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8 I July 30/August 6, 2012
manufacturer spotlight
fcnews
Hallmark Hardwoods: Rich in history, quality
hardwood flooring manufactur- rily distributors. It has no home tive duties for 30 years.
ers at the time. The engineered center business. “We prefer the This Vietnam factory
ONTARIO, CALIF.—The name structure had a lower cost of distributor relationship because offers long-term stability
Hallmark is much more syn- entry for many manufacturers in I respect the American distribu- of supply.”
onymous with greeting cards comparison to furniture manu- tion system from manufacturer
Pan assures the qualithan flooring, but Hallmark facturing. Excellent machine to distributor to dealer,” Pan ty of product coming out
Hardwoods owner Tony Pan has manufacturers in Asia also said. “Many Chinese companies of the Vietnam factory is
quietly been making history in meant they didn’t have to buy take short cuts and go directly to equivalent to its Chinesethe U.S. for nearly 15 years. European manufacturing equip- dealers. Our philosophy is made products. “The techThat’s longer than many of his ment.”
everyone brings value through- nology and the equipcompetitors and certainly
Pan continued to bring in out the chain.”
ment is a copy of what we
product under his United
have in China. It’s the
Wood Floor brand, but Focus on quality
same system with all new
business kicked into Hallmark’s goal then, as it is equipment. And we have
another gear with the today, Pan said, is to sell a quali- our own quality control
increasing popularity of ty product at a fair and reason- team.”
character/rustic looks. “I able price. The quality story
While it is more exwas seeing more and more begins at the outset with the pensive to manufacture
hand-distressed products purchase of its own raw materi- in Vietnam, Pan acknowlProducts in the Chaparral Collection
offer 7-inch-wide planks with longer
in the market. I realized I als. “We control our lumber. edged this may change
random lengths of up to 6 feet.
could make this product in We source logs and lumber in given how the cost of
China more effectively the U.S., then ship to China to labor is increasing in
produce our own face veneers. China. “Long term, we believe one away. “I was touched by
due to lower labor costs.”
He claims to be the There are certain sawmills we we are going to be successful this, so I decided all profits from
very first to buy 4.2mm will not do business with given our supply stream and the sale of our moldings would
from Great Lakers and because the quality of their lum- efficiency. We believe we will do go to Shepherds Field.”
It has impacted the entire
make private label product ber does not allow us to create those things better [than our
company. In fact, a number of
the products our customers are competitors].”
Tony Pan, right, shown with Hallmark’s for many companies such
looking for.”
He cited dimensional stabil- people who work at Real Wood
Ron Oliver, began bringing in hardwood as Witex. “The fact that
That, he explained, in- ity as one competitive advan- Floors in West Plains, Mo.,
the margins were so high
from China as early as 1998.
at the time on the hand- cludes boards with longer aver- tage. “Because engineered hard- including Sam Cobb, the presilonger than all those who distressed flooring made the age lengths, up to 7 feet on sawn wood is more dimensionally sta- dent, have adopted children
import from China. In fact, it emergence of significant num- and 6 feet on rotary. “You are ble you can make the planks from Shepherds Field.
can be argued that Pan played a bers of Chinese companies pos- getting fewer defective materi- wider. This minimizes some of
significant role in their success.
als and longer average lengths. the excessive plank movement
sible.”
