Grading, Kiln Drying, & Stewardship

Lumber sold by GF Hardwoods is graded before the kiln-drying process at Moss Sawmills and then graded a second time by GF Hardwoods after it’s dried. Our trained graders evaluate a raw cut board of hardwood lumber and assigns the board a grade based on the standards set forth by NHLA Hardwood Lumber Grading Rules. Once the grade is determined the board can then be valued, distributed/sold and utilized by the proper manufacturing segment such as furniture, flooring, cabinetry, etc. It is our goal to be sure that our customers receive the quality of materials they expect and that meet or exceed standards for their industry’s needs. We’ll be glad to discuss the needs for your business and help you determine which grade is best for you.

 

GF Hardwoods staff members have several decades of combined grading experience. To reinforce this experience, weekly classes are held to keep our graders on the same NHLA page.

Each board is evaluated by our trained staff, first at Moss Sawmills, left, and then after kiln drying at GF Hardwoods, right, according to NHLA Hardwood Lumber Grading Rules.

Kiln Manager Derek Graves oversees drying of more than 20 million of board feet of lumber annually in two types of dry kilns.

 

GF Hardwoods lumber is dried to 6-8% moisture level, which meets industry standards for hardwoods. Advantages of kiln dried wood include increased consistency and less shrinkage in the products manufactured by our customers from our lumber. This requires expert methods and careful handiwork. Our employees have developed a tried-true technique that works every time, and we’ll walk you through the entire process.

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Kiln-dried hardwood lumber has long been the main focus of GF Hardwoods’ business, although we also sell green lumber, particularly to the flooring market. Our kiln-drying capacity is 900,000 board feet, meaning we can service customers with businesses that are large or small. We produce about 20 million board feet of lumber annually in thicknesses ranging from 4/4 to 8/4.

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As part of our commitment to reducing waste in our operations, our onsite kilns are fired by sawdust produced during the log milling process.

As part of a group of companies committed to natural resource stewardship green practices, GF Hardwoods and Moss Sawmills can truly say, “We were green when being green wasn’t cool.”

With us, good stewardship of our natural resources isn’t just a slogan, it’s a way of life. Stewardship at Moss Sawmills and GF Hardwoods includes reuse of every part of the tree. Sawdust from our milling process at Moss Sawmills is used to fire our dry kilns at GF Hardwoods. Chips that result from debarking at Moss Sawmills become much & playground surfaces.

 

Our parent company, Green Forest Wood Products, was started in 1970 to supplement the income from a family farm. That family farming operation and all the conservation measures associated with it continues with another generation today on several thousand acres in Tennessee and Kentucky.

Along the way, our founder, the late Doug Smith, operated the company under the philosophy, “If you’re going to make your living in wood products, you must have practices in place to keep renewing those raw materials, and you need to use every part of a log you can.” That’s not just a good business practice, it’s proper stewardship.

And it’s just a part of our family of companies’ commitment to stewardship, green practices and sustainability measures.

 

We practice what we preach, and also preach what we practice. We not only do these things as a part of our everyday business, we encourage our sister companies, our customers and our suppliers to get involved as well.