Buffalo Grove, Ill.–Green is not a new color to Edward Hines Lumber Co., a well-established building materials supplier with locations dispersed throughout the greater Chicagoland area and Central Indiana. Some of its hues can be traced back to maximum yield principles of the founder. Over the years, those tenets have deepened and continue to permeate the values of the family members that govern the various branches of company operations.
“Green’s always been a lucky color for us,” said North Chicago lumberyard operations manager, Bill Maniates, referring to the anniversary date of the company’s inception. Hines celebrated their 116th year in business on March 17, 2008, St. Patrick’s Day.
The color green assumed a formalized connotation for Hines in 2007 when the North Chicago location became a chain of custody carrier of Forest Stewardship Council certified products. That designation assures contractors and homeowners that the lumber was assessed and stamped with the seal of a sustainable yield forest, trackable to its source as environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, economically viable and legally harvestable. “That’s reason enough to get certification,” said Maniates. “Just knowing it’s done right and that we’re conserving energy properly.”
FSC certified products distributed through Hines include dimension lumber, plywood sheathing, exterior treated lumber and plywood, as well as Dricon interior fire retardant treated lumber and plywood. Sustainable forestry is a natural for Hines
Edward Hines III pauses in front of a photo of his father and grandfather, pioneers in the industry.
Lumber. Long before the current surge sweeping the industry, Edward Hines, founder of the company that bears his name, was issuing sustainable practices.
After starting as an office boy at age 14, Hines quickly moved up the ranks to secretary-treasurer of the lumber company, and 15 years later, in 1892, started his own business. He built up considerable timber holdings through consolidations and in 1928 acquired a tract of public timber in Oregon where he cooperated with the Malheur National Forest in sustainable yield forestry. He stated, “There is no good reason why reforestation cannot be undertaken and the lumber business be made as perpetual in America as the growing of wheat.”
He also pioneered selection logging. Ships from Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula en route to the distribution centers Hines established in Chicago, bore loads of whatever lumber the mills produced that day, not what the customer wanted, noted Maniates, so no one knew what they’d be getting. “Edward Hines employed common sense, helping to establish unified grade rules to shipping. If he were alive today, he’d be an advocate of green building and FSC certification.”
In spirit Hines is alive, as some of his third and fourth generation progeny continue his also financially sustainable legacy. Grandson Edward Hines directs as chairman of the board, with his son Edward “Mac” Hines as vice president of new business development, and daughter Elizabeth Hines Bigelow as marketing manager.
Bill Maniates is manager of Hines’ North Chicago yard, as well as Hines’ commercial division.
One of the largest building materials suppliers in the Chicago region, Hines has several full-service facilities. Corporate offices are located in Buffalo Grove and customers are accommodated through seven lumberyard locations and a 5-acre millwork division comprised of a custom shop, steel door shop, lock shop, and interior door line, cabinet division, window center, and commercial division.
At the forefront of innovation, the Custom Millwork operation in South Chicago Heights is a high-end custom millwork program that builds and runs mouldings and doors. The millwork operation in Kirkland builds interior prehung doors among other standardized products.
Eighty percent of the lumber processed through the custom millwork operation is solid Hardwood, said John Drake, general manager of Hines Custom Millwork. In species ranging from African Mahogany, Sapele, Iroko, Cherry, Walnut, Maple, Jatoba, various Alders, Oaks and Mahoganies, to aromatic red cedar and an occasional cypress or other unusual wood, all are premium grade, in standard 4/4 to 10/4 sizes.
Customers dictate what appearance they want to achieve from exterior stain and paint grade materials, and on interiors, they often request Mahogany or White Oak, though Poplar, the preferred paint grade, comprises 60 percent of orders.
The customization process that transforms rough lumber into finished product accounts in large part, for the low turnover of the 50 mill employees. “It’s a real pleasure to watch it reach completion,” Drake said. “Everyone enjoys the new challenges and not punching out the same thing every day, so they don’t fall into a rut.”
Individuals, not an assembly line, build the pieces. After the architects’ drawing is interpreted in the tech shop, the lumber is machined and assembled using a variety of equipment pieces, including a Shoda CNC Router. Small groups engage in entry door and case work. The only production facet of the plant regards the prehung doors and even there, the individual subcomponents change the setup. Up to 80 percent of the door components might be unique, yet Hines’ integrated sticking detail method ties them all together into one consistent theme.
Craftsman John Schnepf builds custom cabinets from Cherry at Hines’ Custom Millwork Division in South Chicago Heights. The cabinets were used in the FSC house last year that was part of the Greenbuild Seminar & Expo, held at McCormick Place in Chicago.
To remain in the forefront of milling processes, CNC operators continuously initiate new specialty applications such as beveling techniques. Recent commissions to carve a family crest into a door or incorporate Chinese characters in with the house number were accomplished with ease. On another, rounded detail prescribed routing out a large clamshell into the midrail of the door.
The mill is set up to run a variety of products made from Azek® , an exterior PVC cellular product, such as mouldings, window/door surrounds, column wraps and exterior products traditionally created using wood. As a rot resistant material, it’s often used to match existing boards in historic restorations. Drake explained that it’s considered green because of its longevity, a requirement of the NAHB Model Green Building Program.
As one of 11 sponsors of the winning FSC house design at the 2007 Green Build Expo that took place in Chicago, Hines donated the custom cabinetry, countertops and paneling, all designed, fabricated and installed by Drake’s custom mill team, exclusively using FSC certified materials.
“We’ve always been interested in the environment and outdoors,” said Edward Hines, whose father worked closely with his founder-father. “It’s said my Grandfather was a risk-taker who worked up until the day he died. He was a great salesman and lumberman and we try to carry on that tradition. We value and have great respect for sales people. That aspect is fun, spirited and entertaining.” Hines is intrigued by the business. “It’s fascinating and the builders, the users, are very individualistic, creative, and interesting.”
The robust family stock generates enthusiasm for the trade among employees, too. Bigelow described the company as one that fosters an entrepreneurial spirit, continuously expanding leadership into employee responsibilities. “We value each individual and their input. The management team is very customer driven and allotted a great deal of decision making flexibility. They know their customers very well, our customers know them, and managers make decisions on their own.”
As a result, several employees have remained with the company well over 20 years. Maniates joined the Hines team 35 years ago right out of college, and began to cultivate a rounded background in purchasing, sales and management of five different yards to the commercial division management for 14 years. Branch Manager James Carollo has 38 years with the company; general manager John Drake, 38 years; and assistant manager Dawn Weber, 35 years. Walter Baumgartner’s 52-year tenure surpasses chairman of the board Hines by two years and John Vetter, senior vice president, by three.
The company is constantly working on new showrooms and new product lines, often featuring recycled or recovered wood.
Important pieces of the puzzle that became part of the Cherry cabinets constructed for the Greenbuild Seminar set stacked and ready for assembly.
The commitment to environmental responsibility is a driving force. Subcommittees discuss operating more efficiently, selling products and educating customers within a market that can be very complicated. Frequent sales training sessions on green products are held at the corporate office, where a recycling program was recently instituted. Over the years, the company has supplied trees to customers to replant, preserving the founding Hines’ stance on maintaining maximum yields and reforestation. “We’ve launched the green initiative because we really believe in it and want to leave the world a better place,” said Bigelow.
Through difficult and changing times, with the right practices, said Drake, Hines Lumber is here to stay. “As in the past during a downturn, we just work harder. Our overall approach in everything we do is to make sure it’s done right and that attracts business.”
For more information, contact Edward Hines Lumber Co. at 847-353-7700 or visit their website at hineslumber.com.
