Wood Supplier Expands in Santa Ana
By SAMANTHA LEE
Santa Ana-based Austin Hardwood Inc., a supplier of wood to contractors, homebuilders and furniture makers, has doubled its space in Santa Ana.
The company, which said it has supplied wood for the jet of Apple Computer Inc.’s Steve Jobs and the home of Broadcom Corp.’s Henry Nichols, moved into a two-story, 45,000-square-foot building at 610 Santiago St. earlier this month. Pre-viously, Austin was in 19,000 square feet in Santa Ana.
“We had to look for a space where we could do what we do better,” said Steve Morris, director of marketing.
Austin sells hardwood lumber, plywood and mouldings and counts $15 million in yearly sales, Morris said. President Joe Lomax and his Lomax Associates LLC owns the privately held company.
About 10% of the new space is being used for Austin’s corporate offices, Morris said. A warehouse and showroom take up the rest.
The company, which counts 22 employees, doesn’t have plans to hire more workers for now, according to Morris. Austin also has a San Diego facility with 10 employees.
Southern California’s still-strong custom home market is driving Austin’s growth, according to Morris.
“It’s the one sector of the economy that hasn’t been affected,” he said.
The company’s new space houses an expanded plywood and hardwood section, where contractors can select their own lumber, Morris said.
“For high-end furniture and cabinet makers, it’s important for them to be able to pick specific pieces of lumber,” he said.
The bulk of company’s business,80%,comes from selling lumber to homebuilders. Wood from Austin also is found in the home of Broadcom’s Henry Samueli, Morris said.
Custom homebuilders such as Newport Beach’s J.T. Finneran Inc. use Austin’s products for building furniture, paneling and doors. Big sellers are maple, cherry and red oak, Morris said. The company also tracks down hard-to-find woods such as wenge from Africa and Asian and South American mahogany.
A fifth of Austin’s business comes from specialty contractors including General Dynamics Co.’s Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., which used maple and wenge on Job’s jet, Morris said. A Middle Eastern sultan and Ford Motor Co. also have used Austin’s lumber for private planes. Fender Musical Instruments Corp. uses wood from Austin on custom guitars, Morris said.
Rivals include Reel Lumber Service and Ganahl Lumber Co., both of Anaheim, as well as Santa Ana’s Strata Forest Products, Morris said.
