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National Wood Products—The ‘Right Choice ™ ' For Hardwoods - pg 28
By Michelle Keller
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| Vice president and co-founder of National Wood Products, Kurt Micek. |
Salt Lake City, Utah—National Wood Products, Inc. (NWP), headquartered here, is a privately held distribution company with four locations throughout the Western United States. The company specializes in providing high quality Hardwood lumber, Hardwood plywood, Hardwood flooring, building materials and solid surface products to various industries including: cabinet shops, millwork shops, construction, furniture manufacturers, flooring installers, general contractors, etc.
Originally founded in 1984 by Kurt Micek and Mike Larsen, NWP purchases approximately 25 million board feet annually of Hardwoods and softwoods. Hardwood species include: Alder , Birch , Beech , Ash , Cherry , Hickor y, Maple , Oak , Poplar and Walnut . Thicknesses are available in 4/4 through 12/4 depending on the specie. NWP has grown significantly in terms of size and products since its early beginnings. “When we established National Wood Products, we had one 1956 Hyster forklift, a used delivery truck and a 5,000-square-foot warehouse that housed 12,000 board feet of Hardwood lumber,” Vice President Kurt Micek explained. “We had a vision that we could carve a niche into a very competitive market by being a quality and service oriented Hardwood distributor.”
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| National Wood Products, Inc. (NWP), headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a privately held distribution company with four locations throughout the Western United States. |
Micek said he attributes the company's success to “our commitment to establishing strong relationships with our customers and suppliers, by providing superior customer service, by having a solid leadership team and by having a diverse inventory of the quality products that our customers need.”
Continuing to invest in innovation of their operations, NWP installed a hot press laminating system in 2011. “In 2011 we again proved our strong commitment to our customers' needs by adding Colorado's first commercial hot press laminating system in-house at our Denver location,” Micek noted. “By having our very own hot press in-house we save our customers time and money by being a ‘one-stop-shop.'”
The organization's philosophy includes the following values: integrity, knowledge, open mindedness, customer and employee appreciation, and humility and innovativeness. “These strong values and commitments to our customers allow them to also provide the same high standards of customer service to their customers,” Micek added. “This partnership helps give our customers the assurance of profitability, along with continued growth and success. The success of our customers and our continued values, have given us a unique strength in today's market - customer loyalty.
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| NWP has a total of 36 trucks within its locations for prompt delivery. |
“These are just a few of the reasons why we are ‘The Right Choice',” Micek added. ‘The Right Choice' means having the right locations, the right products, the right service and the right people, so our customers know they have made ‘The Right Choice.'
NWP markets its products in the Western United States with locations in Denver, Colo.; Sacramento, Calif.; Salt Lake City, Utah and Chino, Calif.
Key employees at the firm's Denver location include: Merlin Miller, branch manager and Steve Schmidt, sales manager. This operation maintains a 60,000-square-foot facility with eight delivery trucks, and an in-house hot press laminating system. Delivery area includes Colorado, South Dakota, Kansas, Wyoming, New Mexico and Nebraska.
Howard Hughes is the branch manager for the 60,000-square-foot facility in Sacramento. Also with eight delivery trucks, delivery area for this location includes Northern California, Reno, Nevada and Oregon.
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| The majority of NWP staff has been employed with them for over 10 years and some of their employees have been there over 25 years. |
The firm's Salt Lake City facility's key employees are Morton Turner, branch manager of the Hardwood lumber division and John Bernard, branch manager of the Hardwood flooring division. At 120,000-square-feet this facility operates with 12 delivery trucks. Delivery area includes Utah and Idaho. This location also serves as the corporate headquarters where Kurt Micek, vice president; Kurt Winn, chief operations officer; and Vivien Fisher, controller are key personnel.
The Chino facility is headed up by Chris Dennis, branch manager. Also this is a 60,000-square-foot operation with eight delivery trucks, and the delivery area includes Southern California including San Diego.
NWP's website www.nationalwoodproducts.com offers the following benefits of choosing NWP as the ‘Right Choice' :
• Dedicated, knowledgeable staff at all locations and for each segment of business creates consistency and reliability.
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| NWP purchases approximately 25 million board feet annually of Hardwoods and softwoods. Hardwood species include: Alder, Birch, Beech, Ash, Cherry, Hickory, Maple, Oak, Poplar and Walnut. |
• The majority of staff has been employed with NWP for over 10 years; some of our employees have been here over 25 years.
• Strive for excellence and strong partnerships with customers and suppliers.
• Commitment to assist our customers to grow, expand and prosper.
• NWP utilizes market reports & construction data updates to provide quotes, updates and information to vendors and customers for true Win-Win partnerships.
• Privately held and successfully in business since 1984.
• Company's network includes four Distribution Centers located to service the Western United States.
• In-house finance/credit department.
• In-house accounting department.
• Own and operate own fleet of delivery trucks maintaining a high level of customer service.
For more information visit www.nationalwoodproducts.com |
