Brighton, MO—Since 1993 Missouri Hardwood Products, located here, has been a reliable, go-to business for homeowners and contractors alike looking for quality Hardwood flooring. Keeping their business as local as possible, the company sources much of its lumber from sawmills that utilize trees from the Ozark forest.
Chris Murphy, plant manager, said the company employs about 30 people and is designed to meet the needs of its customers, even during these challenging times for the lumber industry.
“We have a rip line that is the beginning stages of the flooring, which is located in a medium-sized building,” he said. “We also have a planer, a rip saw, and three chop saws. We have three kilns, two with 100,000 board-foot-capacity each and one with a 50,000 board-foot-capacity.”
To provide some sense of the scale of production, Murphy said that when the kilns are running for a solid month, they can process upwards of 300,000 board feet. The company also operates a stacker that can move between 20,000 and 25,000 board feet a day. He added that Missouri Hardwood Products also employs a large air-dry yard and purchases in excess of 3 million board feet annually. The company is also a member of both the National Wood Flooring Association and the Missouri Forest Products Association.
“We run a clean operation,” Murphy said. “We take pride in what we do. We are kind of tucked away in the rural area of Brighton, Missouri. The people here are people who are really proud of this place and want to take care of it.”
Murphy said Missouri Hardwood Products has a solid reputation as a quality manufacturer of flooring. “We always put out a great product, and we are well-known around this area,” he noted, adding that the company is always looking for ways to better serve its customers. “We recently put in a new moulder that has greatly increased our production ability.”
The firm primarily uses Red and White Oak for its flooring, but Murphy added that the company also satisfies a limited market for Maple, Hickory and Cherry flooring. He said the operation also provides some smaller services on the side, such as hauling and selling their own sawdust.
Murphy noted that the pandemic has had an impact on the supply chain, and that this has affected Missouri Hardwood Products. He said these are unusual times in the lumber business. “You can buy lumber right now, but it’s such a high-priced product; the challenge is to find mills that will sell you lumber and be able to turn a profit on that.”
Murphy noted that the sawmills, too, are facing challenges, especially when it comes to finding qualified employees. The result has been that the overall level of Hardwood production is down considerably, especially when compared with the high demand.
“We have issues finding help also,” Murphy said. “We have recently increased our wages to stay competitive with others in the area. This helps encourage those that are looking for gainful employment with a company that they can grow with.”
Looking toward the future, Murphy said the plan at Missouri Hardwood Products is to focus on the core flooring business that they know and do so well, and to keep customers satisfied.
“Some are contractors, but occasionally we will have homeowners come into the office and purchase flooring from us,” he said. “We have huge contracting jobs with thousands of feet of flooring, and then we will have some people who will want 200 or 300 feet of flooring. There is a wide range of jobs.”
More important, Murphy said, is that Missouri Hardwood Products is a proud member of the community it serves. “I take a sense of pride in being able to help the community in that sort of way. We frequently donate or participate in local organizations and school fundraisers. We want our community to know we are here, and we care.”
More important, Murphy said, is that Missouri Hardwood Products is a proud member of the community it serves. “I take a sense of pride in being able to help the community in that sort of way. We frequently donate or participate in local organizations and school fundraisers. We want our community to know we are here, and we care.”
To learn more, go to www.missourihardwoodproducts.com.
