E X P E R I E N C E
“Here we watched a Wood-Mizer sawmill in action
for the first time. This was 1996 and it was a
revelation.”
“The technology looked so simple and effective.
We liked it at once.”
In 1997, he and Ivon Krob bought an hydraulic
Wood-Mizer LT40 sawmill which saws six metres
long logs into boards and other products. However,
seeing a market for eight metres long boards, they
designed and built a bed extension for the mill.
“I am a 'builder', which explains my search for an
energy efficient solution because I run the sawmill
myself. When we discovered the Wood-Mizer
machine, I realized at once that this was the best
solution on the market”.
Thirteen years have passed and the Wood-Mizer
sawmill continues to operate at the firm Pila Vrsek
& Krob, converting spruce and firs into boards and
construction elements for wooden buildings. The
company is not big, with four to five people working
there, depending on the season. Three of them are
sawmill operators.
The sawmill operates eight hours, five days a
week and half a day on Saturday. It produces about
160 m3 of sawn lumber per month in the summer
and about 120 m3 per month in the winter. The
Wood-Mizer band blades are sharpened and set on
site and each month an additional box of fifteen new
blades is delivered
“Over the past thirteen years we've suffered no
serious breakages or repairs.
“Anyway, what could happen? The Wood-Mizer
sawmill has a novel and simple construction which is
reliable while delivering high quality sawn wood”,
extols Vladimir Vrsek.
But competitors don't sleep. There are three
sawmills in the neighbourhood. One is a huge state
enterprise with 50 workers.
“Our sawn timber prices are not the lowest”, he
admits.
“In our trade we maintain good relations with
people and charge them a fair price. That way we
almost can't go wrong!”
So Vladimir Vrsek's dreams came true. He created
a business that supplies him not only with a
livelihood but also fulfillment and a bit of time for his
pastimes. Indeed, he has several hobbies.
His children are grown up. The eldest son, 42, is an
economics consultant in Prague. The youngest, 31,
is a talented car electrician. His wife Jitka, a
sommelier, markets a number of vintage wines from
the Moravian region. Sixty-four years old Vladimir
Vrsek rides a Suzuki motor cycle with friends at a
motor club, of which he is administrator. The club is
in an old quartz mine called Pekelny Doly near Ceska
Lipa, general known as the 'Bikers' Mecca'! He also
follows the Slavia Praha football team.
The family lives in a house that Jitka Vrsek
inherited and its entirely wood interior was made
and fitted by Vladimir himself. Their life is full of
emotions, adventures and of course their business
with the Wood-Mizer sawmill.
WOOD-MIZER TODAY SPRING 2011
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