Berthoud, CO—Word spreads when a company can backup superlatives about their products and services. Sun Mountain Inc., a premier manufacturer of custom wood doors based here, is just such a company. Founders John and Thad Walton took decisive steps from the start, and later extended the company’s product line to open the sales door well beyond its initial Colorado location. Though Colorado is still a significant part of company sales, Sun Mountain’s business reached 48 states and four provinces in Canada last year.
Sun Mountain also expanded beyond its initial residential market, servicing projects such as hospitality and multi-family condos in recent years. Of course, high-end homes are still very important to the firm, just as when the Waltons first targeted these residential projects in large city and ski resort communities of Colorado at the company’s founding.
The company buys up to 2 million board feet of lumber annually, including FAS and No. 1 grades in 4/4, 5/4, and 8/4 thicknesses. In inventory, the company carries 200,000 board feet in upper grade Hardwoods such as Cherry, Hickory, Walnut, White Oak (including rift and quartered cuts), African Mahogany, and Sapele. The company carries up to 800,000 board feet in Alder, in a mix of both select and rustic grades.
Hang department lead Jeremy Burdick assembles an arched surround system for a home in Steamboat Springs, CO.
Early in his career John Walton worked for Woodgrain Millwork, as a top salesman of Woodgrain doors and mouldings in the Midwest. But John had long harbored the idea of finishing and distributing doors on his own. In 1987, shortly after Thad Walton earned his college degree in marketing, father and son started Doors Plus Inc., a pre-finisher, pre-hanger and distributor of buy-in doors, headquartered in the Walton’s hometown of Elkhart, IN. The Doors Plus concept proved successful, and over time grew to a $15 million company servicing a five-state region of the Midwest. Soon enough, the company’s success prompted the decision to expand.
A market study guided the team to Colorado, and in 1998 the Waltons opened Sun Mountain Inc., building a 35,000-square-foot facility in the northern Colorado town of Berthoud (about 35 miles north of Denver). Sun Mountain began as a duplicate of the successful Doors Plus model—a pre-finisher and pre-hanger of buy-in doors and complementary mouldings. Over the next six years the company experienced steady growth in Colorado. Further research revealed a shortage of higher-end custom doors and spurred the next spot-on decision by the Waltons. “We couldn’t find a ready supply of high-end wood doors, and so we evolved into manufacturing these doors ourselves,” Thad Walton reflects. “We became a full-fledged millwork manufacturer, investing in what has now become a state-of-the-art manufacturing operation.”
This decision occurred in 2004, and the company experienced a surge of significant growth from 2004 to 2007, stimulated by the new high-quality Sun Mountain-made doors. Then, of course, the housing downturn happened, a “waterfall” economic decline that affected all building trades. Where many companies failed, Sun Mountain survived the downturn, and even continued to invest in new products and operations.
Sun Mountain builds all of its products out of this 110,000-square-foot facility in Northern Colorado.
The company now operates in a 110,000-square-foot production facility that houses manufacturing, administrative and sales offices, and a beautiful showroom on 10 acres of land. The company operates a fleet of delivery trucks used for regional deliveries, including box and curtain-side trucks. “And it’s all debt free, which is a key reason why we’re still here,” commented Walton.
In 2008, the firm opened a boutique showroom in a design center in Asheville, NC—a fertile second and third home market in the Smoky Mountains. That same year, the company launched its Teton Series—a line of value-priced 1-3/8” thick knotty Alder doors, positioned to compete with the growing influx of lower quality knotty Alder imports from overseas. The Teton Series reflects Sun Mountain’s high quality standard and is 100 percent made in the USA at the company’s Colorado factory.
In 2009, in the midst of the downturn, Sun Mountain acquired an upscale flooring product line with associated manufacturing assets. “We wanted to supply more products in addition to our custom doors and mouldings, and fine wide plank flooring was a natural product line extension,” Walton stated. Marketed under the same Sun Mountain brand, the company’s wide plank flooring offering is available in both solid and engineered configurations, in widths up to 9-inches. And, the company offers the flooring with hand distress and factory pre-finish options, consistent with its hallmark as a pre-finisher.
