Marlinton’s Cramer Lumber operation sold to Jim C. Hamer Lumber

The Marlinton dry kiln lumber operation formerly owned by North Carolina-based W.M. Cramer Lumber Co. has been sold to Jim C. Hamer Lumber, which plans to re-open the saw mill at the facility.

Steve Hamer, president of Hamer Lumber, said the sale closed more than a week ago.

“The existing operation continues to run, and we continue to employ the same people under the new ownership as the dry kiln facility, which includes 280,000 board feet kiln capacity, and we plan to continue to operate those kilns with the intent of re-opening the saw mill at a later date,” Hamer said.

“We are currently underway with trying to make our plans for the saw mill so at this time there are a lot of unanswered questions, such as when it will open and how many people we will employ.”

About 15 people work at the operation currently. Hamer said he takes pride in being a West Virginia company for four generations and looks forward to expanding in Marlinton.

“The Hamer name has been in the hardwood lumber business for four generations. We have multiple operations. We have a saw mill in Eastern Kentucky. Our main office is here in Kenova, W.Va. We have a saw mill in Boone County, W.Va. We operate an operation, not far from Marlinton over in Webster County. We have a pellet operation in Elkins, W.Va., so we’re scattered about and West Virginia people, I’m born and raised in West Virginia. So this is my home and we look forward to continuing to expand and running the operation there in Marlinton,” Hamer said.

Manager Damian Elliott said the news is “a definite positive.” Elliott, who has worked at the operation for the past 18 years, said the facility opened in the 1960s, was purchased by Cramer in the 1980s, and the saw mill closed in 2011.