SpruceTops

08/03/2016

The original spruce topper - Roy Halvorson - "Mr. Christmas Tree". The specialty forest product industry has Mr. Halvorson to thank for laying its foundation. At his peak in the late 1950s, Mr. Halvorson was harvesting over 1.5 million spruce tops annually and shipping his tabletop Christmas trees around the world. Cold storage allowed his operation to harvest ten months out of the year until shipping began in November. July and August were off months given the tender new growth on the black spruce tops is getting established. His ingenuity was significant. He played a role in developing a preservative allowing the trees to remain fresh well after harvest.

Below is a link from the December 1950 issue of Popular Mechanics featuring Mr. Halvorson's business.

Thanks Roy!

https://books.google.com/books?id=jNgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=roy+hallverson+tree&source=bl&ots=tmmIC_zs82&sig=RydBkmV86203fbMzngk9HM_gNVI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj39sWUmKTOAhWE7CYKHSKbCTUQ6AEIYzAP =onepage&q=roy%20hallverson%20tree&f=false

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07/29/2016

Many thanks to all who have contacted us after receiving our postcard – especially our neighbors across the border! The response so far has exceeded expectations. Kelly and I are super excited about increasing our presence in Wisconsin. For those of you checking us out for the first time – welcome. Please take time and look around. We encourage you to check out our website (www.sprucetops.com) for more depth of who we are and what we do.

We are happy to discuss the specialty forest products market and how we can help introduce them to your customers. A quick Google search of ‘spruce tops’ will show the creativity being done with this uniquely Minnesota forest product. We are willing to share Minnesota's 'secret’.

We appreciate your consideration – Sean and Kelly Timonen

07/28/2016

I love my crew. If Ryan, Kal, Tyler, Tucker, Cody, Corey and Alex were to form a rock band the only fitting name would be: TRUE GRIT. Harvesting tops is an activity where there are no easy days just varying degrees of hardness (think Mohs scale). The walking conditions in most black spruce bog are somewhere between a sand dune and a snowdrift – it’s tough. Cody had his pedometer on for several days last season and the average was nearly twenty miles! I guess constantly moving for roughly twelve hours gets one to the twenty-mile mark – all done in rubber boots. What really makes these guys special are their attitudes. No matter the conditions (believe me we endure the entire weather spectrum) their commitment and spirit is unwavering. Their parents did a hell of a job instilling work ethic into these young men. TRUE GRIT – these are my guys, my business’ most valuable assets. I am truly honored to work alongside these gentlemen. I could not be more excited to see how far their collective effort propels the business. It has been pretty amazing to this point! Thank you men!

07/26/2016

We work hard to procure the most productive harvest sites for spruce tops. Enjoy this brief video of a couple more gems set to some great music!

07/25/2016

Enjoy this brief video of a prospective harvest site located near the Canadian border. Our drone is quickly becoming an invaluable tool in the procurement process. Not to mention it's just plain cool! Can you see the snowflakes? Sadly, the video was taken on the second weekend in May this SPRING!

07/25/2016

With the new growth established on the evergreens we have been busy cutting samples for accounts looking to create promotional materials for the upcoming season.

07/25/2016

The 2016 growing season for evergreens in northern Minnesota has been outstanding. With the new growth largely set on the pines we have been busy cutting samples for accounts looking to create upcoming promotional materials.

In addition to providing samples, we have been steadily receiving orders from our AWESOME account base! It is amazing how things have changed since 2001 when we started. In the 'early days', we typically fielded orders in late August/early September. Fast forward to 2016 we start getting them in May! We believe this is due to the increasing prominence specialty forest products play to the financial success of our accounts.

Look for pics of recently harvested samples we're sending to our great customers!

07/12/2016

Near International Falls, Minnesota, in early January this year cataloging prospective harvest sites. Air temp was roughly -35 degrees.

07/12/2016

For more environmentally sensitive sites, a lighter footprint was necessary. Nothing on the market suited our needs so we fabricated a solution. Sean designed/fab'd this hydrostatic machine to forward bundled spruce tops out of wetter bogs.

07/09/2016

07/05/2016

Bombardier J-5 and RS-64

07/05/2016

Birch poles