National Hardwood Magazine - January 2024

Jackel Enterprises encompasses a two-acre, 40,000-square-foot shop, mill and lumberyard purchased and expanded in 2016.
JACKEL ENTERPRISES INC. Continued
We’re not car salesmen; we’re wood people. We want
the job, but we want to be sure it’s the right material for
the job. We have a significant ability to assure this because
of our experience. The key word in our business
is serve; we serve our customers.”
He also noted that while the company is small with
only 12 employees, it has the ability to compete on a
larger scale. “For a small company, we have capacity for
high volume. We can compete with anybody in terms of
capacity.”
Jackel Enterprises responded to the global pandemic
by growing its just-in-time operations. “We’re very
nimble,” Jackel said. “We’ve lowered our inventory and
strengthened our trading partnerships where we can buy
and sell per job. The jobs are of a size that enables us
to do that even when the supply chain has been difficult.
There was a period when we were selling projects and
the price of inventory doubled in a period of a year. It
would take 90 days to get a smaller purchasing number
than we would normally buy. At one point a full truckload
of Cedar went from $90,000 to $180,000. That wasn’t
practical and it was difficult to operate under those circumstances.
With our trading partners, we’ve been able
to make adjustments and meet the needs faster.”
Jackel initially set up shop in his own home. “It was
just me, a pickup truck and a phone,” he recalled. Two
years into his new venture, Jackel moved the company
into a warehouse, then relocated again in 1998. The
company finally moved into its new location in 2016.
Jackel, who runs the company with his son, Noah
(vice president), sells about 95 percent of the company’s
products to other businesses. “We sell to cabinet shops,
product manufacturers and high-end residential and
commercial contractors,” said Jackel, whose firm also
encompasses an urban forestry division (West Coast
Woods) and a manufacturing firm dedicated to making
real wood box beams. Through the former, the company
salvages street trees, urban fall-downs and institutional
tree removals, and converts the logs into lumber and
live-edge slabs.
Jackel Enterprises Inc. is Forestry Stewardship Council
(FSC)-certified. n
For more information visit www.JackelEnterprises.com.
Class 204 Graduates From
NHLA Inspector Training School
Left to Right Standing: Jeremy Prosser, Billy Joe Blackburn, Eric
Osborne, Dylan Maggert, Michael Janjigian
Seated: Lucian Gratz, Roman Matyushchenko (Instructor), Freddy
Guevara
The National Hardwood Lumber Association, headquartered
in Memphis, TN, celebrated the graduation of
Class 204 from the Inspector Training School (ITS) recently.
Geoff Webb, Dean of NHLA Inspector Training School,
kicked off the celebration, saying, “It’s an honor to welcome
this class into the ranks of lumber inspectors. This
is just the start of your career, and it is essential to re-
Roman Matyushchenko presented the individual achievement awards.
Outstanding individual awards recipients were as follows:
•Jeremy R. Prosser, ITS Educational Foundation Award for Highest Overall Average
•Lucian H. Gratz, Howard Hanlon Award for Second Highest Overall Average
•Jeremy R. Prosser, Westside Hardwood Club Award for Highest Board Run Average
•Billy Joe Blackburn IV, Milt Cole Award for Best Attitude/Citizenship
Enrollment is now open for Class 205 in Memphis, TN,
beginning on January 8, 2024. To enroll or learn more
about the Program, please visit www.nhla.com.
The NHLA Inspector Training School has a proud and
rich 70-year history, graduating more than 7,500 students
since its conception. The Program teaches the
rules and applications of the NHLA grading system and
prepares students for a career in the Hardwood industry.
This unique Program has earned worldwide respect,
attracting students from throughout the United States,
member that the lumber inspector is a key employee and
a vital part of the team at the sawmill, the concentration
yard and the entire Hardwood lumber operation.”
Nick Thompson, President and Co-Owner of Thompson
Appalachian Hardwoods, gave the graduates an
energizing keynote address. As a graduate of the NHLA
Inspector Training School (Class 166), he told students,
“I’m emotional about this School; it has been a cornerstone
of my life since childhood; graduating from Inspector
Training School was a foundational point for my career
and allowed me to preserve my family’s legacy.”
Thompson continued, “We sent our employee, Freddy
Guevara, to the school. He graduates today. We paid
for Freddy’s education because we know it’s essential to
continue to develop quality talent, especially talent that is
part of the next generation. Trust me, you will look back
when you are my age and realize this was the best eight
weeks you ever spent.”
Class President Jeremy R. Prosser of Ontario Hardwood
Products spoke to his fellow students, saying,
“This class has been a great experience for all of us; we
all gained valuable knowledge to further our careers and
have formed priceless memories at the school that will
stay with us for the rest of our lives.”
Graduates of the 204 class were:
•Billy Joe Blackburn IV, D & T Sawmill, LLC
•Lucian H. Gratz, Midwest Hardwood Company LLC
•Freddy Guevara, Thompson Appalachian Hardwoods, Inc.
•Dylan J. Maggert, Hartzell Hardwoods, Inc.
•Jeremy R. Prosser, Ontario Hardwood Products, Ltd.
•Eric V. Osborne, Connor Sports
•Michael A. Janjigian, Independent
Canada, Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia.
The world’s largest and oldest Hardwood industry association,
NHLA represents companies and individuals
that produce, use, and sell North American Hardwood
lumber or provide equipment, supplies, or services to the
Hardwood industry. It was founded in 1898 to establish
a uniform system of grading rules for the measurement
and inspection of Hardwood lumber. Since 1979, its
headquarters have been in Memphis. n
To learn more about NHLA, please visit www.nhla.com.
20 JANUARY 2024 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE RealAmericanHardwood.com/industry
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JANUARY 2024 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 21