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What began as two childhood friends tinkering in a backyard has become a forestry-equipment company with its global headquarters, and heart, located in their hometown of Port Perry, Ontario.
Woodland Mills was founded in 2009 by Josh Malcolm and Neil Bramley. The pair set out to solve a problem they understood firsthand: landowners needed dependable, professional‑grade equipment that didn’t cost a fortune. Their first product was a sawmill, built in a backyard and sold to neighbours through local ads. Word spread quickly. Customers would come and test a unit, and if they liked what they saw, they would load it into the back of their truck and take it home. Momentum followed, and suddenly the backyard wasn’t big enough anymore.
“All products are engineered, researched and developed right here on site,” says Jay Ennis, Head of Brand at Woodland Mills. And that remains true today.
From Port Perry to the World
What started in a backyard grew into a local warehouse, then into something much bigger. Today, Woodland Mills operates roughly 100,000 sq. ft. of warehousing and distribution space across Canada and the U.S., all supported by its global headquarters in Port Perry. Inside that building, you’ll find engineering, R&D, product advisory, sales and operations teams, working right alongside the founders.
Despite opportunities to relocate, Josh and Neil kept the company grounded where it began. As the team puts it, “home is where the heart is”. “A lot of the people that worked here were close to this community,” says Neil. “So, we didn’t want to look outside this area.” And that heartbeat – craftsmanship, honesty, and hands on problem solving – is what customers feel in every piece of equipment, preserving the culture that made the brand successful in the first place. “Without a team, there is no Woodland Mills,” Josh adds.
With a number of new products slated for 2026 and prototypes already in the pipeline for 2027, innovation isn’t slowing down; it’s accelerating.
Where Ideas Become Equipment
Product ideas at Woodland Mills aren’t dreamed up in isolation – they come from the people that use them. Ideas arrive through customer feedback, founder insight (they’re landowners too), and the company’s strategic roadmap. These ideas are triaged, vetted and move through a multi-stage development cycle that spans engineering, prototyping, testing and marketing. It’s a cross-functional effort, all under one roof, with teams collaborating to bring concepts to life.
Prototyping can take months, or even a full year. When a product is ready, staff receive hands-on training, so they can truly stand behind what they sell. “When you call Woodland Mills, there’s a high likelihood the person on the phone has built and run the product,” Ennis proudly says.
A Showroom that Stops People in their Tracks
Visitors expecting a quiet office are often stunned when they walk into Woodland Mills’ Port Perry site. The facility also doubles as a showroom. “We keep 20 or 30 fully built forestry products on the floor,” Ennis explains. Visitors are often amazed to look up at 16-foot sawmills, wood chippers and trailers fully assembled.
Woodland Mills also hosts live demo days the last Friday of every month – rain, snow or shine – welcoming customers from across Ontario to watch milling and equipment demonstrations.
Behind the scenes, the headquarters handles service parts and thousands of incoming calls from across North America. The company’s customer care culture isn’t an afterthought; it’s woven directly into how they operate.
More than Just a Company
What started as a local brand has grown into a global community with a devoted following. The company has earned roughly 13,000 five-star reviews, and its social media channels include hundreds of thousand of followers, with about 80,000 members on its Facebook group alone. Customers don't just buy products from Woodland Mills – they gather round them as brand champions, a testament to the founders’ commitment to quality and customer service.
“It’s not something you see very often with other brands. You kind of have to fight to create that bit of magic, but it just organically happened for us,” Ennis says. “We still refer to customers on a first-name basis.”
The company’s reach spans tens of thousands of customers globally, with more than 200 manufacturing and distribution team members and partners worldwide, while the Port Perry head office staffs roughly 50-60 people. The COVID pandemic also accelerated demand as more people invested in property and outdoor projects. But Woodland Mills credits their continued growth to authenticity and continued founder involvement. The founders remain “boots on the ground”, involved in day-to-day decisions and in every major meeting. “Neil and I are still the engineering managers – I try to spend at least half my work week sitting with engineers or working directly on new products,” says Josh.
Looking Ahead
The future is wide open for Woodland Mills. With prototypes on deck, market expansion across the U.S., and a product pipeline that continues to broaden, the company is geared for its next chapter.
For local talent, Woodland Mills offers a surprising career story: a global-scale company operating in a small town, where hands-on product knowledge and customer relationships matter. “We’re very grateful of the team we have here, and I believe everyone here is adding to that culture,” Neil reflects. “That’s a big part of the Woodland Mills magic.” Josh has a similar sentiment. “We look back at those early days and it’s really humbling to just know where it came from. We are gaining momentum that I think we can build on for the next 15 years. We’re just getting started.”
Woodland Mills proves something important: big ambition doesn’t require a big city. Sometimes the world’s best ideas start exactly where you grew up, right in your own backyard.
