Table of Contents
A new wholesale trading company that combines lumber industry experience with cutting-edge AI technology has been formed by the team behind Yesler Building Materials Marketplace.
Lumber Runner Trading, Seattle, Wa., has assembled a team of expert “lumber runners,” who leverage proprietary technology to sell loads for mills, source loads for buyers, and drive efficiency throughout the supply chain.
Backed by new private investors, the firm was founded and is led by CEO Matthew Meyers, who founded Yesler in 2019 and served as CEO; chief revenue officer Michael Welch, formerly VP of sales for Yesler; and David Helmers, previously executive VP for Yesler.
Yesler made the decision to wind-down its software platform and the company operations in February after nearly five-and-a-half years offering various software solutions in the lumber vertical.
Lumber Runner’s sales team is headed by two former traders from Pelican Bay Forest Products—Max Heller, who will sell primarily KD Douglas fir, and Steve Ashley, who will specialize in green Doug fir.
The staff is supported by Amanda Matasick as operations success coordinator.
For mills, Lumber Runner can act as an extension of their sales teams with aligned incentives, offer flexible pricing (flat fee, fixed percentage, or margin share), and can provide traditional trading to prove its value.
For buyers, Lumber Runner can supply advanced inventory planning, automated replenishment, flexible relationship structures, and the option to start with traditional trading.
“We are a wholesale trading company. The tech we build is only for our use, but we’ll use it to create efficiency for our suppliers and customers,” says Matt Meyers. “When we ask ourselves, ‘Can technology solve this?,’ the answer is usually ‘Yes, with AI.’“
At its core, Meyers says, “We are building a supply chain company, starting with wholesale trading. We don’t really consider ourselves a tech company. We’re just doing what any company should do to attract talent, compete and win today and in the future.”
