74 � Woodturning Design December 2011

Woodcraft

I f you are a woodturner or woodworker, the nameWoodcraft is probably familiar to you. You may even havea Woodcraft franchise in your town, or if not, you maydeal with them through the Internet or their catalog.Probably the two striking things about the Woodcraft com-pany are their big green Woodcraft logo and the statue ofa Native American carving a wooden pole.

The First American Woodworker was commissioned byWoodcraft to commemorate their 50th anniversary in1978. The entire body of the Native American and thestump were carved from a single block of pine. Thinneddown from a 48" diameter piece, it was completed in alittle more than a year by American sculptor ArmandLaMontagne. The finished sculpture is five feet tall, 30" by34" square, and weighs in at 700 pounds.

Woodcraft began in Boston in 1928. Originally a one-room shop, it was dedicated to selling new and rebuiltwoodworking machinery to cabinetmakers and schools.By the 1950s, they had not only taken on the Boice CraneBench Machines dealership, but also Rockwell Delta. By1958, Woodcraft became the first retailer for the Marpleshand-tool line. Still a small retailer, a mention in the WholeEarth Catalog in the 60s fired up the mail-order business,and as they say, “The rest is history.”

In the 1980s, Sam Ross, an avid woodworker andcustomer of Woodcraft, bought the company. Sam’sexperience with retail stores helped drive the company toopen more stores around the country, and eventually thedistribution and customer service center was relocated toParkersburg, West Virginia. In the late 1990s, Woodcraftadded franchise locations, and the first franchise wassituated in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Now with overeighty stores in thirty-six states, the company reach isthrough retail outlets, catalog, and the Internet. The hub ofall this continues to be in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

There are three main facilities in Parkersburg. Thecorporate offices are located in an office complex on ahigh hill just outside of town. That site houses the corporatestaff from the president through the product developmentfolks. Buying, accounting, advertising, and all the centralfunctions are on-site and literally only steps from eachother. It is a tight-knit group with a great deal of interac-tion. Everywhere you go, there are reminders of what their

business is. If it isn’t woodworking tools for evaluation thatare evident, it is tools and equipment for the employees tobecome more familiar with and to use to develop theirskills.

Not too far down the road is the corporate-ownedstore. This store is much like the other Woodcraft stores thatare found around the country. The display fixtures,customer signage, and general layout are all the same.This store functions not only as a retail store, but also as atraining facility for the franchise owners, and new fran-chisees spend time here learning the Woodcraft system.

Right next door to the corporate store is the home ofWoodcraft magazine. The staff there is responsible for thecreation and publishing of the six issues a year woodwork-ing magazine. Jim Harrold and his staff have one of thefinest woodworking shops just downstairs. The shop is anabsolute showcase with nearly everything that a wood-turner or woodworker could wish for. The magazine photosand video materials are shot there, and the projects aremade there. Though it may look immaculate, make nomistake, real woodturning and woodworking takes placethere. Well lit and well equipped, it is an ideal place tocreate the projects and photos needed for the magazine.

Adjacent to the workshop is the telephone center,which houses the customer service personnel. Like all theother Woodcraft staff, their offices are also adorned withtheir woodturning and woodworking projects.

The third complex in the Parkersburg area is the ware-house merchandise distribution center. This operation doesthe receiving, warehousing, and order fulfillment of themerchandise. Similar to other shipping and receivingareas, there is a big truck yard for both deliveries and pick-ups. Order picking, packing, and shipping for the retailcustomer takes place here, as well as product shipping tothe retail stores—the only difference is the size of the pack-age.

The technical services group is located in offices inone corner of the warehouse. This quiet set of officescontains the staff you’ll speak to if you have questions orproblems with any particular product purchased fromWoodcraft. The technical specialists have almost all thevarious products right at their fingertips as they answeryour questions. If they don’t have that particular model or

Image supplied by: istockphoto.com/Marcela Barsse

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part number right at hand, it is only moments away in thewarehouse.

Seeing all the pieces of the operation and how theyplay together, you’ll begin to understand how you canorder your desired product from their e-mail, website, orcatalog and it will magically show up at your front door ina few days. With everything from retail operations support,merchandising, advertising, publishing, product develop-ment, order fulfillment, and more, there is a lot happeningin Parkersburg, West Virginia.

Fig. 1. High on a hilltop in the foggy mountains of WestVirginia sits the Woodcraft Corporate Headquarters.

Fig. 2. The lobby has a hutch with woodworking projectsand an assortment of wooden chairs made by employeesand friends.

Fig. 3. The chairs are well built and are there to use; theyare not just for looks.

Fig. 4. President JeffForbes takes greatpride in having em-ployees who arewoodturners andwoodworkers.

Fig. 5. The FirstAmerican Wood-worker, which wascommissioned byWoodcraft in 1978 tocelebrate their 50thanniversary, is rightoutside Jeff’s office.

Fig. 9. There is a Woodcraft store in town only a few milesfrom the corporate headquarters that serves as not only aretail store, but also a franchisee training facility.

Fig. 10. The store has the typical look and feel of the otherfacilities around the country, but can be used as a testground for new display ideas.

Fig. 11. Next door to the Woodcraft store are the offices ofWoodcraft magazine. Here is the conference room withthe work in progress for an upcoming edition.

Fig. 6. In every aisle and room, there are products beingused for evaluation and employee education.

Fig. 7. Ben Bice, the turning product manager, has his deskcovered with items that need to be tested and evaluated.

Fig. 8. All the employ-ees are encouraged tobecome woodworkers.Here, Amanda Silversfrom accounting showsoff her first turning.

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Kurt HertzogA professional woodturner, dem-onstrator, and teacher, Kurt Hertzogenjoys the continuum of woodturn-ing, from making his own turningtools to photographing his finishedturnings.

Kurt is a regular feature colum-nist for Woodturning Design maga-zine, one of the five CouncilMembers of the Pen Makers Guild,and a member of the Board of

Directors of the American Association of Woodturners.Kurt’s work has been featured in the American

Association of Woodturners “Rounding the Corners”Exhibit, and he has been published in WoodturningDesign, American Woodturner, Pen World, and Stylusmagazines. You can see his work on his website atwww.kurthertzog.com.

Fig. 12. The mag-azine’s Editor-In-Chief, Jim Harrold,is showing his andthe staff’s forayinto woodturning.

Fig. 13. Their workshop/studio/test facility is beneath themagazine’s offices; it has just about everything a wood-worker or woodturner could wish for.

Fig. 14. While immaculate, it is a working shop for projectcreation, as well as photographing and videotaping theseprojects.

Fig. 15. The warehousing and shipping building is locatedin a third complex across town, where mail order, Internetorders, and store shipments are packed and shipped.

Fig. 16. The technical services group is adjacent to thewarehouse.

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