Dan, Shawn and Brandon Ferman standing in front of export prepped Walnut and lumber on sticks under a T-shed.
Pittsfield, Pa.—Located 40 miles east of Erie, Pa., Meridien Hardwoods supplies all grades and thicknesses of Hardwood lumber in Cherry, Hard and Soft Maple, Walnut, Red Oak, Ash and Poplar. The company’s customer base includes distribution yards and furniture, kitchen cabinet and architectural millwork manufacturers.
Keeping up with the needs of an ever-changing Hardwood lumber market, Meridien Hardwoods of Pennsylvania continues to provide quality Hardwoods at an impressive pace. Recently adding new office facilities and paving the entire operation, the company has grown from a basement office to capital facilities that encompass 15,000,000 board feet of Hardwoods annually, 250,000 board feet of kiln capacity and 1,000,000 board feet of dry storage.
Dan Ferman established Meridien Hardwoods in 1983. His office was in the basement of his home in Sugar Grove, Pa., for three years. Then in 1986 he bought the 18-acre concentration yard in Pittsfield, where the company operates today.
In the early days there was an office building, garage and one pole building for storage. Over the last few decades the firm has achieved success by continually adding and updating equipment. Expansions included five dry kilns, two trim lines with 40 sorts, two double end trimmers, an automatic lumber stacker, two T-sheds and several storage buildings.
The company motto, ‘Providing Everything You Need From the Forest,’ speaks for itself. Meridien Hardwoods sources lumber from its Northern Appalachian region including Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, West Virginia, and also Ontario and Quebec.
Brandon Ferman, Salesman and Inventory Manager.
“During a normal cycle we’ll have 500,000 feet of lumber on sticks and the kilns will be filled to capacity at all times,” Dan Ferman said. “All of our Hardwood lumber is inspected before and after kiln drying and customers can count on getting the lengths, color and sort of their choice.”
Ferman said the company is exporting more of its lumber now than in previous years. “We load containers here and ship through the ports of Baltimore, Md., Norfolk, Va., or New York.”
A family operated business, Ferman’s wife Anne handles administrative duties along with a secretary, Karen Morton. His sons Shawn, Brandon and Michael are also a part of the company and have been in the lumber industry from very early ages.
Shawn Ferman has been with the company approximately 20 years driving forklifts, loading and unloading kilns and trucks, and supplies both trim lines with lumber. Brandon Ferman began piling lumber in junior high school. He completed several grading and kiln drying courses before graduating in 2001 with a Business Management degree from Penn State University. Afterwards he joined the company’s sales staff and is currently in charge of inventory. Michael Ferman has followed his brother Brandon’s path and earned a Business Marketing degree from Edinboro University in 2003, along with taking grading and kiln drying courses before joining the company.
Another family member, nephew Michael Songer is an invaluable asset to Meridien’s sales team. Songer has been with Meridien since it was founded. He graduated in 1982 from the NHLA inspection school and graded for a few years prior to starting in sales with Meridien. “I wish I had 10 Mike Songers,” Dan said. “He does an incredible job for us. Brandon is over inventory control and he’s also very aggressive into the sales and purchasing end of our business,” Dan said.
Located 40 miles east of Erie, Pa., Meridien Hardwoods supplies all grades and thicknesses of Hardwood lumber in Cherry, Hard and Soft Maple, Walnut, Red Oak, Ash and Poplar.
Having completed construction on a new office building in 2008, Brandon said, “Currently we’re running one crew and 25,000 feet of lumber a day. We have the capacity to double both by running two crews and raising our capacity to 50,000 feet a day.”
“We are always happy for the opportunity to start new relationships and strive to strengthen existing ones,” Dan commented. “We have a strong customer base and a good sawmill base with dedicated employees that keep our operation running.”
Meridien Hardwoods is a member of the National Hardwood Lumber Assoc. (NHLA) and the Penn-York Lumbermen’s Club. For more information visit www.meridienpa.com.
Keeping up with the needs of an ever-changing Hardwood lumber market, Meridien Hardwoods of Pennsylvania continues to provide quality Hardwoods at an impressive pace.
