J&R Planing was started in 1977 as a small mill on the Edinger family ranch in Florence, Montana.

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The Edinger Family soon moved its operation to a piece of property on Hwy 93 in Florence and proceeded to grow and expand their business, supplying jobs and revenue to the Bitterroot Valley.

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In 1989, Jim Edinger expanded the company’s product line by opening an additional mill and reload yard in Missoula. This second mill, Montana West Lumber, has been an active part of the Missoula economy ever since.

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Bitterroot Valley Forest Products came to fruition in 1997, adding to our family of business, a sales arm. This branch of our business has helped bring our company to the forefront of the lumber industry. We are able to provide a large range of specialty wood products to companies from local contractors to the largest national distributors.

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In 2008, J&R lost its Florence mill to a fire. The entire building and much of the equipment was lost. But in true Montana fashion, we pulled together, moved the entire operation to our Montana West location and were operational within one week.

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The two operations have now been combined under the name J&R Planing, Inc. The centralization of operations allows us to continue to serve our faithful customers and expand the line of quality products for which we have become known.

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In 2009, Bitterroot Valley Forest Products expanded its reach by acquiring a “state of the art” priming facility in Savannah, GA. The addition of Bitterroot Valley Forest Products of Savannah makes our products available and affordable for customers from coast to coast.

Over the last thirty years, our business has gone from a two- man operation on the family ranch to one of the largest specialty wood product manufacturers in the country. It is with this rich history and fortitude that we continually strive to bring new products, services, and cutting edge technology to the wood products industry.