Wilkins Lumber of Milford is SBA’s 2024 New Hampshire Jeffrey Butland Family Owned Business of the Year
For over 200 years and nine generations, the Wilkins Lumber Company has been providing the residents and contractors of NH’s Souhegan Valley with the materials to build barns and homes, remodel kitchens, and frame additions among other things. Wilkins is the only sawmill left in all of Hillsborough County and has a rich history dating back to 1808 when Edward and Jotham Hartshorn started as a seasonal operation powered by a nearby stream. The business has evolved through the generations adapting to changing times and new technologies along the way. Edward’s grandson Frank and his son-in-law, Aaron Wilkins, played a pivotal role in modernizing the mill with a dam, canal, and steam boiler. The current owner, Tom Wilkins, is the eighth-generation owner and operates the company along with his wife Sally.
The company is being recognized as SBA’s 2024 Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Business of the Year. This award honors family-owned small businesses with a proven track record of success of at least 15 years that have passed ownership from one generation to another.
When Tom was born in 1959, the family business was part of a thriving group of southern New Hampshire lumberyards that were turning out local boards for local builders. By then Tom’s grandfather, Harold Wilkins, was overseeing the operation. Tom grew up in the business and started working for his grandfather at the young age of 12. He enjoyed working outside and the way of life the mill provided so it was a natural fit for him and his high school sweetheart, Sally, to take over the operations once they graduated college and married.
Today, the company purchases logs locally and processes them into lumber used by various industries. The owners pride themselves on operating as a no-waste mill. The mill uses all materials by processing and selling bark mulch and chips to homeowners and landscapers and selling sawdust and shavings to local farmers. Their commitment to environmental sustainability also led to the installation of solar at their homestead, a local dairy farm, and most recently, at the sawmill. They also understand all facets of sustainability and the important role their team plays in their success. They demonstrate their commitment to and appreciation of their employees by providing competitive compensation and health and dental insurance to every employee and their families.
Overall, Wilkins Lumber company has been a vital part of the Milford economy through the years providing good jobs, quality products, and excellent customer service. They also care deeply about their impact on the environment. NH SBDC nominator, Andrea O’Brien assisted Sally and Tom, advising them on opportunities and resources that helped them optimize their energy use, increase their energy efficiency, and install a large solar array enabling them to draw on renewable energy to operate their mill and reduce their carbon footprint, something that is important to the next generation of Wilkins. As part of this assistance, Wilkins applied for and received Grants from the USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and NH’s Community Development Finance Authority’s (CDFA) Clean Energy Fund to help fund these goals. For more information, visit Wilkins Lumber Co. | A New Hampshire Sawmill.
Award winners were honored at the SBA’s 2024 Small Business Week celebration on Tuesday, April 30th, from 8:30 am to 11:30 am at the Tupelo Music Hall, Derry, NH. Register to join us.