A successful career in finance wasn’t enough reason for auditor, now sawmiller, Julian Kakule to stay in banking once he saw a Wood-Mizer sawmill in action.
“I was an auditor at a large commercial bank in Kinshasa. I was successful and comfortable in my job. However, visiting a log yard in 2018 to buy sawn timber for a building project changed my life. A timber trader friend took me to a log yard where a Wood-Mizer sawmill was cutting sawn timber.“The speed and precision of the mill was amazing. My professional background immediately saw a business opportunity.”
Julian bought his first Wood-Mizer LT15 three months later, in 2018. Five years later, Julian owns six Wood-Mizers and runs a successful sawmilling business, Scierie Jules Fie, in Kinshasa’s Kinkole district.
“To take a log and produce sawn timber from it that you can sell at a profit has many advantages,” Julian says.
“Locally produced sawn timber builds our economy. Exporting finished timber products rather than raw logs that are processed elsewhere creates jobs, grows the timber sector, builds people’s lives, and protects our forests. People will protect and grow trees if timber is their business.
Julian’s sawmilling successes also attracted Wood-Mizer’s attention. In 2020, Julian was appointed one of Wood-Mizer’s representatives in the DRC.
Wood-Mizer representatives in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi and the Eastern DRC now combine forces with Wood-Mizer’s Country Manager, Fred Kapenda to build a service support network in the DRC to support sawmillers and develop the sector.
“When I decided to go into sawmilling, my friends and bank colleagues thought I was mad.
“I took a risk because there’s a saying in French – if you don’t take risks, you’ll never make it. I took the risk, and today I am where I am because of Wood-Mizer,” Julian says.
Running a successful sawmill and managing a Wood-Mizer dealership in the heart of Kinshasa’s busiest sawmilling district, Kinkole is a tough balancing act.
But the experience Julian’s gained from running two businesses is now helping both to be better.
Julian developed his sawmilling business to do general and artisanal cutting. The general side cuts are popular sawn sizes sold daily, and the artisanal side cuts are custom sizes according to customer specifications.
Scierie Jules Fie has seen exceptional growth with general and custom cutting overlapping.
“The cutting accuracy, durability, and recovery that my Wood-Mizer’s give me have also grown my business,” Julian says.
Customers spend more to get accurately sawn timber. Wood-Mizer’s thin kerf, narrow bandsaw blade technology also wastes less, so there is more sawn product to sell. The thin kerf blades use less electricity for more savings.
“Wasting less with more timber to sell is very important during the dry season. When the river is low, and logs don’t reach Kinshasa, logs become scarce.
“Because I waste less, I always have logs. Customers know I always have sawn timber. I also don’t need to pay more for logs when the river dries and log prices go up,” Julian continues.
Wood-Mizer’s bandsaw blade sharpening and setting equipment also saves time and money.
“Sending blades away for resharpening takes longer and costs more. I resharpen, set, and check the quality of my blades in-house for the best-cut quality and the straightest timber.
Julian’s made all these lessons part of Wood-Mizer’s dealership, which he now manages.
“Because I am a sawmiller, I know the frustration of waiting for blades, spare parts, or when sawmills break down and you have to wait,” Julian says.
With easy access to Wood-Mizer’s two branches in Kinkole and Kingabwa and technical service support teams visiting sawmills to service machines, train staff and advise, sawmillers now have the convenience and trusted partnership of an experienced sawmiller and Wood-Mizer dealership on their doorstep.
“Selling Wood-Mizer’s to sawmillers is easy,” Julian says.
“The durability of a Wood-Mizer, its year-on-year dependability, proven large log cutting capacity, and its reliable source of income makes it easy for sawmillers to choose Wood-Mizer.”
Wood-Mizer’s service support, the reliability and availability of genuine Wood-Mizer spare parts and blades across the DRC, and our commitment to sawmillers' success make it even easier to choose a Wood-Mizer,” Julian ends.
