An abundance of timber on 121 hectares was the mother of invention for Warren and Rex Lucas when they sold their first portable sawmill, which they had made with their father Geoff.
Thirty years later and the family business at Worrigee has gone beyond their initial dream of selling 50 of the mills each year, with the company boasting of having sold 23,000 since their patent was first submitted by the family in 1994 on their way to the Farmworld Show at Warragul.
The company had orders for 50 after their very first showing and currently export three-quarters of their mills overseas.
“The shows are the actual shop front,” Jenny Lucas said.
“And at Seymour this year we will be demonstrating with our Model 10 at intervals during the day.”
The patent was filed for the unique design of a walk-through end frame and the mill’s design overall looks very similar to what it did 30 years ago.
The advantages of the Lucas Sawmill include better value than competitors and the ability to cut thinner boards.
“Most farmers only want six-be-twos for the farm, so we produced a mill that was smaller than what’s on the market,” Jenny said.
“A lot of what we have made is from customer demand, so there is for example a sanding option now.”
The business has seen over a dozen apprentices come through its workshop, where every mill is built from the ground up and tested before sale.