National Hardwood Magazine - April 2024

University of Notre Dame’s newly constructed Raclin Murphy Museum of Art specified all five-inch rift-only White Oak engineered
flooring, from Reliance Hardwood Flooring.
Lewis Lumber And Milling Opens Second Manufacturing
Operation To Keep Up With Substantial Growth
With three generations of lumber experience under
their tool belts, the Lewis family knows how to take care
of its customers.
Founded over a decade ago in Dickson, TN, Lewis
Lumber and Milling Inc. manufactures the Reliance Hardwood
Flooring brand, as well as custom kitchen cabinet
components. Specializing in wide width Hardwood plank
flooring in long lengths, the company recently invested
more than $15 million to renovate a 100,000-square-foot
facility in Pennsylvania to better serve new and old customers
alike.
President Mike Lewis, whose motto is “consistency is
king” purchased a facility in Clarion, PA, to keep up with
growing demand. “Consistent products mean customers
can depend on you time and time again. Being a reliable
source for our customers is important to us,” he said.
An emphasis on reliability means controlling every part
of manufacturing, starting with the purchase of green
By Terry Miller
lumber from partner sawmills. Mike and his team include
experts at each step of the manufacturing process, from
wood drying, grading and machining, as well as warehousing
and shipping. It’s also a family affair, with Mike
Lewis working as president and Joe Lewis as vice president,
Forrest Lewis focused on manufacturing as plant
manager and both Libby Lewis-Clayton and Lee Lewis
concentrating on Hardwood flooring sales.
Lewis Lumber and Milling opened the new facility to
“mirror exactly what we are doing in Tennessee,” according
to Mike. “I don’t want our customers to experience
any type of manufacturing differences or learning curve
from the new plant,” he said. “We are training a lot. We
have spent a lot of time and energy making sure it is
right.”
The purchase was prompted by the gradual growth in
the client base and the company’s top notch unfinished
solid Hardwood flooring and engineered Hardwood
Flooring and cabinet components are manufactured to the strictest tolerances, utilizing Weinig moulders, Hasko
end matchers, and double end tenoners.
flooring. Flooring is available in widths 4-to-10 inches,
with lengths available through 12 feet and is offered in
plain sawn, rift sawn, quarter sawn, live sawn and herringbone.
“We have more sales than we can manufacture here
in Tennessee,” Mike said. “Expanding was needed so
we looked at premier locations for timber and lumber.”
Tom Edwards, CFO, said there is a three-fold strategy
for expanding into a facility in the Northeastern U.S.
He noted that the company is now closer to the resource.
“People really like White Oak and Red Oak from
Pennsylvania, New York and Northern Ohio, some Hickory
and Cherry too,” Edwards said. “One of the reasons
we weren’t running Red Oak (in Tennessee) is the color
differences. The new plant location offers the opportunity
to make great Red Oak flooring. The color is just
unbelievable.”
He added that Pennsylvania is a prime area for timber
for both divisions of the company.
“The timber available for the cabinet branch of the operation
is more prevalent in the Northeast. There is only
a certain amount of Hard Maple here in Tennessee,” he
said. “So, we wanted to go where there is more Maple
for our customers. It is one of the premier areas in the
United States for timber.”
The third, and most important reason for opening a
facility in Pennsylvania is that the company is closer to
many of its customers.
Because so many of Reliance’s clients are in the
Northeast, Mike said it made sense to open another location
closer to them to expedite orders faster. “It will
be cheaper freight for them,” he said. “The goal is to
create the most dependable and consistent unfinished
wide plank flooring and cabinet components available,
while treating our customers right.”
Please turn the page
“The goal is to create the most dependable and consistent unfinished
wide plank flooring and cabinet components available, while treating our
customers right.”
– Mike Lewis, President, Lewis Lumber and Milling
26 APRIL 2024 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE www.RealAmericanHardwood.com/industry
www.RealAmericanHardwood.com/industry
APRIL 2024 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 27