Hardwood Floors April/May 2017

Jake: We are lazy, we are addicted to our phones, and we have a short attention span. Jessica: We’re idealistic, lazy, and entitled. In your opinion, what are the greatest contributions your generation has made to the business world? Larry: Relating to the hardwood industry – first, the practice of sustainable forest management has evolved over the last several decades, largely inspired by several organizations such as FSC, SFI, and others. There should never be a shortage of high-quality lumber in the U.S. Second, the industry, starting from the seedling to the finished product, has learned to use everything. There is virtually no waste. All kinds of products are made from what used to be considered waste. Third, we have learned to stretch the resources via veneer and engineered products. Flooring and furniture with many innovative finishes and designs to beautify and decorate millions of homes around the world. Denny: Bill Gates was my generation. Computers, the internet, etc. Jake: Technology. Computer programs that allow us to transport information from your phone to computer or being able to easily find parts for maintenance. Jessica: Social media is huge. It’s an amazing resource for people to share ideas, quickly find answers and help, analyze trends, and find new customers or products. I also appreciate the increased demand in my generation focusing on green building and buying local. Sometimes, I’m afraid I’m just in a bubble, which is why I see so much of this. But, most of the people in my generation who find us and want to do business with us do so because they are looking for a good product.

going to lumber grading school and selling to the furniture companies throughout the 1960s – 1990s. We added our dry kilns in the 1980s, rebuilt after two fires and had a pretty good thing going with that for years. Then when the furniture market began to decline, we had to figure out something else for our lumber. We had been cutting the rift and quarter sawn for the furniture market, and we took that into the flooring industry. We were the first company at an NWFA show with a character grade R&Q product. The rise in in-floor radiant heat and the popularity of character grade along with the good housing market in the early 2000s allowed us to find our niche in the industry. Fortunately, we didn’t over expand during the boom, and we survived the recession. We continue to pay attention to current and future trends and stay on our toes. Jake: Allegheny Mountain and Hickman Lumber have been successful because we have a niche, and offer a quality product. We do our best to pay attention to the details throughout the milling process. Especially the minor details. From the daily testing of the dry kilns to how we stack the lumber. It all adds to and reflects our reputation. One-third of the sawmills in Pennsylvania went out of business during the recession. We’ve had to adapt our milling and operations just to keep above water. During that time, we decided it was more important than ever to continue our focus and goal of making a high-quality product. Our overall production has decreased immensely and still isn’t back to our highest production, but we are proud that our customers never doubt the quality of our product when it’s sent to them. Jessica: Customer service is very important. From the sales perspective, we are honest with what we can do and what we can’t. We know our limitations, but offer the best product possible with what we do. I am sure to give every customer the same amount of time and respect. It doesn’t matter if they are looking for 300 SF or 3000 SF. It amazes me how often people thank me for returning

They are typically smaller jobs, but they want products that are supportive of the environment and the local community. You’ve been in business for four generations; how have your business practices evolved over the years to stay successful? Larry: We have always been

”Appreciate the knowledge from the past generations, but don’t be afraid of changing and improving.”

their call. Before I started with the increased amount of marketing, the majority of our sales were from customers we found at NWFA. These would be our larger jobs with consistent, loyal customers. The other, local retail sales were typically all based on referrals. Since we’ve increased our online and social media

interested in unique and different products. Our Allegheny live sawn was very new to the market when we started to produce this item. Some of our herringbone and basket weave products are unique. We also very much enjoy working with talented artisans in the industry on new designs and finishes. Denny: We keep adapting. My grandpa, Harry Hickman, made a good living cutting railroad ties and blocking for the steel mills. Dad (Larry) continued to evolve the sawmill by

presence, we get a lot more people finding us online, and the online reviews from sites like Houzz, Facebook, and Google are tremendously helpful. We still receive a ton of referrals, and I’m grateful that I’m never afraid to reach out to a past customer and see how their floors turned out. It amazes me the passion people have for their hardwood floors! I often wonder if other industries like window salesmen have such grateful and excited customers. I highly doubt it, though.

the magazine of the national wood flooring association

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