Breeze Dried ™ Company History

A lifetime in the lumber business

The revolutionary Breeze Dried ™ stacking stick was first unveiled to the public at the National Lumber Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, in October 1995. Behind it was a lifetime of experience in the lumber industry.

David Townsend, President of Townsend Lumber Inc., created the Breeze Dried ™ stick; Robert Townsend, David’s father, founded Townsend Lumber Inc. in Tillsonburg Ontario in 1959. David has been immersed in the hardwood lumber industry all his life. He became involved in the Townsend business at an early age; became a co-owner in 1978, and took the reins as president in 1987.

Townsend Lumber has emerged as the largest and most advanced sawmill and dry-kiln facility in the hardwood forest region of South Western Ontario, Canada. Townsend Lumber, with its subsidiary Kitchener Forest Products, produces over 20 million board feet of hardwood lumber annually.

The development of the Breeze Dried ™ stacking stick began in the Fall of 1992. Townsend was dissatisfied with the persistent problem of stick stain/shadow on grade lumber and began to experiment with various designs, including flat and fluted sticks. Finally hitting on a design based on lateral ridges, the mill’s maintenance crew produced the original Breeze Dried ™ stick.

A series of tests in the Townsend yard led to refinements of the design and, ultimately, to the solution Townsend was looking for. Since the introduction of the new stacking stick, problems with sticker stains have virtually disappeared, while yard safety and kiln costs have also improved!

Breeze Dried ™ was incorporated in October 1995 to focus on marketing and producing the Breeze Dried ™ stick for the lumber industry worldwide. Just 9 years later, over 34 million Breeze Dried ™ stacking sticks have been sold and container shipments have taken the stick throughout Europe and North America.