WHO’S WHO IN HARDWOOD
WHO’S WHO IN HARDWOOD PURCHASING Kevin Conner is general manager for Smith Flooring Inc., a manufacturer of unfinished strip flooring in Mountain View, Mo. Smith Flooring purchases 16 million board feet of Red and White Oak in all grades annually. Ten percent of their lumber purchases are FSC-certified. Smith Flooring is a member of the National Wood Flooring Association and the Missouri Forest Products Association. Conner has worked for Smith Flooring for 25 years, starting out as a laborer. He has worked in his present position the past five years. He graduated from Mountain View Birch Tree Liberty High School. He and his wife of 10 years, DeDe, have a son and two daughters. In his free time, Conner enjoys hunting and spending time with his family. • • Top Quality Kiln Dried Hardwood Lumber Rough/S2S • Specializing in 5/4 thru 8/4 Red & White Oak • Also: Cherry, Hard Maple and Soft Maple • Shipping Mixed Trucks/Containers Worldwide S Sirianni Keith McPherson Jim Sirianni Tom Armentano Hardwoods, Inc. 912 Addison Road Painted Post, New York 14870 Telephone: (607) 962-4688 Fax: (607) 936-6237 www.siriannihardwoods.com shwds@stny.rr.com Jeff Knell is president and owner of Frosty Hollow Hardwoods ofVandergrift, Pa. Frosty Hollow is a manufacturer of flooring, moulding, paneling, dimension stock, as well as a retailer and wholesaler of green and kilndried lumber. Knell purchases 500,000 board feet of Ash, Cherry, Hard and Soft Maple, Red Oak and Poplar annually. The company is focused on vertical integration, allowing it to take raw material and produce finished goods at a competitive price. Frosty Hollow continually improves its process and passes the cost savings on to the customer. Born inNew Kensington, Pa., in 1966, Knell has been with the family-owned Frosty Hollow since 1988. He attended Penn State, majoring in business management, is married with two children, a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and occasional hunter. • Yves Lapointe handles lumber buying and yard and kiln management for PROLAM, a manufacturer in Cap St. Ignace, Quebec. PROLAM manufactures laminated Hardwood truck and trailer flooring and offers a variety of products such as “WAXIN” and PUR protection. PROLAM buys between 25 and 30 million board feet annually of No. 2 Common and No. 3 Common green lumber in Hard Maple, Red Leaf Maple, Red and White Oak and Yellow Birch, and as much certified wood as is available. The company’s niche is providing for North American truck and trailer manufacturers. PROLAM has adjusted to the economic downturn by making major investments the past two years in vision cutting and optimizing processes to increase their yield and productivity. The company is a member of the National Hardwood Lumber Association, Canadian Hardwood Bureau, New England Lumbermen’s Association and the Penn-York Lumbermen’s Club. 48 Hardwoods Have Workability
A brief sketch of the leading purchasing executives in the Hardwood Industry Lapointe has worked for PROLAM for 13 years, the last six years as lumber buying manager. He has worked in the industry for 16 years. A graduate of St. Thomas High School in Montreal, Lapointe also attended Andre-Laurendeau College in Montreal. He and his wife, Anne Langlois, were married in July, 2010. In his free time, Lapointe enjoys fishing and hunting and other outdoor activities. • Andrew Lauber is the purchasing agent and raw materials manager for Lauber Manufacturing Co., located in Archbold, Ohio. Lauber Manufacturing is a producer of custom dimension stock and furniture parts. Lauber purchases 180,000 board feet of Hard and Soft Maple, Red Oak and Poplar annually. Lauber has been in business for 81 years and its niche is original design wood production, in either short or long run jobs. Born in Archbold in 1985, Lauber has been with the family-owned Lauber Manufacturing since 2003. He graduated from North West State Community College, where he studied business management and accounting. In his spare time, Lauber enjoys hunting and fishing. • Ray Spivey Jr. is president of Cumberland Lumber & Manufacturing Company, Inc., a manufacturer of solid, unfinished Hardwood flooring in McMinnville, Tenn. The company purchases 15 million board feet of lumber annually in green 4/4 Red and White Oak in No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3A. Cumberland Lumber & Manufacturing processes this lumber into ¾- inch thick solid Hardwood flooring and sells its products nationally. It manufactures 2-1/4 inch, 3-1/4 inch and, on a limited basis, 4-inch and 5-inch wide flooring. The company is adjusting to current market conditions in many ways, including installing automation and increasing its line of credit. It has installed an automated nesting system and a moving arbor ripsaw. Cumberland Lumber & Manufacturing Company is a member of the National Wood Flooring Association and the National Hardwood Lumber Association. According to Spivey, Cumberland Lumber was the first woodworking plant to receive the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program Award from the State of Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Spivey has been president of the company for 13 years. He has worked for Cumberland Lumber & Manufacturing a total of 25 years. He has worked in the forest products industry 31 years, his first job coming in 1979 as a general laborer, including lumber pulling and stacking. He has also worked as a lumber grader, truck driver, forklift operator, knot saw operator, ripsaw operator, flooring machine feeder, flooring machine operator, chipper operator, supervisor, IT manager and salesman. Please turn the page JANUARY/2011 49
