Carolina Urban Lumber

Trees Get a Second Life in Charlotte through Treecycling

When a tree is cut down, what happens to it? Most often it is chipped for mulch, cut up for firewood, or ends up in a landfill. Damon Barron, owner of Carolina Urban Lumber, decided to do something about this issue.

“When trees come down, especially in the urban tree canopy, there isn’t a system for what to do with the tree waste,” Damon says. “I had a few decades of a career in the large global wood movement industry. I used my experience to create a business model for dealing with waste from the tree canopy.”

Damon founded Carolina Urban Lumber in 2014 and today the company processes 100,000 to 200,000 pounds of logs a week. Over the years, that’s a total of 7.7 million pounds of wood diverted from landfills.

Using upcycled wood from local trees, Carolina Urban Lumber creates beautiful one-of-a-kind furniture for homes and businesses – everything from coffee tables and countertops to conference tables. They specialize in tracking the journey of the tree, its approximate age, and even the block where it grew.  “When a client gets a new coffee table or a set of shelves for their kitchen, and they learn that the wood came from a local tree, I see a spark, an ‘aha’ moment,” Damon says. “They get excited about our business model and wonder why we haven’t always done this. It’s very energizing and it feels good. To be able to make a living doing something that feels good is really the magic recipe.”

The company also offers a variety of services to customers including kiln drying, sawmill, and shop facilities. “We have some of the biggest and most unique machines around. We try to take the tools we have and offer them to people who might not be able to get their project done,” Damon says. “For example, if someone has a sawmill but doesn’t have a dry kiln, we’ll dry their wood for them. We like to say that we are a la carte – we’ll do as much or as little as a customer wants.”

Carolina Urban Lumber employees are the heart and soul of the business, and looking out for them is a top priority for Damon. “I know that while my employees enjoy coming to work and creating cool things, they are really here to support their families. I take that responsibility very seriously. If I can create something that brings them closer to financial stability, then I’ve been successful.”

This beautiful conference table in the Charlotte City Manager’s office was created by Carolina Urban Lumber from a recycled Charlotte tree.  

Damon connected with TowneBank after talking with another small business owner about banking. “Starting a small business, not having a good understanding of working capital, and not having a CFO as most small businesses don’t, I learned the hard way that in order to grow my business, I needed a good relationship with a bank,” Damon says. “When I was sharing an idea with a friend who has a small business, he said, ‘What does your banker think about it?’ I said, ‘What do you mean my banker?’  I hadn’t thought much about personal banking. When I first met Will Bishop, he explained all that to me. It’s been a wonderful partnership. I can honestly say that I wouldn’t be where I am today without my relationship with Will and TowneBank.”

Carolina Urban Lumber is also a Towne Insurance member working with Ben Moore, senior risk advisor in the Ballantyne office.

To learn more and to see photos of some beautiful furniture pieces created from Charlotte trees, visit CarolinaUrbanLumber.com.