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Jim McDermott is back in the saddle for his second ride as executive director of the Cabinet Makers Association (CMA). McDermott retook over as executive director effective April 1. He succeeded Dave Grulke, who managed the association’s day-to-day affairs for the last five years. A founding CMA board member and past president, McDermott served his […]

A recent article in the Charlotte Business Journal by Emily Scofield, the executive director of the N.C. chapter of the U.S.Green Building Council, reiterates the many benefits associated with being a LEED certified company, like Columbia Forest Products, with factors such as;  financial incentives in facility operations, increased sales of products or services, increased worker satisfaction and alignment […]

Forestry students from North Carolina State University (NCSU) toured Columbia’s Old Fort plywood mill as part of their management courses. Traditionally, students visit plywood and lumber mills in the field and then return to the classroom to work on mathematical optimization models for those mills. Students study the economics of converting logs into forest products. […]

So often I hear the term “defect” interchanged liberally with the word “characteristic,” and it almost always makes me cringe. If we don’t understand the difference, we make it difficult to communicate, and confusion soon ensues. What IS the difference? A defect, in terms of decorative hardwood and softwood veneered panel products, is, in the […]