Newspapers / The Franklin Press and … / Oct. 2, 1958, edition 1 / Page 3
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meet YOUR merchants Zickgraf Hardwood Company A New Era Came Bringing j Zickgrafs Mill To Macon Zickgraf Has 53 Employees In Mill Now Turnover Rate Is Low; Average 10 Years Each Zickgraf Hardwood Company employs 53 people. The turn over rate is very low, average length of employment for each person Is about 10 years. Heading the company Is Grant L. Zickgraf, President and General Manager. Mrs. Grant L. Zickgraf and W. C. Zickgraf serve as first and sec ond Vice-Presidents, respective ly. Secretary-Treasurer and As sistant Manages is G. W. Faulk ner, Mr. Faulkner Is also Sales Manager. He came with the firm in 1942. Mrs. Gladys Walk er is Assistant Secretary, Mrs. Ruby Brookshire is bookkeeper, Miss Ruth McCollum is recep tionist, and Miss Winnie Bates is employed as secretary. Howard Willis is production foreman and chief lumber grad er of the grading chain depart ment. Working with him are John Sanders, David Cook, John Crisp, John Williamson, O. W. Graham. Weaver Sanders, Har vey Vanhook, and Harley Tyler. Employed in \he lumber re ceiving yard are Foreman, Nev ille Cabe and Ralph Elliott. Foreman of boilers and dry kilns is Harlie Barnes. Also em ployed in this department are Marion Seigle, Lorn Rogers, and Robert Brown. E. C. Harmon is production foreman and machine foreman of the flooring unit and plan ing mill. Working with him are John Carpenter, Rass Justice, George Roper, Warner Harris, C. W. Brifigeman, Robert Swaf ford, Ezell Bryant, Ralph Jus tice, Furman Stewman, Jesse Norton, T. N. Roper, Weaver Fox, Howard Roper, Homer Moss, David Cabe, Odas Mash burn, Don Henderson, Roby Roper, C. F. Mashburn, Paul Morgan and Jud Morgan. Shipping yard foreman is Harold Scott. Also working in this department are Thad doer, Claude Crunkleton, Frank Jones, Frank Crisp, Charlie Ledfprd, Thurman Henry, Bill Younce, Terrell Roper, and Willis Teem. Now Buys Lumber From 100 Mills * By NORMAN B. SMITH W. C. Zickgraf brought the Zickgraf Hardwood Cojnpany to Franklin in 1933. It has oper ated continuously here ever since. Before coming here, the Zick graf family had operated mills in Michigan, Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia starting at Vanderbilt, Michigan in 1895. At first in Franklin there was just a band mill; logs were bought, delivered and rough lumber was shipped out by rail. By 1935 the company began to get part of its logs from its own logging operation. In that year, too, the Zickgraf Hard wood Company was incorporat ed. Included in the company was the family's third genera tion sawmiller, Grant L. Zick graf. By this time logs were being brought in from three states; North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. In this area tracts of timber were bought from the U. S. Forest Service, and the small land owners. Then came the big change. A planing mill was set up in 1938 and in 1940 dry kilns were installed. The year 1949 saw the first hardwood flooring be ing completely finished and sent all over the country with the familiar ''Zickgraf" stamp. One day in 1953 folks who live down near the river heard the whine of the Zickgraf band saws for the last time. They saw the unloading boom swing its mighty arm for the last time. For the band mill was sold and shipped away. Not long did the yard stay empty. Soon came piles of rough cut lumber, piles that became higher and higher, and pushed right up against the tracks and clear out to the road. From 100 mills, from three states this lumber came. In exactly 20 jrears Zickgraf Hardwood Company had com pletely reversed its operations. From a buyer of logs and pro ducer of rough lumber it had been transformed into a buyer of rough lumber and a manu facturer of finished lumber. It has acquired a nationwide rep utation for oak flooring and rough hardwoods of a demand ed quality that comes only from In This Series . . . YOU WILL MEET Franklin Hosiery Company Nantahala Lumber Company Franklin Machine Shop Burrell Motor Company The Carolina Pharmacy People's Department Store Conley Motor Company Reeves Hardware Company Macon County Supply Company Macon Theatre Franklin Indoor-Outdoor Theatre The Fashion Shop Franklin Gem Shop The Twin's Shop YOU HAVE MET Belk's Department Store Franklin Hardware Company Franklin 5 & 10c Store Our Mountain Home Gift Shop Macon County Airport, Inc. our southern Appalachian mountain area. What will happen in the next year or two or the next decade no one knows. The changes. in demand and production of wood products may be far-reaching. Whatever the outcome, have no fear. Zickgraf Hardwood Com pany will be here, making the best of things, employing our people, buying our raw