Bent Wood Solutions honored as Chamber's Medium Business of the Year
Think about using your senses to decipher what kind of food is on your plate: the aroma of freshly baked bread, the feel of fluffy mashed potatoes or the sight of a mouth-watering steak. For many it is easy to discern what food is there by using their senses.
But what if you could do the same thing with types of wood? What if simply feeling, smelling and seeing various woods could determine what kind of wood is present?
That is a gift Atlee Kaufman, owner of Bent Wood Solutions, has when it comes to wood, and it is that kind of connection with wood that has made his company one that has risen to the top of the hardwood industry in Holmes County.
The 2017 Holmes County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau's annual meeting and awards banquet took place at Carlisle Inn in Walnut Creek on Thursday, Nov. 9. As always there was a very impressive array of recipients for the Small, Medium and Large Business of the Year Awards as well as the Community Service and Lifetime Achievement Awards.
The professionalism and dedication to producing outstanding product helped pave the way for Bent Wood Solutions being tabbed as the Medium Business of the Year.
“When Andy sits at his desk, he can tell what kind of wood is being bent at his workshop, whether it is red oak, brown maple or it has that funky smell of foreign wood,” presenter Brian Kempf of Rea & Associates said. “That kind of expertise comes from experience and dedication to sustainable practices.”
Located just outside of Mt. Hope, this second-generation family business has spread its wings worldwide in its effort to build beautiful hardwood furniture.
And while there are straight-shooters, of which Kaufman is one, in his business, straight is a rarity because his company focuses on the art of bending, shaping and curving hardwood into some of the most gorgeous and enticing shapes that become alluring when a piece of furniture is finished.
By selecting green lumber and drying it to a perfect moisture, the company bends and shapes wood in ways that can at times seem impossible.
In 1981 Kaufman got into the business world in the buggy shop business with his father-in-law. During that time he began experimenting with the creation of bent wood products for buggies. One by one various local hardwood businesses began asking Kaufman to create some kind of unique bent wood product for their company.
As the furniture business in Holmes County began to grow exponentially, Kaufman dove headlong into the bent wood industry, creating Bent Wood Solutions.
"Today Bent Wood Solutions is a leader in supplying bent hardwood to businesses around the globe. Most of their green lumber comes from local mills or mills just north of here, which ensures a more stable product,” Kempf said.
Drying green wood and bending it to perfection is truly an art form, and Bent Wood Solutions has created some stunning art for hardwood businesses. The actual bending process takes great expertise, utilizing steam pressure, hot boxes and radio frequencies to create unique and inspirational pieces of bent wood.
“The beauty of forestry is that there is always something more to do,” which is something Kaufman said keeps him excited about what he does.
He still spends at least one day each week actively walking through woodlands he owns for inspiration and to make sure his trees are thriving.
With his sons joining the business, it has become a family business that has truly helped make the world a more beautiful place.
“I am humbled to receive this award,” Kaufman said at the banquet celebration. "My philosophy is trust in the Lord because he cares. That is what I like to think every morning when I wake up.”
Kaufman said one of the biggest reasons for his success has been the incredible effort and expertise of his staff. He noted that they are as important as anything he does for the business.
“I have employees who have been there 30-some years and quite a few that have been here 25 years, so sometimes it is best to leave them with the decisions and see what they come up with.”
He added that he also feels blessed to live in an area that provides more than half of the nation’s residential hardwood furniture, which makes it much easier to operate, and raw material is abundant.
Most people don’t like it when people bend the rules, but for this local business, they most certainly make an exception.