Sellersburg, IN, July 12--Growth has pushed Pennington Hardwoods into a new 15,000-square-foot building. Pennington can sell his fine woods to local people again, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.
Pennington Hardwoods supplies domestic and exotic woods, specializing in uncommon species, sizes and patterns that it imports directly. Pennington thinks his company will be the first to offer residents of this area such a diverse selection of wood flooring.
This spring, the business moved from a crowded 2,000-square-foot office in Clarksville to the new building in Sellersburg. The lobby floor and offices at the new plant in Sellersburg are a mosaic of wood — different types, patterns and finishes. The company, which has six employees, finished last year with $2.8 million in revenues.
Pennington said it was tough to make the jump into the new space — which has more than 2,500 extra square feet for growth. "I'm so conservative, and this is such a big step. It was hard to take."
However, the new building allows Pennington to store wood and gives him more control over quality. He can ensure his woods, many of which are shipped from Brazil, Africa or Australia and once were held in a warehouse near Norfolk, Va., don't get lost or damaged in holding. And because he's storing wood and has space for a showroom, it's feasible to sell to local people again.
Pennington has put together products that he hopes will sell well here.
In his storage facility, he's built into the wall a façade of a cabin, with hand-hewn log siding and a makeshift porch made of hardwood decking.
Hardwood decking is used in several major cities because it's denser and guaranteed for 25 years without treatment, Pennington said. But not here.
"Here, hardly anyone knows about it."
He also thinks the log-cabin look might be appealing to people who want to redo a room in their house with a outdoorsy feel.
Most of Pennington's unfinished woods sell for between $3 and $5 per square foot. Most finished woods go for $4 to $6.
He said the company is on target for $3.6 million in revenue this year.
Ultimately, he'd like to partner with a mill in Brazil and take its full production, to avoid bottlenecks.
