September 12/19, 2016; Volume 31, Number 7
By Ken Ryan
Key West, Fla.—Josh McGrane, president and COO of MaxWoods, has purchased equity shares in the business from founder and sole shareholder Peter Spirer, CEO, resulting in an equal partnership in the hardwood flooring business.
In support of the amendment to the ownership structure, MaxWoods announced it is relocating its office and some warehousing facilities. The company, currently located in Adairsville, Ga., will move the accounting and customer service departments to an office building in Key West, which the company will purchase.
MaxWoods will maintain its distribution center in Adairsville. Shipping will continue from there as well as Dixon, Tenn., which is conveniently located near American OEM, its major supplier. “Shipping from Tennessee directly to customers eliminates the duplicate cost of transporting the material first to Georgia and from there to the customer,” Spirer explained.
The move is anticipated to improve management oversight. Locating the company offices to Key West, according to McGrane, “will enable me to spend more time setting up and administering the systems our customers rely on. The transition has been taking place for weeks, and I’m pleased to say it has been seamless. Not a single order was lost, and the dealers with whom I’ve spoken are very pleased. As new staffers become more familiar with the specifics of the hardwood business, things will get progressively smoother.”
For the last 18 months, MaxWoods has been making the transition from selling Chinese imports to domestic product. “We love how this is working out,” Spirer said. “The dynamics of this strategic shift have fundamentally changed how we do business. The new model offers greater flexibility, improved service and cost savings.”
MaxWood’s primary goal is straightforward: to provide flooring dealers with the most salable products and best service. Through improved logistics and by trimming unnecessary costs, MaxWoods aims to offer the most competitive pricing possible. “Affordability to consumers is imperative to our future growth,” Spirer said. “There is just no justification for overlapping costs. For dealers in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, shipping from Tennessee is faster and costs less. We service the Southeast from Georgia; for Texas and the Southwest we inventory in Houston.”
McGrane noted MaxWoods has been growing its sales since the beginning of the year despite the logistic challenges. “Speculation is over. We have a solid growth plan, and we’re putting together the pieces for a major new product launch for 2017.”
Spirer, 85, plans to remain active in the marketing and product development side of the business for years to come. “I am fortunate to be in wonderful health. Josh is now a full partner and is as good with operations as he is with sales. He’ll do a great job running the business. It is appropriate to establish the basis for the future at this time.”