International Wood International Wood 2004 | Page 37

Our fine Finnish birch plywoods and broad line of specialty panel products for every purpose are in a class by themselves, enhanced by our more than half century of “We ran beaded ceiling mouldings, chair rails, door jambs, base- boards, some crown mouldings, wainscoting and quite a few different types of window components,” says Howard. “A lot of the original wood windows were rotten, so we had to make some pretty interesting sills, working from architects’ drawings based on the original designs and pro- files. Some of them, because of their design, had to be fitted together from inside and outside of the building.” Spanish Cedar was chosen for this project because of its beauty and its resistance to the elements. “We’ve used various kinds of Mahogany and similar woods since day one,” says Howard. “For an upscale restaurant in Dallas the architects had originally specified Mahogany throughout – for the ceiling in the bar area, and paneling and millwork throughout the entire space. Unfortunately, that much Mahogany didn’t fit in the budget. We suggested substituting Cumala, a wood that looks much like Mahogany but was less expensive. They were planning on using a relatively dark stain, and we knew that once stained it would be difficult to see any difference between the Cumala and the Mahogany. “We actually ran short with the Cumala, and ended up substituting Honduran Mahogany. It fit in seamlessly.” Howard says imported woods give his customers more choices and alternatives. “People decide what species they want. That’s where African Mahogany has come on real strong, because they can still get the same appearance as more expensive Mahogany species. Just about everything we do is made to order, especially in the commercial installer business. It’s all specified by architects, who either dream up their own profiles or find them in a catalog. We make our own knives and templates in-house with our CNC knife-grinding equipment. As long as we have a drawing, we can create moulder tooling for it.” experience in the industry. • Quality Products and Services • Industry Technical Support • Excellent Product Availability • Responsible Management of Natural Resources For more information call one of our U.S. offices today. New York/New Jersey—866.738.7265 Chicago—866.738.7224 Dallas—866.738.7289 Los Angeles—866.738.7252 www.pdusa.com • [email protected] IMPORTED WOOD 37