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Hardwood Blog
Perspectives and insights on the hardwood lumber industry.
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Wednesday, 26 June 2019 12:31
Motivating your Top Performers
Employees are valuable members of your team. But sometimes a few of those team members set themselves apart due to their consistantcy and high levels of productivity. High-performers like these are a huge asset to a business, both in their contributions to the company and also as an example for their other team members. It is not uncommon to see higher levels of responsiblity, increased moral, and other benefits throughout your business when others know…
Friday, 14 June 2019 14:12
What is the difference between Hard Maple and Soft Maple?
Maple trees are one of the most common species of hardwoods in North American forests. There are an abundance of variations of the Maple but they are commonly placed into two categories – Hard Maple and Soft Maple. Typically, Hard Maple is most often known as Sugar Maple. Soft Maples on the other hand are comprised of a few varietires of Maple Species such as Big Leaf Maple (Acer Macrophyllum) and Red Maple (Acer Rebrum).…
Wednesday, 22 May 2019 18:53
Effective Reputation Management
In our digital era, it is paramount for businesses to monitor and manage their online reputation. What may seem to be a seemingly insignificant customer complaint can cause a rippling effect that can damage your companies reputation. At American Lumber, we are always working to maintain a positive business reputation in a variety of ways. This could be through online monitoring measures, providing high quality hardwood lumber products, or even focusing on exceptional customer service.…
Thursday, 20 December 2018 19:18
Measuring your Marketing ROI
In an attempt to feed the sales pipeline, many companies engage in a variety of marketing initiatives. As with anything, some efforts for lead generation are more effective than others. But without a way to measure your marketing campaigns return on investment (ROI), it can be very difficult to determine which of your marketing initiatives have been most effective. At American, we have found that the best metrics are those that allow us to understand…
Thursday, 06 December 2018 18:54
Things to Consider When Choosing Cherry Lumber
Due to its distinct coloration, grain pattern, and excellent finishing qualities, Cherry has been one of the more popular hardwood lumber species due to its ability to excel in a variety of applications. It can be found used in furniture, paneling, woodenware, interior décor, cabinets, and sometimes even hardwood flooring. With the ability for it to be used in a variety of products we have seen a real increase in interest and demand for Cherry…
Monday, 26 November 2018 15:52
A Few Tips for Refining your Decision-Making Process
While business leaders must display intelligence, good judgment, and curiosity in both at work and in their daily lives, perhaps one of the most important traits they need to display is the ability to make decisions. Sometimes those decisions are controversial, but they need to be made with confidence and also with the ability to persuade others. Without this, businesses can get stuck in a rut and miss out on valuable growth and development opportunities.…
Friday, 09 November 2018 17:18
The Possibilities of Poplar
Poplar is one of the most often found hardwoods in North American forests. Found growing throughout the eastern United States and is one of the top hardwood lumber products produced in terms of footage. With its wide availability, Poplar has found use in a variety of applications. These are the most common applications that we have found our customers use Poplar lumber for. Furniture – Poplar has always been used as a material for upholstered…
Monday, 08 October 2018 19:28
How to Build Trust in the Workplace
When you think of a workplace that contains a high degree of trust, what does that look like? It is true that employees who feel they are trusted in their skills, jobs, and judgment are often the ones that perform better and are willing to go above and beyond their job responsibilities. In addition to this, they are also much more invested in the success of the employer in the marketplace. So, what can stand…
Monday, 08 October 2018 15:49
Proper Drying is the Key to High Quality Tropical Lumber
The difference between tropical lumber dried overseas versus tropical lumber dried in the US is very noticeable. When you have lumber that has too dry or too wet, or perhaps even dried too fast, or too slow, it can cause a lot of problems during the manufacturing process. At American Lumber we work together with a group of trusted sawmill partners from Africa to Central and South America. These suppliers supply us with sustainably harvested…
Thursday, 13 September 2018 13:14
Should You Transform Your Company Into a Digital Business?
The days of companies having a choice of whether or not to do business digitally are long gone. With the amount of data that is available, access to this data allows you to continue to grow. It also increases efficiency on day to day business operations, this makes participating in the digital transformation a necessity to keeping up with competitors. Collecting and analyzing data regularly is often a practice of successful companies. And with today’s…
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Tuesday, 04 September 2018 18:53
How Width Sort Tallying Makes a Difference
Not all width sorts are the same. Those that are newer to the hardwood lumber industry might be surprised by the subtle differences that different hardwood suppliers have when sorting and packaging width sorted product. And these differences can really make an impact on the value of a load of hardwood lumber. Width sorting is a common hardwood industry practice across all species and grades. The purpose of this is to provide manufacturers with lumber…
Tuesday, 07 August 2018 15:21
5 Ways to Increase Employee Engagement
There is no doubt that employee engagement in the workplace is important. But recently, there has been evidence that engagement is not where businesses would like it to be. The lack of engagement can have a rippling effect that can be felt throughout the entire company. And it can often lead to additional time spent on recruitment, interviewing and hiring of new employees. Many companies face this challenge and the hardwood lumber industry is no…
Thursday, 02 August 2018 17:42
What About Basswood?
When people think of hardwoods the first species that come to mind seem to be Red Oak, White Oak, Walnut, Cherry, etc. But what about Basswood? Often times Basswood is lumped in the “other” category on industry reports since it typically only represents about 5-8% of the total timber production volume today. But maybe its time for a change. Generally speaking, Basswood (Tilla americana) is a soft, light wood that is stable and can be…
Monday, 23 July 2018 19:00
Mentorship Programs. Can They Help Your Business?
When hiring new members to their teams, many companies choose to hire externally, while others choose to promote from within. In these cases, there is a confidence and trust in the individuals who have worked within the organization and are ready to take the next step. This is something that we have come to experience firsthand when we have needed to fill important positions within our lumber yards, sawmills, and even at our corporate headquarters.…