Richard Lennox, 74, the owner of Cascade Trader Inc., stands beside a logging machine and a processor that are being custom built in one of his three warehouses in Chehalis on Wednesday afternoon.
Ralph Neer works on the engine of a used bulldozer at Cascade Trader on Wednesday afternoon in Chehalis.
Ralph Neer works on the engine of a used bulldozer at Cascade Trader on Wednesday afternoon in Chehalis.
Used grapples sit in the Cascade Trader lot on Wednesday afternoon in Chehalis.
Ralph Neer works on the engine of a used bulldozer at Cascade Trader on Wednesday afternoon in Chehalis.
Jeff Som, one of several mechanics at Cascade Trader, removes the rock guards from a logging machine on Wednesday afternoon in Chehalis. Cascade Trader routinely remanufactures pieces of the logging machines to correctly fit a customer's preference.
Used logging machines sit along side each other in the Cascade Trader lot on Wednesday afternoon in Chehalis.
Ben Caviness, one of several mechanics at Cascade Trader, greases up a logging machine on Wednesday afternoon in Chehalis.
Richard Lennox has been working with and selling logging equipment in Chehalis since 1963. Now 74 years old, Lennox has owned and operated his most recent logging supply company, Cascade Trader Inc., since 1991.
Located at the corner of Chamber Way and State Avenue, Lennox’s impressive collection of gurthy logging machines are a familiar sight to those that frequent the area. When Cascade Trader first opened it was run by a skeleton crew that consisted of Lennox, his daughter and one mechanic. Now the company employs 25 people, including his wife, three daughters, two grandsons and a son-in-law.
“Nepotism is run amok here,” said Lennox.
Despite the rampant in-family hiring practices, Cascade Trader has managed to establish itself as one of the premier logging outfitters on the West Coast, selling both new and used equipment while providing repair and upgrade services.
Lennox estimates that about 70 percent of his company’s business comes from within a 75-mile radius around Chehalis. The rest comes from all over, including California, Idaho and Colorado. Once, about three years ago, Lennox says he even made a $1.7 million sale of four machines to Cameroon, Africa.
When Lennox first started in the logging equipment business he was just a greenhorn, working in the shop at Skagit Forestry Equipment before moving his way up to sales. When that business was sold he left, and by 1970 he’d started up his own logging equipment company called Cascade Loggers Supply.
That incarnation dealt mostly with the refurbishing and resale of used logging equipment. These days, Cascade Trader Inc. deals predominantly with new equipment. Since 2005, Lennox has been a dealer of Korean-made Doosan machines, although he also sells some Hyundai equipment.
“My idea was (Doosan) would be a little less quality but I’ve been pleasantly surprised,” said Lennox, who noted that the Doosans often operate with nearly twice the fuel efficiency of comparable machines while remaining sturdy, with parts that are easy to obtain.
In fact, Cascade Trader recently outfitted Willis Enterprises in Oakville with a fleet of 19 Doosan machines.
The Cascade Trader lot is overflowing with machines both new and old in order to keep up with demand. There is so much inventory that, Lennox joked, “I can’t sleep at night.” He noted that his company sells about 65-70 new machines per year. “I’ve got a year’s worth of machines here.”
While selling equipment is technically the name of the game for Cascade Trader, Lennox insists that a quality service, upgrade and repair department is what makes the wheels go round.
“If you don’t get that right you won’t get a second try with a lot of your customers,” noted Lenox, who employs a fleet of five road service trucks that are “on the road almost all the time.”
A logger stuck in the woods and unable to work due to broken-down equipment is one of the most ferocious animals in all of the wild. But, said Lennox, “I’ve got some really good guys that work for me.”
Cascade Trader even offers a rare 48-hour replacement warranty on its new equipment so that if a part breaks the business will fix it or replace it within two days — or it will set customers up with a replacement machine until it can be fixed.
Sales of new and used equipment is not all Cascade Traders does though. In fact, if customers have something of value it’s likely that Lennox will swap equipment. “We take trades. That’s why we put trader in the name,” explained Lennox. To date Lennox has traded for property, a Model-A Ford, other classic cars and even a four-door pizza oven. “I haven’t been able to sell that yet,” said Lennox, who estimates he’s had the oven for about five years.
Sometimes Lennox even provides financing to customers that he is familiar with. “I’ve found that if you help somebody out they’ll often times come back just because you gave them a hand,” noted Lennox. “I enjoy the people I deal with a lot.”
One day Lennox hopes to centralize the operations of Cascade Trader, which today has one main store location, two fabrication and maintenance shops and as multiple storage lots. However that shakes out, he has no intention of leaving his longtime corner lot.
“This has always been a great location for what we’re doing,” said Lennox, who noted the close proximity of a number of other logger-centric business. “It’s easy access for the guys when they are shopping.”
