When Amelia Swan Baxter started a Wisconsin construction firm specializing in the use of naturally round trees rather than neatly cut lumber, she spent a lot of time convincing potential clients of her product’s viability on a large scale.
“There’s a perception that there’s no way you could get it done well,” said Baxter, co-founder and CEO of WholeTrees Structures. “What we’re trying to do is demonstrate the method of getting (it) back in the market.”
Now the company’s beams and tresses made from round trees — known as Structural Round Timber — are featured across the country, including at Madison’s Festival Foods grocery store and the downtown children’s museum…