One Source Moulding Manufacturer At White River Hardwoods
White River Hardwoods, based in Fayetteville, AR, manufactures Embellished and Traditional Hardwood Mouldings, Tambour Panels, acoustic slatwall, hand carved wood carvings, mantels, custom doors and coffered ceilings. White River works with top dealers and various trades supporting OMNI distribution model. The company purchases over two million board feet of Poplar, Clear and Knotty Alder, Red and White Oak, Walnut, Hickory, Cherry and quartersawn Oak (mostly FAS, 4/4 through 8/4, six to eight percent and rough) per year for use in manufacturing. Additional species handled include Sapele, Mahogany and pine. White River also offers embossing, ripsaw, sanding and priming, CNC, and design services.
Ben Johnson and Jesse Johnson are owners of White River Hardwoods. Ben handles sales and marketing for White River Hardwoods, while Jesse oversees production and purchasing lumber. With a combined 60+ years of knowledge, Jesse and Ben are 2nd generation, and both grew up in the family business.
White River was founded by Bruce and Joan Johnson, the parents of Jesse and Ben, in the mid-’70s, when the typical American home was finished with simple mouldings. Bruce recently retired and Joan heads up the Design Service Team and Management.
Ben Johnson said, “White River Hardwoods was established as a manufacturer selling through two-step distribution for the first 20 years. In the 1990’s we added to our product category and began importing. Our category today is architectural hardwood mouldings and millwork solutions.”
As for specialty items Ben explained, “We offer both traditional and specialty mouldings. We manufacture embossed hardwood mouldings with heat and pressure. We started doing manufacturing Mon Reale, which is composition applied to contoured mouldings, which was a process that began in Italy. Ornamentally Embossed™ Hardwood mouldings and Mon Reale® highly sculptured mouldings became our bread and butter.”
When asked about new products he said they recently introduced solid and flexible Tambour, plaster, and additional architectural products to fill out their category. “We have a new catalog coming out and also a new website,” he explained. “The new catalog is called The Volume 16. It’s about 180 pages, full color with at least 400 new products in it and Summer 2026 new catalog called “The Architecture of Surface” Catalog V26. White
River.com, Mouldings.com, and TambourTouch.com all operate under the White River umbrella. The reason we established the TambourTouch website is to bring to market a product that we’ve been selling for about 3 years, and that is Tambour wall paneling, T&G Tambour and supporting products like Veneer Slate and stone materials along with metals.”
Popular in tradeshows and with designers, Johnson said Tambour is a solid wood beaded paneling that is used in cabinetry, furniture and interiors. “We also have other wall paneling products that compliment it.”
When asked how White River has remained stable in an ever-changing industry since the 1970’s, Johnson credited the quality of their products and the reinvestment opportunities that they have accomplished throughout the years to gain efficiencies along with providing a higher quality of product.
With a half million capital investment, he said White River recently added a new Weinig Molder and oversized CNC for added manufacturing and capabilities. “Weinig techs from Germany visited our facility and installed the equipment,” he explained. “The process was very involved, and we changed a lot of the building structures to accommodate the new system, including our air ducts and electricity.”
Johnson said the entire process from start to finish took about four weeks. “The Weinig technicians were here on the floor setting up and educating us for about two weeks. We spent an additional week at their facilities learning the equipment and then there were a couple of weeks where we worked through the process, putting what we had learned to action.”
He said the advantages of the new molder have already shown in efficiency and production gains. “This addition allows us to run 12 to 16 runs per day instead of the eight to 10 that we were doing from multiple molders. So, our set up time is 25 percent less than what it used to be.”
When asked about other markets and services he said, “We offer priming and sanding of our Hardwood Moulding program; this is an added value to our customers, as it saves time and money when the millwork package hits the job. White River is a stocking manufacturer and also distributes and imports allowing for a large footprint of products and resources to our diverse customer base.”
As for special services, he continued, “Our award-winning Design Services is a program we have offered for 25+ years. We have mastered the art of working with Design and Trade to help with design and specification and keep the look and time frame moving forward. We have a team of architectural millwork designers that can go from a simple mantel to a beamed ceiling to an entire trim package with paneled walls. We are doing more with AI to assist with renderings, communication and data and feel that it is a seamless part of our organization allowing us to be more efficient.”
White River Hardwoods created a product line of traditional hardwood mouldings that launched the market for decorative millwork.
Their Poplar and Red Oak stain-grade mouldings, based on classical rules of balance and proportion, were a deviation from the paint-grade softwoods that had dominated the market for decades.
White River’s market share grew steadily throughout the ‘80s as architects, designers and consumers rediscovered classical motifs and embellished mouldings. By 1990, White River’s network distribution spanned 50 states and 27 countries. White River continued to expand its markets with hand carved product collections — Authentic Hand Carved® and Adornments for Cabinetry and Furniture™.
Always the innovator and educator, White River maintained its commitment to technology by aligning with 20-20 Technologies and Planit Solutions to develop design software to create 3D renderings in crisp, clear color.
Johnson concluded, “White River is known as a OneSource moulding manufacturer that continues to listen to its customers, trade and design professionals across the country who look to us for elegant hardwood mouldings, wood carvings, hardwood Tambour paneling and so much more.”
For more information visit whiteriver.com.