In 2011, Sun Mountain launched a high-quality paint grade door line in Poplar wood species. This line can be pre-finished with darker stains and glazes, creating a look similar to select Alder but at significantly lower cost. In 2013, the company opened two new showrooms—in Colorado Springs at the Coutura Design Inspirations center, and at the exclusive San Francisco Design Center. Sun Mountain now employs just under 100 people, with operations in three states. The company continues to grow through the execution of its strategies, and the gradual return of the housing market.
COO Mike Jennings, General Manager Jared Meier, Owner Thad Walton, and CFO Ed Wright at the factory showroom in Colorado.
The company is truly a family business. Though officially retired, John Walton meets with the management team often, and still holds the title of president, acting as the company’s “chairman”. Of nine children, Thad is John’s only son or daughter involved in the business, and serves as the company’s vice president of sales. Even Thad’s children occasionally work for the company.
Trend-makers have a lot to say about decisions on wood species, and the popularity of the rustic look for the last several years has dictated use of Alder. Walton explained, “At one time no one wanted knotty Alder. But now, with the great interest in rustic design, customers seek the natural beauty of Alder, and even ask us to distress the wood to make it even more rustic. All of this had led to the growing attraction and demand for the cost effective Alder wood.” Walton continued, “Now we’re moving into the huge change of more contemporary designs in multimillion dollar homes, incorporating the use of both Hardwoods and softwoods.”
“The affluent clientele of Sun Mountain,” said Walton, “is knowledgeable about what they're looking for—the wood species is often defined in the architectural plan or predetermined in the bid. We go to any length to source the lumber desired by our clients, including sourcing reclaimed lumber from old barns and granaries.”
The major portion of Sun Mountain’s lumber need is supplied mill direct, with a smaller portion through distribution from local suppliers. “The company regularly purchases full truckloads of Alder direct from mills in the northwestern U.S.” But, for wood species with lower volume demand, for example Walnut, truckload purchasing isn’t feasible,” said Walton. “Thus, supply of these species will be sourced from local distributors.” Acclimation to the Colorado climate is also important, and wood sourced from local suppliers is already acclimated. “We check wood in at 8 to 10 percent moisture content,” stated Walton. “If it comes from the Midwest on a just-in-time basis, it takes additional time to allow the wood to acclimate. So in this case it may be more beneficial for us to buy through distribution in Denver.”
A high-level view of Sun Mountain’s 110,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.
Lumber doesn't stay long in the Sun Mountain warehouse—quick turnaround and short lead times have bolstered the company’s reputation as a leading supplier, and supported national expansion. “Lead time is crucial and can pose a problem for custom shops,” said Walton, whose company executes to a challenging four to six week turnaround time from order to delivery. “We run the factory so that everything is custom made, though in more of a continuous flow ‘mass customization’ setting, to get high-quality product through quickly.”
That efficiency begins at the starting line, when one of Sun Mountain’s sales representatives earns an opportunity to quote a project, and completes a prompt 48-hour turnaround bid to the potential client. “Our bidding and production lead times are maintained because of the significant supply of raw lumber we carry,” affirmed Walton.
Sun Mountain’s “direct to trade or homeowner” distribution model is also augmented by “leading-edge engineering and computer systems, and scanning and scheduling processes” so that the company is “the fastest full-service custom door manufacturer in the nation,” stated Walton. All custom doors are manufactured with high-quality engineered LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) core, sandwiched inside 1/8-inch thick veneers and thick end caps, with solid wood panels. Wide plank engineered flooring is made with an 11-ply, alternating-grain, exterior grade wood core, to maximize strength and stability. “That foundation,” said Walton, “allows the company to offer the highest-quality custom products at much lower pricing than our multi-step competitors.”
Warehouse Manager Steve Deniston checks lumber inventory.
Walton attributes the company’s success to its employees, from management to the production line. “The people who work here are loyal, with average tenure over seven years. We’re very proud of that length of service. Our people are the source of our success. They understand how things work, and create the excellent quality we achieve.”
Sun Mountain is a member of the National Association of Homebuilders, and Thad Walton is personally involved in various forms of charity work in the community—from donating scrap lumber to local school woodworking shops, to teaching classes, and offering internships to local college students.
The company’s expansion beyond Colorado points to additional growth in the future. “We hope to continue to add sales and showroom operations in new markets in the coming years,” said Walton, “continuing the success we’ve experienced with our expansion in North Carolina and California.”
Contact Sun Mountain at 888-786-6861, or visit the company’s website at www.sunmountaindoor.com.
