National Hardwood Magazine - June 2022

When lumber is received at Alan McIlvain Company, it is
put on sticks and air-dried.
Streamlining With Equipment Upgrades At
Alan McIlvain Company
Marcus Hook, PA–Hardwood lumber distributor
Alan McIlvain Company, headquartered
here, has been offering custom-width sorted
Hardwood lumber since 1798. Product offerings
from Alan McIlvain Company include: custom-width
sorted rough lumber, custom and standard mouldings,
S4S with priming, sanding, and kiln-drying
available.
With arguably one of the most diverse and largest
inventories of any Hardwood supplier on the East
Coast, Alan McIlvain Company purchases approximately
12 million board feet combined annually in
Hardwoods, softwoods and imported species.
Stocking primarily FAS grade or Better Hardwoods
based on National Hardwood Lumber Association
(NHLA) grading rules, species available
include Red and White Oak; Ash; Basswood; Birch;
Walnut; Hard and Soft Maple; Poplar; Hickory; Cypress;
Cherry; Alaskan yellow cedar; white pine;
By Michelle Keller
Sapele; Spanish cedar; African Mahogany; Jatoba;
Teak; Ipe; and Santos Mahogany (4/4-16/4 FAS &
Better).
In the last three years, Alan McIlvain Company
has upgraded all of its operational equipment to
streamline processes and obtain efficiency gains.
From left are members of the seventh generation of leadership in
the Alan McIlvain Company: Weld McIlvain, Jordan McIlvain and
Alan “Lan” McIlvain III.
Hardwood is seen being run through a rip saw. “We offer consistency
in all species of Hardwood lumber,” Lan McIlvain said.
With state-of-the-art dry kilns and some of the most
experienced operators in the industry producing
consistently dried, tension-free lumber, President
Lan McIlvain said the company’s automated sorting
equipment allows them to produce a wide variety
of width, length and grade combinations. “Our
process is unified so that a customer can order the
exact lumber he needs to complete his projects
with minimal waste,” he explained. “We’ve recently
updated our equipment with new Weinig moulders
and a new priming line that not everybody knows
we have. We installed a new Weinig ripsaw and
Weinig grinders.” Vice President Jordan McIlvain
added, “All of the new moulders have HSK heads
on them.”
The company also has six American Wood Dryer
kilns with 60,000 board foot capacity each as well
as a 30-bin automated stacking/sorting system.
Jordan McIlvain described the process at Alan
McIlvain Lumber Company. “We receive the lumber
and put it on sticks and air-dry it for the appropriate
amount of time depending on the species
and thickness. After we dry it, we bring it right back
in and take it off the sticks and sort it by widths and
lengths so that it’s presorted. After the sort it’s run
into inventory. Everything is run to order; we don’t
pre-run mouldings. Everything is run to the specifications
of the customer’s request.”
Lan McIlvain added, “We inventory all FAS lumber
in several different species and then we sell
about 50 percent of it as rough and surfaced lumber.
The other 50 percent goes into our moulding
and millwork operation. We have a priming line and
offer painted mouldings, also. Our millwork is all
custom and run-to-order for customer specs.”
With many of their lumber and lumber products
in special applications, Lan McIlvain said diversity
“We offer consistency in all
species of Hardwood lumber.
When the market changes, we’re
flexible. We’ve grown the company to
a point where we focus on customizing
our products to our customers’
specifications.”
– Alan McIlvain Company President, Lan McIlvain
and quality set Alan McIlvain apart. The company’s
7th generation status provides the evidence that
the operation not only provides quality products,
but has the wherewithal to withstand challenges.
“As one of the premier Hardwood lumber suppliers
in the mid-Atlantic region, we provide quality Hardwoods
for an infinite variety of applications,” Jordan
McIlvain said. “We’re committed to providing
exceptional customer service. Every department
contains friendly, knowledgeable staff to assist in
every stage of the lumber and moulding process—
from supplying quotes based on customer requests
to delivering every order as quickly as possible.”
“We offer consistency in all species of Hardwood
lumber,” Lan McIlvain added. “When the market
changes, we’re flexible. We’ve grown the company
to a point where we focus on customizing our products
to our customers’ specifications.”
Focusing on the midsize customers from two to
three person shops to larger, commercial customers,
the strong roots of the Alan McIlvain Company,
located 10 miles south of Philadelphia, have proven
sturdy over the 224-year span that the firm has
been in business.
Please turn to page 38
Alan McIlvain Company is committed to providing exceptional
customer service, even in inclement weather.
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