Polish Entrepreneur Succeeds in Woodworking Business Using Wood-Mizer Sawmill
Polish entrepreneur Zygmunt Koss talks about how he found a passion for woodworking and how he achieved success in business thanks to proper technology.
"I got into woodworking, one might say, by accident; I didn't plan this," says Zygmunt Koss, an entrepreneur from Pomerania. "In the old house where we lived, there was an uninsulated room that was freezing in the winter. To insulate it, my wife and I decided to cover the walls with wooden cladding, which was incredibly fashionable at that time. It was from this moment that my adventures with woodworking began."
In 1991, Zygmunt founded his own company specializing in interior design. "Wallboards, cabinets, tables—that's what we mostly did in the early years of our business."
"I was invited to take part in the EU London Array project, which was implemented at the Gdańsk and Gdynia shipyards. This project aimed to build wind power plants in the North Sea. I provided the necessary documents to participate in the tender," Zygmunt explains.
"I was not alone; several people wanted to participate in the project, but, to my surprise, I won the tender! It was an incredible shock for me!"
The carpentry shop needed to be equipped with new machinery that would allow the project to be implemented. The task was to produce wooden beams for the formwork of wind power plants. It had to be a durable and precisely manufactured structure, so Zygmunt needed to involve the highest quality machines.
Looking through the sawmill offers on the market, Zygmunt quickly decided to purchase a Wood-Mizer sawmill. He came to the headquarters of the Polish Wood-Mizer manufacturing center to get more information. Using a loan from the bank, he bought the LT20B model with a modular bed.
This special sawmill in the Wood-Mizer range combines a well-known cantilever design LT20 saw head with a low-segmented bed. This bed does not have hydraulics, however, due to its position close to the ground, logs can be rolled onto the bed easily by using two loading ramps. The advantage of a segmented bed is its virtually unlimited length since it can be expanded by attaching additional modules. This way, the LT20B can adequately prepare for any project and even cut extra-long logs and beams. When ordering an LT20B machine, the sawmill owner can choose from several engine options, electric or gasoline, and decide whether he needs a remote control. This option is often selected by those who constantly work on the machine and cut wood of the same type.
"The LT20B is a compact machine. I think it has many advantages due to its small size and weight. This sawmill could even be used in a shipyard, on ships being repaired," remembers Zygmunt.
The project was successfully implemented, and after completion, Zygmunt decided to keep the Wood-Mizer sawmill to continue developing his business.
"The prosperity of our company began with the Wood-Mizer sawmill. It is the machine that allows us to fulfill orders related with woodworking," continues Zygmunt.
The interview with Zygmunt was filmed in his house and about 80% of the material for its construction was milled on the Wood-Mizer sawmill. Each wall, ceiling, or floor element was processed by hand with great precision.
Zygmunt saw an advertisement in the Polish newspaper GAZETA PRZEMYSŁU DRZEWNEGO that the Wood-Mizer company was announcing a competition among projects implemented with Wood-Mizer sawmills. Zygmunt decided to take part in the competition by presenting his house.
"Thanks to this, I could boast of my achievement, which, starting with a design on paper, I made myself, according to my own idea," smiles Zygmunt.
"In the Buildings category, first place went to a treehouse designed by a French designer, and second place went to me, a Polish entrepreneur from the coast," says Zygmunt. "Imagine my pride and satisfaction. After all, this is very pleasant because now I know: what I do is liked by others, not just me."
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