Supplying our customers the best quality High Performance Lumber Products is our top priority.
We have been in the lumber industry for more than 50 years. Continuing the legacy of OHC requires passing down learned knowledge as well as investing into continuing education for employees who look forward to making a career here at OHC.
As the market demand for pattern and grade sorting has risen, we recognize the need to increase the number of trained and experienced lumber inspectors on our team.
We are pleased to announce that Raul Flores and Christian Beasley completed the NHLA Inspector Grading School this summer and are our newest certified lumber inspectors.
Raul has worked with us at our Lufkin, Texas location for three years. He is a hard worker and eager to learn. He jumped at the opportunity to expand his knowledge in the lumber industry by attending NHLA. When asked what he enjoyed the most about NHLA grading school, he said, “learning how to machine lumber to yield clear wood with minimal waste.” His favorite species is Aromatic Cedar. He loves the purple color and the smell.
New to the lumber industry, Christian came to OHC from the military and is at our Alabama location. He was intrigued when offered the opportunity to take on the task of inspecting lumber. He enjoyed learning about the process of manipulating moisture content with a kiln. His favorite species is Purpleheart because of the dramatic natural color.
They both agreed that the word for word memorization was the most challenging aspect of grading school, but contributed to the confidence they have coming to work every day, putting their best foot forward to seek out the clear wood that customers appreciate.
Both these guys devoted 7 weeks of determination, study time, hard work, and time away from their families to better serve our customers. Raul’s wife even spent time on the phone with him in the evenings quizzing him on what he learned that day.
No stick of lumber is exactly alike. Some are more detailed and intricate than others. Some are more clear than others, more vibrant than others. Some have knots and some people like knots in their wood and some don’t.
Sometimes you come across a board that just mesmerizes you and you think about the lucky person who ends up with a such a fine stick. You wonder where it will end up. Will it be used to create a front door to the house of a newly married couple? Will it be used to build a kitchen island top that kids will do their homework on in the evenings? Will it be used in a sports fishing boat that will reel in the winning bass at a fishing tournament? Maybe it will be used to rebuild a marina or deck that was demolished by Hurricane Laura or Sally.
This is the fun part of working in the lumber industry…daydreaming about the possibilities!
With the acquisition of Sitco Lumber Company in 2018 and Robinson Lumber Company in 2019 to better serve our customers, our exotic species list grew from 7 to 35. We acquired species that were new to many on our OHC team.
OHC is pleased to invest into two capable and hardworking employees to give them an opportunity to expand their expertise while also bringing assurance to our customers that the lumber they are receiving is thoroughly inspected with the utmost attention to every detail by professionally trained inspectors.
Lumber is a product of nature and therefore comes with imperfections such as knots, pinholes, shake, end split, sapwood, worm holes, and gum pockets.
On the flip side of that, lumber is a thing of beauty and deserves respect for its innate characteristics and charm.
OHC is committed to supplying you lumber you will be proud to sell; proud to create custom millwork with; proud to build your deck out of; proud to put on the bottom of your flatbed trailer floor; proud to display in your custom-built boat.
Looking for something specific? We can sort for plain-sawn, quarter-sawn, and figured.
NHLA grading school is internationally recognized as an outstanding program that gives lumber companies the legitimacy to assure customers that their lumber has been inspected through a rigorous process.
Find out more about NHLA by visiting nhla.com.
