Hardwood Lumber from American Lumber

Hardwood Blog

Perspectives and insights on the hardwood lumber industry.

Measuring your Marketing ROI

Thursday, 20 December 2018 19:18

In an attempt to feed the sales pipeline, many companies engage in a variety of marketing initiatives. As with anything, some efforts for lead generation are more effective than others. But without a way to measure your marketing campaigns return on investment (ROI), it can be very difficult to determine which of your marketing initiatives have been most effective. At American, we have found that the best metrics are those that allow us to understand…

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Things to Consider When Choosing Cherry Lumber

Thursday, 06 December 2018 18:54

Due to its distinct coloration, grain pattern, and excellent finishing qualities, Cherry has been one of the more popular hardwood lumber species due to its ability to excel in a variety of applications. It can be found used in furniture, paneling, woodenware, interior décor, cabinets, and sometimes even hardwood flooring. With the ability for it to be used in a variety of products we have seen a real increase in interest and demand for Cherry…

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A Few Tips for Refining your Decision-Making Process

Monday, 26 November 2018 15:52

While business leaders must display intelligence, good judgment, and curiosity in both at work and in their daily lives, perhaps one of the most important traits they need to display is the ability to make decisions. Sometimes those decisions are controversial, but they need to be made with confidence and also with the ability to persuade others. Without this, businesses can get stuck in a rut and miss out on valuable growth and development opportunities.…

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The Possibilities of Poplar

Friday, 09 November 2018 17:18

Poplar is one of the most often found hardwoods in North American forests. Found growing throughout the eastern United States and is one of the top hardwood lumber products produced in terms of footage. With its wide availability, Poplar has found use in a variety of applications. These are the most common applications that we have found our customers use Poplar lumber for. Furniture – Poplar has always been used as a material for upholstered…

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How to Build Trust in the Workplace

Monday, 08 October 2018 19:28

When you think of a workplace that contains a high degree of trust, what does that look like? It is true that employees who feel they are trusted in their skills, jobs, and judgment are often the ones that perform better and are willing to go above and beyond their job responsibilities. In addition to this, they are also much more invested in the success of the employer in the marketplace. So, what can stand…

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Proper Drying is the Key to High Quality Tropical Lumber

Monday, 08 October 2018 15:49

The difference between tropical lumber dried overseas versus tropical lumber dried in the US is very noticeable. When you have lumber that has too dry or too wet, or perhaps even dried too fast, or too slow, it can cause a lot of problems during the manufacturing process. At American Lumber we work together with a group of trusted sawmill partners from Africa to Central and South America. These suppliers supply us with sustainably harvested…

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Should You Transform Your Company Into a Digital Business?

Thursday, 13 September 2018 13:14

The days of companies having a choice of whether or not to do business digitally are long gone. With the amount of data that is available, access to this data allows you to continue to grow. It also increases efficiency on day to day business operations, this makes participating in the digital transformation a necessity to keeping up with competitors. Collecting and analyzing data regularly is often a practice of successful companies. And with today’s…

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How Width Sort Tallying Makes a Difference

Tuesday, 04 September 2018 18:53

Not all width sorts are the same. Those that are newer to the hardwood lumber industry might be surprised by the subtle differences that different hardwood suppliers have when sorting and packaging width sorted product. And these differences can really make an impact on the value of a load of hardwood lumber. Width sorting is a common hardwood industry practice across all species and grades. The purpose of this is to provide manufacturers with lumber…

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5 Ways to Increase Employee Engagement

Tuesday, 07 August 2018 15:21

There is no doubt that employee engagement in the workplace is important. But recently, there has been evidence that engagement is not where businesses would like it to be. The lack of engagement can have a rippling effect that can be felt throughout the entire company. And it can often lead to additional time spent on recruitment, interviewing and hiring of new employees. Many companies face this challenge and the hardwood lumber industry is no…

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What About Basswood?

Thursday, 02 August 2018 17:42

When people think of hardwoods the first species that come to mind seem to be Red Oak, White Oak, Walnut, Cherry, etc. But what about Basswood? Often times Basswood is lumped in the “other” category on industry reports since it typically only represents about 5-8% of the total timber production volume today. But maybe its time for a change. Generally speaking, Basswood (Tilla americana) is a soft, light wood that is stable and can be…

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