White River Hardwoods a Family Affair

Bruce Johnson says running a great business is kind of like playing a great round of golf. If you stay on the fairway, focus on your putts and keep an honest scorecard, then you’ll succeed.

He must be right. The owner of Fayetteville-headquartered White River Hardwoods lives in a castle, drives a Rolls Royce and has teed up at Pebble Beach and Augusta National.

White River — co-founded in 1975 by Johnson and his wife, Joan — has grown from its rustic roots in Madison County’s Wolf Den Holler to a company that does business across the United States and around the world.

Indeed, if good golf is good business, then Johnson surely knows a thing or two about laying up and chipping out of the bunker.

He also knows wisdom is wasted if it’s not handed down. And in that regard, Johnson has undoubtedly made an eagle. His sons, 39-year-old Jesse and 36-year-old Ben, are integral parts of White River, and have been for years. Ben’s in the front of the house with marketing and accounts, while Jesse is in the back where the moldings are hewn. Like their parents before them, Ben and Jesse comprise a one-two punch that makes White River formidable.

Admitting he is a proud father, Bruce said, “We have every intention of passing the torch,” but did not speculate as to when, or even if, he and Joan would retire.

“That’s unknown,” he said with a smile.

 

Learn How to Listen

Ben grew up in the family business. He swept floors and cleaned the parking lot. As he got older, he called on dealers and went to trade shows. At one point, he said, he thought about moving out to California, but in the end, he stayed with White River.

“I’ve always felt a strong tie to the company,” he said, calling his ascension to part owner and sales manager a “natural” progression.

He studied business at the University of Arkansas, but the true education was at the company’s six-building complex on Happy Hollow Road.

“I learned business by being in the real world,” he said.

Along with his brother, Ben was influential as the company modernized in terms of its presence on the Internet, adding a shopping cart to the website and realizing the value of online advertising.

His aim is simple: Keep White River at the top of its class. And while he believes in innovation and modern marketing tools, Ben upholds the core values that have been with the company for decades — inventory, customer service and quality.

All is on display on the company’s new website, which was launched in January. A seamless blend of the old White River and the new, the site features a catalog and photo gallery.

Visitors can shop for products and even schedule an on-site visit from a millwork designer. The new site hosts links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, as well as a link to White River’s listing in houzz.com, the leading online interior design website in the country.

White River also features smartphone and tablet-friendly catalogs.

With new tools and technology at his disposal, and with the confidence to talk with a client in Syria or Japan, Ben is clearly a seasoned, modern pro. But 15 years ago, that wasn’t necessarily the case. Even as a member of the family, he still had to go out and represent the company and make it count. With what his parents had taught him, he was able to do just that.

“I learned how to listen and to be comfortable in my own shoes,” he said.

 

Eye-Opener

As director of production and engineering, Jesse oversees the manufacturing and shipping end of the business. White River designs more than 2,200 profiles, including corbels, onlays, cabinet parts and mantels. Everything White River sells, it stocks, making the production side of the business extremely important.

Jesse is up for the task. Like his younger brother, he grew up in the company. He remembers having to make up high-school finals because he was out of town for a trade show with his dad.

He took to the tools when he was young, and now, the mill is part of his identity. He takes particular pride in the fact that White River is closing in on a major milestone — 250,000 work hours without an accident in a business that relies on saws, knives and heavy machinery.

Judging from the news releases posted on White River’s website, Jesse has plenty to keep him busy.

In March 2012, the company announced a design partnership with D’Alessio Inspired Architectural Designs, an international construction company based in New York that specializes in mansions, luxury estates and castles.

And in January 2012, White River announced a partnership with DW Distribution, an important distributor based in DeSoto, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.

White River uses all manner of hardwoods: cherry, maple, mahogany and oak. But the bread and butter is poplar. “It’s a fast-growing hardwood that takes stains well,” Jesse said.

He can breathlessly tell you all about the wood, where it comes from, how it’s replenished, how it’s sawn and how it arrives at the warehouse. He can tell you how blades are made, how they are set into heavy cylinders and how the machines are calibrated to create the precious profiles.

“A lot of it’s just what you know and what you do,” he said. “You don’t know how much you know until people start asking you questions about your product and your industry.”

“It was a tough, eye-opening experience,” Jesse said. “But we’re still here today and we’re doing it and we’re looking for it to come back.”

 

No Short Cuts

Ben and Jesse witnessed firsthand how a team builds a company. Bruce was the traveler, going near and far to forge valuable connections with dealers and distributors. Joan, meanwhile, manned the Fayetteville office, and was instrumental in the design, consulting and customer development side of the operation.

Two people with one goal achieved a winning result. The experience was not lost on the brothers.

“They were great partners,” Ben said.

Whether the sons would be part of the business was never an issue. They were in from the beginning.

“They’ve always been in the family business and they’ve worked in all aspects of the family business,” Bruce said. “We’ve always worked together with specific goals in mind.”

While that might be true, there was a time when it was just Bruce and Joan. That was back in the 1970s, when they were still in Madison County and selling lumber out of the back of a truck.

The first of several crucial turning points came in 1981, when they added a simple line of moldings to the lumber. Perhaps the biggest turn came when the boys were involved, in 1994, when Mon Reale, an ornate line of crowns and friezes, was introduced. Bruce said Mon Reale “put us on the map” and helped cement White River’s reputation as a luxury brand.

With a global clientele — less than 20 percent of all orders are local — White River has been able to stick with its business model rather than manufacture products for tract homes.

Before the recession, White River employed about 120 people. Nowadays there are about 50, with an additional 40 independent reps across the country promoting and selling the profiles.

With the company in command of its brand and its product, and with Ben and Jesse anchored with a lifetime of experience, White River appears to be in good shape for the foreseeable future.

But like in golf, in business there are lessons to be learned and rules that can’t be broken.

“You have to expect the unexpected, nothing is set in stone and don’t take shortcuts,” Bruce said.