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Hardwood Blog
Perspectives and insights on the hardwood lumber industry.
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Friday, 05 May 2017 18:56
How Customer-Centric is your Culture?
For us in the hardwood lumber industry being customer centric is very important. We spend a lot of time and effort trying to find new and better ways to serve our customers succeed. From experience, we know that developing and maintaining a customer-centric culture within a company requires a conscious focus in strategy and a genuine commitment to putting the customer first in all departments. If you are looking for ways to enhance or create…
Monday, 24 April 2017 16:44
Could Width Sorted Red Oak Be Better for You?
Red oak is still one of the most popular and plentiful hardwoods in the market. For years it has been one of the most widely used species for things such as furniture, fine cabinetry, mouldings and flooring. It is also one of the most requested hardwoods for export which continues to keep it in high demand on a global basis. By far, the majority of red oak that we provide to our customers is in…
Tuesday, 11 April 2017 17:01
Would More Transparency Improve Your Business?
One of the many thought leadership topics people are talking about these days is transparency. We’ve come across it a couple of times in the hardwood lumber industry and definitely feel it is worth some attention. When we speak of transparency we frame the conversation around the themes knowledge sharing, cooperation and information disclosure. In practice, it includes the elimination of hidden agendas, withholding valuable timely information or important relevant details one would need to…
Tuesday, 28 March 2017 14:17
Rift Sawn & Quarter Sawn Lumber Doesn’t End With White Oak
If you have ever admired those beautiful straight grain patterns in flooring or fine furniture you might have been enjoying what is referred to as rift sawn or quarter sawn lumber. The most common way sawmills saw lumber is flat sawn or plain sawn. This typically results in a grain pattern that is peaked or what is sometimes referred to as cathedral. Quarter-sawing and rift-sawing are two other sawing techniques. Rift and quartered lumber, although…
Thursday, 09 March 2017 21:19
Consider Constantly Challenging Your Business
One constant you can count on in business is change. Successful leaders understand that what once proved effective for business may have little or no bearing on if it will be successful in the future. That can certainly be true in the hardwood lumber industry. Over the years we have learned to never take success for granted. Markets change, customers move and fashions shift impacting the supply and demand for lumber. With this in mind,…
Tuesday, 21 February 2017 20:33
Why Your Hardwood Sawyer Is So Important
Have you ever heard the expression, “no two hardwood logs are the same”? Well, it is true. Each tree that is harvested is unique. Their dimensions, limb placements, and even trunk measurements are all unique. So in the conversion process from logs to hardwood boards, the role of the sawyer is critical to maximize how much usable lumber can be extracted from each log. Some say it is part science part art. A skilled and…
Monday, 06 February 2017 21:53
Does your inventory turn fast enough?
Not all product inventory turns at the same velocity. In the hardwood lumber industry inventory can be impacted by many different factors including export regulations, log availability and fashion just to name a few. Sometimes bundles of inventory can pile up in a concentration yard and before you know it you have less room to maneuver causing operational delays and manpower problems to deal with. Of course it is best to deal with slow moving…
Tuesday, 17 January 2017 16:52
Drying Hardwood Lumber
Have you ever wondered how hardwood lumber is dried in preparation for manufacturing? For most consumer products and applications hardwood lumber needs to be dried prior to use. The process of developing hardwood boards begins at the sawmill. In a sawmill is where the process of cutting round hardwood logs into flat hardwood boards is done. At that stage, the boards cut are considered to be green. This means the boards are still full of…
Wednesday, 04 January 2017 15:23
Consider Width Sorted Hardwood Lumber
If you are familiar with the hardwood lumber industry you would know that the standard way to sell hardwood lumber is in random width and length bundles. However, quite often manufacturers will look to your suppliers to provide boards sorted and packaged in a special way which enhances their manufacturing process. We see requests for width sorted hardwood lumber frequently, if not daily, and we are always eager to try to accommodate! Width sorted lumber…
Thursday, 08 December 2016 18:20
Do You Request Northern or Southern Red Oak Hardwood Lumber?
Most experts in the hardwood lumber industry will tell you that not all red oak is the same. For many reasons, most people will categorize red oak into two general classes. Northern red oak and southern red oak and in our opinion they truly are different. When we refer to northern red oak we are referring to lumber from the Quercus rubra family. This is typically found in the hardwood forests stretching from Southern Canada…
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Monday, 28 November 2016 20:04
Ways to Increase Innovative Thinking in Your Business
Most business leaders would agree that innovative thinking within their organization is important. At American Lumber, we strive to create an environment where employees are encouraged to come up with new creative ideas to help the business grow. We find that great new ideas and better ways of doing things can come from every department and from anyone in the company. It’s not realistic to think that innovation should only come from your senior leadership…
Thursday, 17 November 2016 13:59
White Oak Continues to be a Hardwood in Demand
White oak is one of the most popular hardwoods requested from our customers. It is a common wood for some of the finest flooring, cabinet and furniture produced today. We find that much of our white oak is often harvested in the Appalachian region of the United States which ranges from the foothills of southern New England all the way down to the mountains of Tennessee. White oak from this region is world renowned for…
Wednesday, 26 October 2016 15:33
Does speed in business make a difference?
How important is speed in your industry? Do you value speed more than other aspects of business? In the hardwood lumber industry, we feel speed makes a difference these days. Thanks to vast amounts of online resources we find buyers are more educated than ever before. We have heard the statistic that as much as 70% of the buying cycle is probably complete before a prospect makes first contact with you. Therefore, you have to…
Monday, 26 September 2016 18:49
Tropical Hardwoods and Solid Hardwood Flooring
Many people think of us as just a provider of North American hardwoods. However, that is not the case. We have developed a great deal of expertise in sourcing and providing tropical hardwood species as well, and we have found that many of these imported hardwood species are used successfully to made solid hardwood flooring. In many instances, their color, grain patterns and unique lumber figure can give a room a real enhanced level of…