Ebensburg, PA— Long’s Hardwoods, based here, manufactures hardwood mouldings, dimension, flooring, kitchen cabinets, furniture and staircase parts, and entertainment centers. The company purchases 400,000 board feet of all domestic hardwoods as well as some imported woods (Sapele and Mahogany) annually.
Company President Douglas Long said the firm’s bread and butter is in custom hardwood mouldings. “At least 50 percent of what we do is in hardwood mouldings,” he explained. “We also manufacture anything and everything else. Currently there’s a trend in replicating antique trim and we’ve been serving that need. People are refurbishing homes, and we replicate historical mouldings to accommodate them.”
With a complete finish shop that has the capability to mix and match for very specific finish work, Long said there isn’t an idea that Long’s Hardwoods will turn down.
Situated on a 16-acre complex, Long said the operation began as part of a family-owned business. “We are a unique facility here,” he explained. “Back in 1973 my father started a lumberyard with one building under a different company name. By 1980 we started with one little wood shop, doing odds and ends for people and that’s when we started making trim. Business continued to grow. In 1990 we broke off from my Dad’s company. My brothers operate The Long Barn Inc. We are individually owned but we are family operated. The majority of what we manufacture here at Long’s Hardwoods is sold through the lumber yards.”
The Long Barn Inc. was founded in September 1973 by Edwin A. Long. In the beginning, there were two employees and one building with the only intention being to better supply their own general contracting company, as well as any walk-in patrons.
The Long Barn dramatically grew and expanded its customer base throughout the 1970s. In order to better focus on and service each and every customer, The Long Barn dissolved its general contracting business in 1980. The Long Barn II, located in St. Michael, PA, was established in 1983 to help service the ever-growing needs of the surrounding area. Long’s Hardwoods, adjacent to The Long Barn Ebensburg was established in 1990 as a wholesale hardwood division supplying both yards with high quality hardwood products.
As for where the domestic hardwood lumber is procured for the manufacturing process, Long said they source from mostly Pennsylvania sawmills. “We pride ourselves on carrying mostly all Pennsylvania hardwoods, but some of it does come from New York. The majority is sourced right here in Pennsylvania.”
When it comes to equipment, Long’s Hardwoods utilizes SCMI moulders, a Baker bandmill, Whitney and Cantek planers; Diehl rip saws; Unique cabinet door machines; and TimeSaver sanders. A typical day at Long’s includes two people running the moulders; two employees in cut up; two more in the finish shop and two people managing custom finish work. “We receive custom orders daily so that’s where we start,” Long said. “Once we are caught up on the orders then we make our stock material, which is all of our standard mouldings that we sell in our lumber yards. This is how our daily operation moves and we do it again the next day.”
Long’s Hardwoods products can be found in some interesting places such as famous celebrity Mark Wahlburg’s Wahlburger Restaurant. “We’ve also replicated trim for one of the oldest cathedrals in Pittsburgh,” commented Long. “On the commercial side we supply trim and railings for new hospitals. We work with another company in Washington called Dunlap Woodcrafts. That company deals in figured hardwoods. They send us the custom wood; we mill it and finish it into custom flooring and then they ship it all over the country. That’s another unique business that we are a part of. We also make furniture parts for several companies in the New England states.”
Long’s Hardwoods is no stranger to filling odd requests or unique requirements. “We receive some challenging requests on a daily basis and we absolutely love fulfilling those requests. I don’t believe in doing anything watered down.”
When asked what qualities he believes set his operation apart from others in the industry Long explained, “Number one is our quality. We work hard to ensure that every product is of the best possible quality it can be. Second is our turn-around time. If you come to me and tell me you need 5,000 feet of a particular moulding and you need it tomorrow, you’ll have it tomorrow. We pride ourselves on lead time. There are a lot of operations that have a four-week lead time. We hold ourselves accountable to a two week or less turn-around time. The majority of the time our turn-around is two to three days.”
With more than 30 years in business, Long said a lot of his current business is repeat clientele. “We’ve been in business long enough to know what it takes to stay in business and part of that is relationships. Building relationships that last is key to longevity in this industry. Our lumberyards are very heavily contractor-based and those relationships are important to maintain and we like to think we do it pretty well.”
As for influences on trends in his current markets, networks like HGTV have a huge impact. “We see a lot of products come off of those shows and it changes our dynamic of what we manufacture. We’ve seen some very unique products. Lately it’s been taking reclaimed wood and manufacturing products including kitchen cabinets and seating in restaurants. We made an entire wall out of reclaimed wood for Google’s office. It was their background where the sign hangs for their office.”
Looking at the future Long stated, “It all comes down to keeping yourself busy and opening up new markets by being willing to do what the market is asking for. There are many mills that try to stick to just a handful of products, and we are the complete opposite of that. We will do what it takes to get the customer what they want.”
Long’s Hardwoods is a member of the Pennsylvania Forest Products Association.
For more information contact them at 814-472-4740.
