National Hardwood Magazine - August 2018

The company’s solid

The company’s solid wood products are crafted from Hard and Soft Maple, Red and White Oak, Cherry and other Hardwood species. Penwood Manufacturing Promotes Growth, Leadership Through Hardwood Furniture By Clare Adrian Fresno, OH–Business as usual is changing rapidly here in Coshocton County, where Penwood Manufacturing LLC is located. “The way it’s been,” noted marketing manager, Melvin Schlabach, who multitasks as accountant and office manager, “The Amish manufacturers of the area have a back log of work to last up to a few months. We were the first to offer order confirmation, and now other companies are moving in that direction.” The lifeblood of the Amish tradition of quality runs through every facet of the Penwood Manufacturing operation and permeates each piece of furniture and fireplace mantel produced. Company lumber buyer Ben E. Miller purchases over 200,000 board feet of Hard and Soft Maple, Red and White Oak, Cherry, Elm, Hickory and Walnut lumber (Select and Better, No. 1 Common, 4/4 and 5/4, kiln-dried and S4S) per year to turn out the handcrafted furniture that Penwood Manufacturing’s high-end customer base expects. What sets them apart and amplifies the company’s presence is the added strength of being able to deliver, consistently and on time, a quality piece of furniture. Company owner, Paul Nisley, was inspired to focus on service at the start of his company in 1999 after a sawmill he operated burned to the ground. At that time he decided to shift gears to manufacturing furniture in a 4,400 square foot facility. He was surveying local furniture manufacturing companies in the community and learning that lead times for delivery were out 10 to 14 weeks. Schlabach recounted, “Paul realized people didn’t just want furniture, they wanted service. There’s a problem with waiting and if they get a product in a shorter lead time they’re happier.” Nisley shifted into high gear striving for his to be a service-oriented company, offering order confirmation shipping dates at a time when few other companies were doing so. Nisley added short lead time to what he already wanted his company to achieve. He stated, “Our main focus is to have a great environment, practice Lean Manufacturing, and produce only the very best quality.” His winning formula is evident in a growth pattern that showed a steady increase and only slowed a bit as the economy went down. Schla- 22 AUGUST 2018 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE

Anthem is one of Penwood Manufacturing’s brands. The line consists of a range of solid Hardwood fireplace mantels. ” Office furniture pieces are produced by Penwood Manufacturing under the brand name of Spire. Our main focus is to have a great environment, practice Lean Manufacturing, and produce only the very best quality. ” Penwood Manufacturing, located in Fresno, OH, is a manufacturer of custom home and office furniture, bedroom suites, fireplace mantels and more. –Paul Nisley, owner, Penwood Manufacturing LLC bach concurred, “When we work as lean as possible, having attended Lean Six Sigma training to use our space as efficiently as we can, we look at it as if it’s also affecting the bill to the customer.” It all starts with choice materials in the hands of excellent craftsmen, both from within the nearby areas. While better selling products are kept stocked, it is the customized orders that dominate the flow of work through the Penwood plant. Nisley confirmed, “Because of our customizing capabilities we get a lot of unusual requests and get the opportunity of building dream products that are customized specifically for the customers’ needs.” Furniture is made to order often in Red Oak, always dependable for its strength and durability, said Schlabach, Maple for its smooth look, Cherry, always popular with a reddish-brown color and soft friendly warm look to it. A niche market developed around Penwood’s usage of Tiger Maple and Flame Birch, to highlight panels of furniture pieces constructed from a complimentary wood species. Staining the light colored raw wood a darker color produces contrasting highs and lows that stand out from the rest of a piece. Requests come in also for some Walnut, Hickory, and Quartersawn White Oak. Most furniture pieces proceed off of the same line into the craftsmanship of the five various brands the company offers, which include: the Indigo Skies bedroom line, Barnet entertainment centers, Studio Essentials wall beds or murphy beds, Anthem fireplace mantels, and Spire office furniture. Schlabach noted, “We do a little bit of Mission and Shaker but we do a lot more Transitional and Modern styles and work with designers to get a more up-to-date look.” One internal staff member interprets what clients request for any imaginable style they can get onto paper, said Schlabach. Penwood wholesales their product to retailers across the U.S., including Alaska and into Canada, who cater to a clientele interested in buying high quality furniture that will last Please turn to page 40 AUGUST 2018 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 23