OAKS UNLIMITED -
OAKS UNLIMITED - Continued certified lumber and its availability,” he said. Oaks Unlimited is situated on 10 acres of land. The company has six dry kilns with 300,000 board foot capacity, three air-drying sheds and two enclosed warehouses. The firm keeps an inventory of approximately 2 million board feet at its facility. Pryor said, “About 70 percent of our lumber is exported with the other 30 percent sold in the domestic market.” His operation also has a planer, straight-line ripsaw, a Weinig moulder and an end matcher. Besides the company being a Hardwood concentration yard operation with modern lumber handling equipment, a wood fed boiler system, completely enclosed dry storage sheds, T-sheds and dry kilns; Oaks unlimited also has a separate wholesale division that enables them to serve a larger market. Oaks Unlimited sources from only select mills, which helps ensure that their lumber is of consistent quality and texture. Whenever you need Appalachian lumber shipped to specifications and on time, the people at Oaks Unlimited would like you to contact them. For more information visit www.oaksunlimited.com. • FRICK LUMBER - Continued from page 25 loyal employees, Brenda Frick said, some of them have never worked anywhere else.” Frick Lumber considers its 25 employees, some of them third-generation workers, as the company’s most important asset. Frick Lumber is located 30 miles Northwest of Fort Wayne, Ind., six miles West of Kendallville, Ind., on U.S. 6. We have company owned trucks with professional drivers that can deliver your order promptly, if you are within a 300 miles radius; however, we can arrange trucking anywhere in the United States. On average, Frick Lumber Company produces approximately 15,000 board feet of Hardwood lumber per day. Our air-dried inventory is at about 750,000 board feet and our kiln dried inventory is at about 1.6 million board feet. Dry kiln capacity includes up to 150,000 board feet with three Irvington Moore dry kilns. Frick Lumber Co. is a member of the Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen’s Association (IHLA) and National Hardwood Lumber Association The truck driver hauls the logs to the mill where the journey from log to lumber will begin. 42 Hardwoods...The All-Purpose Material
FRICK LUMBER - Continued Sticking green lumber as it comes off the green chain to be air dried, before kiln drying. (NHLA). Ford Sr., Ford Jr. and Travis Knox, (Ford Jr.’s son-in-law), all graduated from the NHLA Lumber Inspection School. “We have six inspectors and three of them attended short courses as well. The company is a member of the local Chamber of Commerce, and supports many non-profit organizations. For more information contact www.fricklumber.com, or call 800-463-2259, or e-mail: fricklbr@ligtel.com. • BROWN STREET FURNITURE - Continued from page 20 product line, dating back to the 1840s and best known for its bentwood feature, originally designed for snowshoes. They had transitioned to bending predominantly Ash wood into head and foot boards. Now a brand within a series of Brown Street Furniture collections, the Vermont Tubbs line retains the bentwood application, though said Kyle, it’s expanded into other more sophisticated designs to meet customer demand and current trends. Vermont Tubbs is well known for both its adult and juvenile bedroom furniture and one of the best constructed bunk beds produced in North America. The company distributes through a network of independent sales reps to independent furniture retailers, both large and small, throughout the U.S. and Canada. Delivered on a weekly basis by way of independent trailers or freight carriers, the majority travels east of the Mississippi River. Close to 70 employees, several of whom have been on the payroll since before the Tagers purchased the businesses, are involved in producing Brown Street Furniture in traditional methods of manufacturing from three-quarter-inch ledger panels, aged Maple drawer glides and dovetailing to hand rubbed stains. The furniture production strategy is quality, custom and delivery, noted Kyle. To achieve the highest quality of case good manufacturing, a four-point hand inspection is imbedded throughout the production process at four specific points of quality control: in assembly, sanding, finishing and final inspection. In 2009, the company adopted the Lean process of manufacturing, issuing in a philosophy of cross training, visual direction, and overall employee empowerment to most effectively and efficiently pull furniture through the factory. The process converted production from econo- Please turn the page AUGUST/2011 43
