Graf Brothers Flooring & Lumber Inc.: Producing Gold Standard White Oak Product
Dave and Greg Graf began rift and quarter sawing in 1978. They then went on to found Graf Brothers in 2003 in South Shore, KY. As demands from European customers began to grow for rift and quarter sawn White Oak, they decided to see if a similar market could also be found in North America. As demand grew throughout the North American and European markets, they also began to establish themselves globally, at their peak they had shipped to over 40 countries, with a large market share in Japan.
The company sits on approximately 400 acres. On site are: two independent sawmills, two log yards, two stave operations, two air dry yards (stave and lumber), trimmer building, dimension plant, as well as a Solid and Engineered flooring plant. Driving this operation, Graf also has 18 Better Built Dry Kilns each with a capacity of 70,000 board feet. The kilns run off of wood waste primarily and have a natural gas backup. The gas broiler backup allows them to dry their lumber no matter the weather conditions.
“Our company is made up of three divisions; Lumber, Flooring, and Staves,” said Chris Moore vice president of sales. “We try not to have our divisions compete against each other, and so we primarily sell to distributors to reduce client crossover.” Graf employs over 300 people in total including their six-person sales team.
Today, Graf Brothers Flooring & Lumber Inc. produces nearly 25 million board feet per year of White Oak. This production, along with stringent standards, has allowed Graf Brothers to become the gold standard for White Oak rift and quartered lumber and flooring. In conjunction with lumber and flooring, they also produce staves for the bourbon and wine barrel market. Over the past decade they became the largest single location stave producer in the United States.
Currently, Graf Brothers solely manufactures products from White Oak, with 85 percent of this being true Quercus Alba White Oak.
“We source our timber within a 500 mile radius of our plant. This allows us to maintain a uniform product in both grain and color,” stated Moore. “We are not looking for your typical saw log. We want clear logs and veneer reject logs at least 14 inches.”
Both of their sawmills are dedicated to rift and quartered sawn White Oak. “We do everything through rift eyes,” added Moore. “When we manufacture, we are looking to maximize the rift yield, any way we can optimize that log to produce more rift, that’s what we do.”
Graf Brothers flooring division can manufacture up to 50,000 square feet of solid and engineered flooring a day. Their 3/4” solid wood floors are standard 2-8’ with custom 2-10, 3-10 and 4-10’. Their engineered is offered in both 3/4” with a 4mm or 6mm option and 5/8” in 4mm only, standard 2-10, with options up to 4-10’. They offer herringbone in both solid and engineered. To support the flooring division, Graf Brothers purchases over 260,000 board feet per month of 4/4 White Oak FAS and No. 1C plain sawn kiln-dried lumber.
“We take pride in everything that we do all the way through the process and how we saw, stick, air-dry, grade and package lumber, production scheduling, and how we package the finished flooring product,” Moore continued. “On the lumber side of business, we width sort everything in 1-inch increments, in both 4/4 and 5/4 so that our clients can order all quartered or rift width sorted to optimize yield.”
In 2024, Graf Brothers strengthened its global presence following its integration into the international Charlois Group. “Charlois specializes in Oak, from forestry to finished products, and is one of the world’s leading players in the cooperage market for wines and spirits. The group currently has 39 subsidiaries and markets its products in 60 countries,” Moore emphasized.
With the acquisition of Graf Brothers, Charlois is replicating in the United States — using American White Oak — its integrated European model spanning from forest to finished product.
“I have visited many sawmills throughout my career in the forest products industry, and Graf Brothers has always clearly stood out.
Since the acquisition by Charlois, Graf has made even more significant progress in order to remain a benchmark in our industry,” Moore stated.
Graf Brothers Flooring & Lumber is a member of Indiana Hardwood Lumbermens Association, National Hardwood Lumber Association, Wood Products Manufacturers Association, National Wood Flooring Association and Kentucky Forest Industries Association.
For more information, visit grafbro.com.
