VERMONT FURNITURE
VERMONT FURNITURE HARDWOODS continued from page 15 Vermont Furniture Hardwoods sells its picture frame mouldings to custom frame shops, galleries, and custom frame builders nationwide. The Flooring Mill’s customers include endusers and six local building supply and flooring stores. the national recession and shake off its effects, the company’s principals are keeping an eye on the tax liabilities associated with owning a growing manufacturing firm. “The more profit you make the more you have to pay in taxes, so we’re working hard to keep everything on track, make the right capital investments at the right time, and minimize the impact of tax liability.” Looking back on his 1988 decision to take over the company that he was working for at the time, Waldmann is happy to say that his gut instinct has paid off for himself, his family, and his team of dedicated employees. Through it all, Waldmann said he’s remained focused on a single goal: running a business that always puts the customer first, without exception. “Nothing goes out the door unless we’d be happy receiving that product ourselves,” Waldmann said, noting that substandard materials and final products are common in the picture frame moulding category. That reality leaves a wide open door for companies that are willing to go the extra mile to ensure quality, beauty, and consistency in their products. Being able to put “Made in the U.S.A.” labels on those Vermont Furniture Hardwoods products certainly doesn’t hurt either. “We have very few direct competitors here in the U.S.,” said Waldmann, who plans to keep the customer as a focal point as his firm continues to grow and reach new markets. “What we’ve been doing is working out very well for us. We plan to continue down that path and see where it takes us.” For more information visit www.vermonthardwoods.com. ■ 42 NOVEMBER 2014 ■ NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE
HARDWOODS ILD continued from page 17 Wilmington, NC, and we bring in 50 percent of our lumber products kiln-dried from Africa. That product either comes from CIB or other mills that we deal with that have state-of-the-art technology. The other half of our imported lumber products are custom kilndried in the U.S.” Hardwoods Import Lumber Division encompasses a 67,000- square-foot warehouse and a 2,500-square-foot office. “Once the imported lumber arrives at our warehouse we sort for grade, grain, figure and width and length specification. We package and grade everything and we distribute premium tropical imported Hardwoods to customers throughout North America,” Herga commented. Herga said his division in Leland carries about 15 different species. “The main import species now being used in the U.S. markets are Sapele, Mahogany, African Mahogany and Utile. We offer about 12 other tropical, more exotic species, which are used for flooring inlays and various other applications.” Some of the imported species of lumber handled by Hardwoods Import Lumber Division include: Afrormosia, Aniegre, Cumaru, Ipe, Iroko, Jatoba, Lacewood, Mukulungu, Padouk, Purpleheart, Sapele, Santos Mahogany, Tigerwood, and Wenge. Many of the species just mentioned go into decking. “We’re in the process of promoting Mukulungu decking,” Herga explained. “It’s a relatively new and beautiful species.” Primarily marketing to Hardwood distribution yards, Herga said his division also deals with large endusers. “One of the reasons we are using this model rather than having a large lumberyard is cost,” Herga noted. “Obviously since the recession, running a large lumberyard is very expensive overhead-wise, and we can do what we do here without having all the high overhead. The current trend is for a lot of the tropical suppliers in West Africa and South America, where we traditionally do business, to have their own kiln-drying plants. In days past we would have to bring in the product and dry it ourselves. That necessity no longer exists.” He continued, “So we keep our overhead down by having a small staff here and doing the preparation work here instead of the custom-dry, which becomes very expensive and labor intensive.” Herga said along with serving many of the same customers, the company remains a ‘just-in-time’ supplier. “Even before the recession, people were not and are not buying for inventory any longer. The company delivers by contract carrier and imports directly by container to all U.S. ports. Please turn the page NOVEMBER 2014 ■ NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 43
