National Hardwood Magazine - September 2023

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT Continued back on the dozer to finish the work. Being with these men in the deep woods left memories for a lifetime with this 10 year old.” In 1960, Wally’s dad had decided to start his own business, creating Walter Field’s Lumber Company in Memphis, TN. Ten years later, after graduating from the University of Memphis, Wally joined his father. “I started by learning the Hardwood grading rules and sales code at the National Hardwood Lumber Association Inspection Training School. I graduated from the 47th class instructed by “The Super Rule” Otis Goolsby. He was an incredible man who spent a lifetime in the Hardwood industry. I used the knowledge gained from school to begin buying and selling Hardwood lumber. In the Mid-South, at that time, we had many Hardwood users and sawmills operating. It was my target market. I worked like most back in those days by automobile and telephone. That was how I really got my start. Our business continued to grow and my brother, Robby, came into the business with us in 1975.” In addition to running the company, Wally’s father was taking an active interest in the National Hardwood Lumber Association (NHLA). He was ones of the driving members that moved the association headquarters to Memphis in 1979. He served on the association’s board and was President from 1985-1987. After his father retired, Wally followed him as President of the lumber company. He was elected to the NHLA Board of Directors in 1991 and served as President of the association from 2002 to 2004. “I was fortunate to be elected to the board of directors of the NHLA in the early 1990s. I guess they thought the only way they were going to get rid of me was to make me President,” he joked. Wally said to the best of his knowledge, there are only two families in the industry that can boast of having a father and son serve NHLA as President. It is the Hamer family in Kenova, WV and the Fields family in Memphis, TN. As far as his time in the industry, Wally said he feels that he has been very lucky. “You know, it’s been a wonderful ride. When you look back over 53 years, sometimes it seems like it was just yesterday and then, you realize, ‘Hey, that was a long time ago.’ I don’t think anybody in our family envisioned that we would be where we are today. My brother, Robby, and I have worked hard, but we’ve enjoyed the pleasures of the Hardwood lumber industry. We enjoy the people that we meet. “I think that is what makes our industry tick; it’s the people that are in it. They are not only nice and good people to be around, but they have a sincere interest in our industry. You want to keep your nose clean and be honest, you want to work hard, and you want to have integrity and respect for the people that you are doing business with. It is the secret of our success. The people that we work with have always been told, ‘We are not going to be the biggest lumber company in the world, but what we are going to be is the best lumber company in the world.’ We are going to conduct our business to the best of our ability and it is going to be done right. We are going to take care of our customers and suppliers. I am proud of what we did. I am really thankful I got to be part of it. It is something I am going to miss. It’s kind of like what my grandfather used to tell me when I told him one time that I was getting into the Hardwood industry, he said, ‘Well, it figures you have that sawdust in your veins. You just can’t get it out.’” n RON JONES HARDWOOD SALES INC. Continued from page 29 ity after constructing two new 50,000 board foot SII Dry Kilns. Most recently the company built a 27,500 square foot building for storage and load facility where we also installed a planer line running a Newman S382 planer.” Steve said, “We had to take down older, well used buildings to be able to make way for the new building. All of this was a result of discovering where we could make gains and improve efficiencies. The investments we have made over the last six years have been to run lean and improve the flow of materials. The company also built a new green grading line that can grade five to six tractor-trailer loads of Hardwood lumber a day, improving productivity by 100 percent. In addition, the company invested capital on concrete and asphalt to get out of the mud and dirt, that is making a remarkable difference in the quality of lumber produced and reduce wear and tear on equipment.” Domestic and export markets cover an equal amount of the operation’s sales, and he added, “Consistency in the product is key. We like to keep the product species Please turn the page WORMY CHESTNUT • TROPICALS • QTR & RIFT • CYPRESS • ALDER Headquarters, Concentration Yard & Kilns in Hickory, N.C. Phone (828) 397-7481 FAX: (828) 397-3763 www.cramerlumber.com 3 million BF KD Inventory Atlanta, GA Warehouse 770-479-9663 “LIMBO” The Lumber Rule Hardwoods • White Pine • Cypress RGH • S2S • SLR1E 4/4 thru 16/4 thicknesses Export Sales 706-736-2622 HICKORY • HARD & SOFT MAPLE • POPLAR • RED & WHITE OAK • WALNUT • ASH WHITE PINE • BASSWOOD • BEECH • BIRCH • CEDAR • CHERRY • Top Quality Kiln Dried Hardwood Lumber Rough/S2S • Specializing in: 4/4 thru 8/4 Red Oak 4/4 thru 8/4 White Oak • Also: Cherry, Hard Maple & Soft Maple • Shipping Mixed Trucks/Containers Worldwide Sirianni Hardwoods, Inc. 912 Addison Road Painted Post, New York 14870 Telephone: (607) 962-4688 Fax: (607) 936-6237 www.siriannihardwoods.com Sales - Tom Armentano sales@siriannihardwoods.com Purchasing - Andy Dickinson andy@siriannihardwoods.com 52 SEPTEMBER 2023 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE RealAmericanHardwood.com/industry RealAmericanHardwood.com/industry SEPTEMBER 2023 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 53