Mike McGarry, Urban Lumber

In this episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast, host Jennifer Alger welcomes back returning guest Mike McGarry of Urban Lumber in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. What started as a one-man pilot project to prove to three levels of government that diseased urban trees could be safely salvaged has grown into what may be one of the largest urban tree recycling and hardwood production operations in the country, processing three to four thousand trees per year with a team of eleven employees. Mike walks through the early days of navigating government roadblocks, building chain of custody tracking, and developing disease mitigation protocols for working with Dutch elm disease wood. He explains how the elm bark beetle carries the fungal spores, why getting the bark off within five days is critical, and how Winnipeg's brutal winters actually work in his favor. The conversation shifts to how Urban Lumber evolved from a sawmill operation selling raw lumber into a fully vertically integrated company. Today, ninety percent of the lumber they produce stays in-house for custom furniture, architectural millwork, boardroom tables, and floating shelves sold online across Canada. Mike talks about the equipment upgrades that made this possible, including a modified Wood-Mizer LT40 extended to handle massive urban logs and an iDry Turbo vacuum kiln that finally solved the challenge of drying American elm without excessive degradation. Jennifer and Mike also dig into the business side: why your next hire should be a dedicated marketing person, how to build a company culture that keeps people around, the economics of smaller bandsaw blades when you're hitting metal every day, and why staying nimble keeps Urban Lumber insulated from market volatility. They close with a candid conversation about the economic climate between Canada and the US, cross-border tariffs on blade prices and shipping, and shifting species trends from maple to walnut to white oak. Chapters 00:00 The Origin Story: From Forestry Student to Urban Lumber Founder 02:29 Government Roadblocks and the Pilot Project 04:19 Disease Mitigation: Dutch Elm, Bark Beetles, and Chain of Custody 08:03 Scaling Up: Equipment, Employees, and Closing the Waste Loop 13:46 Kiln Drying Breakthroughs with the iDry Turbo 15:05 From Sawmill to Fully Vertically Integrated Operation 19:01 Custom Furniture, Architectural Millwork, and the Shaper Origin 21:04 Building a Team and Keeping the Culture 25:20 Marketing, Inventory, and the Business of Running It All 29:01 AI in the Shop: Time Savings and Cautionary Tales 30:56 What Keeps Mike Coming Back Every Morning 33:15 Economic Fears, Tariffs, and Staying Nimble 35:38 Species Trends: Elm, White Oak, and Shipping Challenges The Woodpreneur Podcast brings stories of woodworkers, makers, and entrepreneurs turning their passion for wood into successful businesses - from inspiration to education to actionable advice. Hosted by Steve Larosiliere and Jennifer Alger  For blog posts and updates: woodpreneur.com See how we helped woodworkers, furniture-makers, millwork and lumber businesses grow to the next level: woodpreneurnetwork.com Empowering woodpreneurs and building companies to grow and scale: buildergrowth.io Connect with us at:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sawmillsnearme/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/woodpreneurnetwork/ Join Our Facebook Group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/woodpreneurnetwork Join our newsletter: https://substack.com/@woodpreneurnetwork You can connect with Mike at: https://www.urban-lumber.ca/ https://www.instagram.com/urban_lumber_mb/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-mcgarry-967152166?originalSubdomain=ca