Hardwood Floors of Hillsboro purchases millions of board feet of North American Hardwoods annually, including Red and White Oak, Ash, Cherry, Birch, Red Elm, Hard Maple and Black Walnut. Hardwood Floors Of Hillsboro Goes To Long Lengths To Please Customers By Clare Adrian Hillsboro, WI–Customers that appreciate the natural beauty of long length wood flooring with its inherent knots and character marks also appreciate the willingness of Hardwood Floors of Hillsboro LLC, headquartered here, to meet the challenge to supply it. Forty percent of the unfinished Hardwood flooring produced by the company is in long lengths and that number is mounting along with the steady growth of the company. Co-owner Kent Barnes is quick to point out that the success of the company is not a solo act and acknowledges all the players and factors. The long and short of Hardwood Floors of Hillsboro’s success, he said, is a straight line from vendors to quality lumber to quick turnaround and customer service. Putting a peg in an average board footage amount purchased per year is a fleeting attempt as usage scales upward. The volume of lumber purchased in 2015 was close to 2 million board feet of domestic Hardwoods, including Red and White Oak, Ash, Cherry, Birch, Red Elm, Hard Maple and Black Walnut (primarily No. 1 Common and No. 2A and some uppers). Barnes noted, “One thing that contributes to our success is we align ourselves 16 NOVEMBER 2016 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE with great dry kilns and great product. They make our business stand out through the products that we buy from them. It’s not just us.” Hardwood Floors of Hillsboro sells to flooring wholesalers in large markets from Boston, MA, to Spokane, WA, from Arizona to Canada, and has Walnut products shipping all the way to Hawaii. Barnes and his partner, Salena Ball, know their customers, and that tastes differ from one area of Hardwood Floors of Hillsboro is headquartered in Hillsboro, WI.
Shown here is the 2-story, 1,850-square-foot house where Hardwood Floors of Hillsboro keeps their offices and a product showroom. Pictured here are Hardwood Floors of Hillsboro employees inspecting newly manufactured Hardwood flooring. Pictured here is a photo of the Leadermac Moulder used by Hardwood Floors of Hillsboro to produce their products. the country to the next, and that there’s no one shoe fits all settings. Rather, they adjust the business to what the customer’s needs are. “There’s nothing we won’t mill,” said Barnes. “Ash to Walnut, including rift and quartered products, almost exclusively all purchased 15/16 hit or miss in all species in all grades.” The baseline product of Hardwood Floors remains strictly North American Hardwoods, according to Barnes. “We tend to buy 2A and No. 1 Common so piece length is longer than those from most competitors and the advantage of Northern Hardwoods is that they have a tighter grain and a better, more consistent, even color. “Our claim to fame is that we build our business on our flooring product piece length which is longer than average. Roughly 20 percent of custom orders are custom plank face and/or grade, which is unique to the industry. We also pride ourselves on customer service. Even if not in stock and with just two of us in the office, we’ll have orders manufactured and ready for shipment in two weeks time no matter what the specs, whether long length, a Curly Maple or Herringbone product, Birdseye, Red Birch, or specialized. Our product is not low cost but high on customer service and quality. We have satisfied customers Please turn to page 39 ” We can do special things, not just 2.25-inch and 3.25-inch flooring. We can change it up and do what we need to do. We’re very particular people. If it’s not right it doesn’t go out. A lot of people talk about quality but don’t follow through. ” –Kent Barnes, co-owner Hardwood Floors of Hillsboro LLC NOVEMBER 2016 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 17
