All of us are at the mercy of trends. Whatever is the latest and greatest, we all have to have it. Or we have to redesign our products to embrace that trend. Since we are a large importer of genuine Burmese Teak, we understandably do a lot of business with boat builders. These boat builders almost exclusively use Teak for both exteriors and interior elements of their boats. These days we are seeing a lot more demand for different species in the cabins of boats, and this is throwing many builders for a loop. The issue is that when your staff has only known one species, there are some growing pains associated with bringing another product into your production environment.
A Case Study
So it was with one of our long time customers who wanted to make a switch to Walnut for some of their yacht cabins. Their initial specifications were near impossible to meet as they were so used to Teak along with the sizes and grades available with that species. As we began to talk with them about their needs and also what may be coming in the future as they shift production on many of their boats, it became clear that we both needed more information.
With that in mind, we invited a team of their people – from designers to carpenters to sales staff – down to our yard, so we could give them a lesson in lumber grading and get into a more detailed conversation about how they actually use the lumber in their construction. Our staff spent a lot of time showing them our current inventory and explaining how the grades of Walnut differ from other species.
This is a fact that is surprisingly unknown outside of the lumber yard in today’s world of manufactured and engineered wood. I know it seems obvious when stated, but wood is an organic product and not every tree produces boards that meet our specifications. Walnut is especially onerous in this regard, producing a much higher waste factor when compared with tropical exotic species.
Initially, this revelation caused a lot of alarm, because it was clear now that it would be near impossible to consistently meet the thickness, width, length, and grade that they required to build their boats. So we all agreed it was time to take a lunch break and think about it.
Fortified with calories, we all sat down and began to talk about the construction process and what was done with the boards once they were unloaded into the shop. Our staff started to see where there was a lot of waste where there didn’t have to be and places where defects could be worked around instead of requiring a perfectly clear board. One perfect example was having the customer provide us copies of a template which they use to layout a part, so that we could choose lumber that would fit and which would strategically avoid knots, checks, wane, or sapwood. After all, wouldn’t it be better for these defect pieces to be laying on the shop floor around the bandsaw instead of flawless (and more expensive) stock?
Financial considerations aren’t that prominent when a builder is going from one of the most expensive woods on the market (Teak) to just about any other species. Everything seems like it is on sale to a Teak user. Still, when we started to talk about the pricing differences between 100% clear Walnut and FAS Walnut, it was hard to deny that a little value engineering around what specifications are actually needed according to the part would pay off big time at the end of the project.
Even more important, however, was the fact that a consistent supply of clear Walnut would be impossible to maintain. It would do a manufacturer no good to switch up a product line and not be able to find the material for that line months down the road.
But this wasn’t all education on the customer’s part. We learned a lot from them and have been able to purchase Walnut differently, knowing exactly what was needed. The end result is that we actually have more inventory in stock and have been able to justify buying a higher grade of “premium” Walnut, because we know that there is a market for it and a customer who understands why it is premium. We now have a specific buying plan for this customer, and we have a specific grader (who was a part of this meeting) who now pulls lumber specifically for the customer whenever material leaves a kiln or arrives on the lumber yard.
On the whole, this customer visit was an incredibly valuable experience for us, and I believe the customer feels the same way. It is something we like to do as often as we can with our customers, and without fail, it yields better lumber to more accurately meets the needs of the customer with less waste. And no matter how you look at it, everyone saves money that way.
Hi Shannon,
I found your boat builder post very interesting and have followed your posts and commentary (both here and elsewhere) with interest. I wonder if you or your company has messed around at all with torrefaction as a method of treating wood. I read somewhere that it was used in a primitive way by the Vikings and that is a much more common method of treating wood in Scandinavian countries. I know that Martin and some other guitars makers have started using it. Martin apparently can simulate wood of almost any age. But it seems like it would also have a lot of advantages for boat builders and, well really any wood that is exposed to the elements like window frames, doors, decking, etc. Another advantage is that it appears to be a lot faster and more economical way of drying wood. Perhaps your company already sells it and I just haven’t come across it.
John
I neglected to mention in my last post that I did a search of the words torrefied and torrefaction and got zero results.
How do your genuine mahogany supplies look now? Is it all plantation stuff or is it some of it old growth?
I was thinking that torrefied mahagony might look amazing in boats… and do amazingly well.
John, Torrefied wood (Thermally Modified to those with pronunciation issues) is nothing new. Like you said, it goes back centuries. I think the biggest use is as fuel these days in making wood stove pellets. However for the past 20 or so years Europe has been using it in windows and doors because of the stability of the product. Its probably been 10 years or so that it has been in use in the US. Like anything new there were some missteps at first and honeycombing and case hardening is still a consideration when you are working with thicker cuts of wood. But honestly the biggest issue is that the lumber and construction industry is slow to accept change whilst proven alternatives are still out there. With a major recession there haven’t been any companies able to make the capital investment to retool their kiln operations, buying procedures, and mess with their inventory for a product that does not have a defined market. But I do see it gaining ground and I’m personally hopeful we can get more market acceptance of it since we can essentially make exterior products from anything. It does add to the cost obviously by usually 1-1.50 a board foot but if you can start with a cheaper species you can usually still come in under the cost of some of the exotics. I still think there are some hiccups to work out in the production process and in order for any product to gain ground in the market the sourcing and quality has to be consistent. I actually think the window and door companies will lead this charge long before the boat builders do.
Regarding Mahogany we have old growth and plantation from Fiji. Supplies are still strong but we are urging most of our customers to find alternatives as global export levels continue to drop (along with the grade).
Shannon,
Thank you for your reply. The search I mentioned was just of the content on this site. I’ve found a lot of other stuff, including Yamaha’s patent for torrefaction of wood, which was pretty interesting–although the math was way beyond my current abilities (I seem to have forgotten most of the math I learned in high school and college). If nothing else, the Yamaha document demonstrates to me that I will never learn everything there is to know about wood, no matter how many more years I put into it.
Best,
John
http://www.google.com/patents/US6667429 In case you are interested