Back when Triangle Pacific
We never get complaints from you get with a wider solid prodand its Bruce, Hartco and The birth of Hallmark
installers that we ship too many uct. “We make 4mm sawn cut
Robbins brands virtually con- With that, in 2005 Pan decided short boards.”
because the usable wear layer is
trolled the U.S. hardwood floor- to set up his own brand focusHallmark is also partnering comparable to solid. The 4mm
ing market in the 1990s, Pan ing on quality and integrity. with factories that will make can be resanded at least three
was watching from the side- “We were seeing a lot of product to its specifications times and our 2.5mm rotary
lines. He realized there was lit- Chinese companies
product can be resandtle to no Chinese-made wood selling birch but mared twice. That creates
FCNews asked Tony Pan,
being imported into this coun- keting it as maple. We
exceptional long-term
president of Hallmark
try. “I knew there had to be an were seeing Asian
value for the cusHardwoods, why a retailer
opportunity for Chinese-made maple marketed as
tomer.”
should take on the
product because of the labor American maple. AsThe results speak
Hallmark line. He had no
advantages,” he said.
ian butternut would
for themselves. Hallshortage of reasons.
So in 1998, Pan brought in be called American
mark has posted four
1. We offer a premium
solid hardwood flooring from walnut. Their honesty
consecutive growth
product, providing high
China, claiming to be the first to was questionable. We
years. This summer
quality at a fair and reasondo so. Species were natural white opted right from the
the company will exable price.
oak in colors he called honey and start to not employ that
pand its California
One way in which Hallmark creates value on its
2. We truly partner with
roast.
strategy and focused engineered flooring, like the Heirloom Collection, is warehouse capability
our
authorized dealer netPan started off small. He sold very
heavily
on by offering a 4mm sawn cut solid wear surface that to 50,000 square feet
work
in that we have no
to local dealers in Southern American
walnut,
in addition to its
can be resanded at least three times.
online sales or home center
California under the United hickory and maple as
10,000 square feet of
business.
Wood Floor brand and also pri- well as Asian birch and not try- rather than approaching a facto- space in Florida as well as an
3. Territorial exclusivity.
vate labeled for other companies. ing to confuse the market.”
ry to make a certain product. additional 20,000 square feet of
At
Surfaces
the last couple
He did not stop there. “Then
The new company was called “And the quality control people space in Baltimore.
of years, I’ve had more dealmy customers told me engi- Hallmark Hardwoods and the at the factory work for us.”
ers complain that our disneered wood was very popular, first distributor was Longust
Today, the factory that man- Benevolence
tributor sales reps won’t set
so I wanted to make the highest Distributing in the Southwest. ufactures Hallmark’s six engi- Pan is a major supporter of
them up. It’s all about limitquality engineered floors,” Pan Longust was followed by The neered lines (four sawn, two Shepherds Field, an orphanage
ed display placement.
said. “We developed a multiple Masters Craft (West Plains, rotary) are located in both in China where most of the chilbirch core, sawn face, premium Mo.), Intermountain (Boise, China and Vietnam. After the dren are handicapped. Over the
4. We do not go direct.
product.”
Idaho), Palo Duro Hardwoods antidumping investigation was last five years, Hallmark’s sister
5. We have a very small
It was this product, Pan said, (Denver), Horizon Forest - Long announced in October 2010, company, Real Wood Floors, has
claims rate, almost invisithat opened the floodgates to Floor (Richmond, Va.) and NRF within two months Pan decided installed more than 30,000
ble. We have a distributor
countless Chinese manufactur- (Augusta, Maine). The story to joint venture and make a square feet at the orphanage.
that has five other major
ers importing engineered hard- then, as it is now, is a significant multi-million dollar investment
But Hallmark’s involvement
wood lines, and we outsell
wood flooring to the U.S., begin- value proposition for retailers.
in a Vietnam facility. “It’s the runs deeper than flooring In
each of the five combined
ning primarily in the early to
While Hallmark is focusing best answer for antidumping of April 2010, Pan attended a
by a major margin and have
mid 2000s. “It really helped on the specialty retailer, it still China-made engineered wood Leaders Summitt where he
fewer claims than all five
China and the American con- makes private label products for floors,” he said. “Everyone has to learned about Toms Shoes. For
combined.
sumer. There were not many several large customers, prima- be concerned about the retroac- every pair of shoes sold, it gives
By Steven Feldman
Why should
a retailer
take on the
Hallmark line?