Publication Details
Small enterprises' importance to the U.S. secondary wood processing industry
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Year Published
2013
Publication
In: International scientific conference on hardwood processing; 2013 October 7-9; Florence, Italy. ISCHP: 306-313.
Abstract
The past decades have seen numerous U.S. secondary wood processing companies shift their production to overseas locations, mainly in Southeast Asia. The remaining companies have been hit hard by the downturn in housing markets and the following recession. Thus, many large customers of the U.S. hardwood lumber industry have reduced or stopped the purchase of products, leaving mostly smaller firms as the drivers of demand for the U.S. hardwood industry. Therefore, it has become important to understand these small firms’ needs in the current business environment. This study consisted of a mail survey asking participants in six U.S. states questions to help determine the unique characteristics of small firms in the woodworking industry. Both large and small firms attributed much of their success to their manufacturing capabilities and leadership prowess. However, small firms used less formal paths to gather information and planned less investments. Small firms, in general, also purchased more hardwood lumber using hardwood distributors and requested fewer specialized services from their lumber suppliers.
Citation
Buehlmann, Urs; Espinoza, Omar; Bumgardner, Matthew; Sperber, Michael. 2013. Small enterprises' importance to the US secondary wood processing industry. In: International scientific conference on hardwood processing; 2013 October 7-9; Florence, Italy. ISCHP: 306-313.