Sawmill Business Podcast

This week we’re talking with Mel Hordyk of Exotic Woods. HISTORY   Exotic Woods has been a fixture in the woodworking industry since 1978. The company was started by Mel’s father when he realized the public’s desire for better quality wood. At the time there were plenty of generic designs in stores, but not really any fine wood shops.   Through the years, Exotic Woods has turned their focus less on cabinet and furniture making, and more towards wood sales. Starting with a smaller 1200 ft store, they’ve grown their space to a 20,000 sq ft building with an additional 30,000 sq ft of warehouse space. Here they sell all types of fine wood, flooring materials, European finishes, hard wax finishes, reactive stains, and of course, live edge lumber.   CUSTOMER SERVICE AND KNOWLEDGE   Mel credits the business’s growth and longevity to Exotic Wood’s knowledge-based customer service approach. Many people can sell lumber, but a lot of the time typical sales departments don’t know exactly what they’re selling