National Hardwood Magazine - July 2012

(Left to Right): Jack

(Left to Right): Jack Evans, inside lumber sales coordinator, Fred Blackmon, vice president, and Greg Metts, assistant general manager. Heritage Forest Products Emphasizes Quality BY MICHELLE KELLER Deland, Fla. Heritage Forest Products Inc., based here, is a wholesale distributor of Hardwoods, Hardwood flooring, softwoods and imported woods. The firm purchases approximately 15 million board feet annually in both domestic and imported species, serving primarily cabinet shops and retail lumberyards, as well as boat manufacturers and millwork shops. Established in late 1985 by Fred Blackmon (previously with McEwen Lumber Company) and Don Meyer (Baillie Lumber Company), Heritage began by offering exclusively Northern and Appalachian Hardwoods and West Coast softwoods. Today Heritage Forest Products has more than doubled its warehouse capacity and added particleboard, plywood and an expanded cellular PVC line (Kleer) to its list of available products. “Our original warehouse and office was located in Orlando, Florida,” Blackmon explained. “We stayed there until we outgrew the existing facility in 2001. When we moved to Deland (near Daytona) we were able to more than double our warehouse space and triple the office size.” The approximate 80,000-square-foot warehouse facility is located in an industrial park, which adjoins the Deland airport. “We began our Heritage story with six employees on day one and currently have 19 at our Deland branch and eight at our division in Savannah, Georgia,” Blackmon continued. Entering his 40th year in the forest products industry, Blackmon’s experience dates back to his youth, as his father was also a lumberman. “I graduated from college on a Friday night and started to work on Monday morning at Louisiana Pacific Corporation (LP) in Augusta, Georgia,” he said. “My father set up the initial interview with LP in 1973. In 1976 I was hired by Martin Keaton of McEwen Lumber Company in High Point, N.C., as their head purchasing agent. Don Meyer, then-President of Baillie Lumber Co., in Hamburg, N.Y. and I reached an agreement to open a stand-alone wholesale distribution company in late 1985. By the time we opened in February 1986 my wife and I had come up with the name and logo for Heritage Forest Products, Inc., and we were off and running. Steve O’Connell agreed to come with me from McEwen in this new venture as our only outside salesman.” Baillie Lumber is Heritage’s largest stockholder and has been from the onset. “That year was not the greatest in terms of market timing for opening a lumber business,” Blackmon laughed. “But our struggles did not last long. Through the hard work of the six original ‘Heritage family’ mem- Please turn to page 39 20 Hardwoods Have Resiliency

Tim Blackmon (left) and Rob Cone (right) display Heritage’s Hardwood flooring samples. Accounting Administrative Assistant Marilyn Hroncich (left) and Controller Peggy Hearrin (right). Heritage Forest Products Inc., based in Deland, Florida, is a wholesale distributor of Hardwoods, Hardwood flooring, softwoods and imported woods. Heritage currently markets its products throughout Fla., Georgia and South Carolina. As operations continue to grow, Blackmon indicated expansions are on the horizon. Heritage’s 80,000-square-foot warehouse facility is located in an industrial park, which adjoins the Deland airport. JULY/2012 21