OUR PROCESS
Dedicated To Caring For Our Lumber Products
Hartzell Hardwoods has a rich history of being North America’s premier Walnut producer. We are proud to be the original Walnut company with over 140 years of experience producing the industries’ highest quality hardwoods. Taking “Pride in Every Board” isn’t just a slogan or tag line, it is a way of life at Hartzell and we strive every day to find new and better ways provide our customers with products that not just meet, but exceed expectations. We continue to invest in our facilities and now have 2 strategically located concentration yards in Ohio & Missouri in the heart of North America’s best Walnut & Oak forests. Both facilities are equipped with state of the art drying equipment, lumber handling machinery, and packaging facilities. Quality, value, and a commitment to our customers is what drives our production and allows us to successfully ship our hardwoods to customers in over 40 different countries worldwide.
HARTZELL HARDWOODS
HARTZELL DRYING PROCESS
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Pioneered the steaming process for Walnut to turn white sapwood into a rich brown walnut color, a process universally adopted by the hardwood industry
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Kilns & steam boxes heated using wood fired boilers (with natural gas powered back up boiler in Piqua) to properly dry all material to between 6-9% MC
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Steam all Walnut within 5 days of receiving at our facility, most material goes directly from the truck to the steam box
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Large Air Dry Yards at both facilities managed carefully so all material enters the dry kiln at proper MC% for optimal drying and quality
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Utilize multiple T-sheds wrapped in mesh tarps (Shade Dry) to protect green lumber from damage due to natural elements
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Pre Dry all thick stock Oak in 2 state of the art pre-dryers with over 1 million board feet capacity to ensure all material lays flat, is evenly dried & free drying defects, and maintains it natural bright color
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Condition and Equalize all kilns prior to unloading to ensure material is free of stress and evenly dried
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Monitor all kilns daily & work with industry experts to prefect our drying process
HARTZELL GRADING PROCESS
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Industries best team of NHLA certified graders with over 100 years of experience
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2 grading lines in Piqua, and a new state of the art lumber handling line in Kirksville
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Grade all material to meet or exceed NHLA Grade Standards once received green, and again after the kiln drying process
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Fully automated sorting system enables speed, high yield, and maximum flexibility
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Ability to pull specialized grades and sorts designed to increase customer yields and fit specific needs
HARTZELL PACAKAGING PROCESS
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Packaging and overall appearance of the material we ship is a top priority at Hartzell
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Every board is hand piled into each unit by our professionally trained staff to ensure Hartzell’s packaging standards are met
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Hartzell end paint and logo carefully applied when requested
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Custom logo and painting available to meet our customers specific needs
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All material is packaged with the intent for customers to ship directly to clients without the need to re-handle or re-package
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Quick shipments of multiple items to allow for customers to meet changing demands in a fast paced industry
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Specialize in mixed shipments of multiple items
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Highly experienced loaders for both containers & flatbeds
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Willing and prefer to book all shipments and handle all shipping documents
