Graf Brothers Flooring and Lumber

Graf Brothers Flooring and Lumber specializes in, and is the world's largest manufacturer of, rift and quarter sawn oak products.[3] Rift & Quartered lumber results from a unique way of sawing that maximizes the yield of lumber with vertical grain. Vertical grain is preferred because of its excellent technical properties. Lumber that has been sawed using this method expands evenly and vertically. Vertical grain also increases the structural integrity of the wood.[4]

Graf Brothers Flooring and Lumber
TypePrivate
IndustryManufacturing, Basic Materials
Founded2003[1]
HeadquartersSouth Shore, KY
Key people
David Graf, President
ProductsHardwood Flooring and Lumber
OwnerDavid Graf; Greg Graf
Number of employees
275[1]
Websitewww.grafbro.com[2]

Graf Bros produces 125,000 board feet (290 m3) of lumber and 35,000 square feet (3,300 m2) of flooring per day.[1] The company maintains 2.5 million board foot (5,900 m3) of logs, 5 million board foot (12,000 m3) of lumber and 750,000 square feet (70,000 m2) of flooring in inventory, including stocks at four West Coast warehouses. Graf Brothers sells approximately half of its lumber to distribution yards and flooring and millwork manufacturers, and the other half goes into its own flooring production.[2] Graf Bros maintains lumber inventory at four different warehouses on the West Coast. The company's flooring is shipped to distributors in Europe, Japan, and Asia, as well as 260 flooring distributors in North America.[3] Graf Brothers also has a sales office in Brussels, Belgium.[2]

Graf Brothers' headquarters and main sales office is a site of 70 acres (30 ha) in South Shore, Kentucky. This area houses a log yard of 5 acres (2 ha) that can hold up to 3 million board foot (7,100 m3) of logs under water, an ultra high-tech band mill, 18 kilns capable of drying 2 million board foot (4,700 m3) of lumber per month, a Walnut steamer, several warehouses, and two state-of-the-art computerized rip lines for manufacturing ripped-to-width lumber and flooring blanks. All of these facilities have been built since the site was acquired in 2003. Graf Brothers also operates satellite log yards in Vanceburg, Kentucky, and Prichard, West Virginia. In addition to its own mill, Graf Brothers is supplied by two dedicated contract sawmills, Brown Brothers Lumber in Otway, Ohio, and Redoutey Lumber in Henley, Ohio. The flooring is molded exclusively by Graf Brothers at its South Shore, Kentucky plant.[2]

Graf Bros partakes in two practices that are unique to the lumber and flooring industries. The first is the production of "Monster Boards", which are boards with width offerings ranging from 9 to 32 inches (23 to 81 cm).[2] The second unique practice is offering sorted or fixed widths in rift and quarter sawn lumber in almost any width the customer wants.[1]

On December 30, 2017, a fire broke out in its main lumber storage facility. The 75,000 sq ft (6,968 m2) building was deemed a total loss.[5]

References
  1. Wood Products Manufacturers Association August 2008 Newsletter
  2. Hardwood Lumber Buyer - March/April 2007
  3. National Hardwood Magazine - February 2007
  4. "Small Business Environmental (search graf under keywords, then scroll to bottom of page and click on the graf bros link to view the article)". Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  5. "Fire destroys flooring company building". WSAZ-TV. December 31, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
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