris Cox, entrepreneur and TimberKing owner, at the controls of his TimberKing 2220 sawmill. He’s built a very successful business that he’s growing all the time. “Hard work,” he tells us, “but the milling’s easy.”
“I’m a seven-days-a-week kind of guy. When I got my first TimberKing sawmill, the TimberKing 1220, I made $6,000 in the first month I owned it! (Read story here) Now, the first year with my TimberKing 2220, I earned $105,000.
During Covid, I decided to up my game manufacturing chicken coops and outbuildings. Business really took off. I was sawing lumber and building four coops a week and was 20 orders behind. So I hired two carpenters and we got caught up.
Business really kept growing and I recently bought more equipment to keep up: a 35’ trailer, two log skidders, and a 90,000 lb. crane with a 105’ reach. All this is all paid for with money from sawing and building.
Chris made $105,000 the first year with his 2220
I also bought a brand-new TimberKing 2220, one of TimberKing’s biggest sawmill. Actually, mine is the first 2220 they built. It’s a true production sawmill. Everything’s bigger and easier than my 1220. The diesel engine is the same one that’s in my Kubota tractor. Works great.
I’ve had this 2220 a year and a half now. I make $100 an hour minimum. It made me $105,000 the first year. That’s a lot of work, a lot of building. The milling was the easy part!
He sold his old TimberKing for 25% more than he paid for it
I used that 1220 for seven years, built my business with it, and sold it recently for 25% more than I paid for it! Don’t get me wrong, I loved my 1220 mill. There’s nothing wrong with that model at all, it’s just that the 2220’s full hydraulics make sawing a lot easier. Now I can saw bigger logs. And I get to sit down while I’m sawing. The whole sawing process is now more enjoyable.
And the TimberKing company has treated me very well, too. The warranty’s great and I get parts when I need them in just three days.
1,000% value added
We own 40 acres here, 20 of it in Southern Yellow Pine. By the time I fell, skid, saw, dry, and build with them, each tree earns me $1,000. That’s real value added.
Funny thing happened when Chris raised his prices
Funny thing about my chicken coops. The price doesn’t matter to folks. At first, I charged $1,000 per coop. Then I raised the price to $1,500. Then $1,900. Now they’re $2,400 apiece. I’m making and selling fewer coops but making more money!
I don’t even advertise. I did for awhile on Facebook Marketplace but I stopped. Now it’s all word-of-mouth. I sell to someone then their friends, neighbors, and relatives all want one. I sold one guy five outbuildings.
I love building. But after building 150+ chicken coops, I’m bored with them. So we’ve started manufacturing outbuildings like backyard barbecue buildings, horse shelters, cabins, and more. These are board-and-batten construction, up to 24’ x 24’. We build the big ones like a double-wide trailer: two 12’ x 24’ sections we join together on-site.
Next up: 1,000 square foot finished cabins
Next, I’m planning bigger structures — full, modular cabins, one storey or one-and-a-half. They’ll be in the 1,000 to 1,500 square foot range. We’ll fabricate modules in the shop and assemble on-site. The shells will run about $45,000. Fully finished cabins with insulation and sheetrock, about $80,000.
I know this will work — I keep moving forward and everything I’ve built with my TimberKing has always panned out.”
— Chris Cox, TimberKing 2220 Owner, Cox Custom Coop & Cabins LLC, Stonefort IL
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