materi als, bringing money into Ma con County from all over the United States. Local Outlet Is Nantahala Lumber Company Nantahala Lumber Company is the local lumber outlet of the Zickgraf Hardwood Company, Incorporated. This company now has a full line of building materials in addition to lumber products. Nantahala Lumber Company is under the supervision of Her man Teems and Wayne Faulk ner. Just as is the case with each of the organizations af filiated with the Zickgraf com pany this company has its goal, "the greatest service to its customers at the lowest prac tical cost." Local People Hired; Buys Area Products Grant Zickgraf has faith in Macon County and its people. He says "We have the best labor in the United States." To back up his statement he can point to an average 10 year term of employment for 53 peo ple who work at Zickgraf Hard wood Company. In the next 10 years he pre dicts astonishing growth for the county. Franklin will become both an industrial and mer chandising center of this entire region he feels. He also feels that the forest which supply raw material will help in the growth of a great tourist busi ness in this area. Zickgraf Hardwood Company has done a lot to contribute to the growth" of Macon County since moving here in 1933. To begin with almost 100 per cent of the employees are native Maconlans. Zickgraf Hardwood Company utilizes raw materials coming exclusively from sources within 75 mile radius of Frank lin. On the sales end, Macon County benefits both from a large variety of finished lumber products available locally and from product sales Income com ing in here from all over the United States. No less than four major op erational changes in the com pany's 25 years existence proves that it is willing and able to adopt to new trends in wood products manufacture. Zickgral Hardwood Company recently led THIS FRANKLIN PLANT HOLDS REMARKABLE SAFETY RECORD The safety record held by Zickgraf Hardwood Company is coveted by many other manu facturing concerns. In the past 10 years there have been only two accidents worth recording, and neither of these resulted in permanent disability of the workman involved. This is a most unusual situ ation where there are saw blades, planing knives, flying bits of wood, and all sorts of accident hazards. The record Is considered by President Grant Ziekgraf to be partly because of the low turn over in employees. The men learn their jobs to an exacti tude. Another factor is the stress on safety via many well located posters and signs. Dispite this lack of mishap there are conveniently placed, well-stocked first aid centers in the plant, Around a lumber mill second only to the fear of disabling accidents comes the threat of fire. All the kiln dried lumber and sawdust is a veritable tinder box awaiting only- the slightest spark to start a con flagration. all but a few of the nation's finished lumber manufacturers i in producing packaged wall i paneling ? comes in matched : packages to eliminate fitting ' and matching, no nails neces i sary. F ather And Son Shown together are W. C. Zickgraf, the moving spirit be hind the growth of the Ziekgraf Lumber Company, and his son. Grant Zickgraf, president of the company today. The mill was brought to Franklin in 1933 by the older man a.nd his guid ing hand has been ever present in its continual growth. Grant took over the direction of the company in 1953. First Mill In 1895 mmm mm* w. Shown above is the first mill operated in America by the Xickgraf family at Vanderbilt, Mich., in 1895. In the picture (4th from left) is W. C. Zickgraf as a young man. ( i . , Modern Mill In 1958 wmmmmmmmmmumtm w*m This air view shows the present Xicktfraf mill and lumber yards complete. Shown in t lie bak ground is thv l;rank!in Airport. It's Not Easy ? Board To Flooring: Long And Difficult Operation Some four months and a lot of hard knocks await the ob scure piece of unfinished lum ber that is to be made into a length of flooring, sleek and smooth to be' shipped away proudly bearing the stamp. "Zickgraf Flooring". To really learn just how many hard knocks ask for a girded tour. Visitors are always weicome at Zickgraf Hardwood Company. The lujnber is unioadei by fork lift from a truck and graded according to National Hardwood Lumber Association specifications. < It must firs: en dure a water and chemical bata if it happens to be P ne or Poplar or some other softv.ocid. This removes the staining qual ities ot its sap i Among other things it is checked for worm holes, bird pecks, rot and min eral stains, it moves along, hav ing acquired some personality in the form of a chalk mark ? S or / or A or x or even //. It is then sorted and stacked in packages and moved to the yard where it may spend three months air drying. Then one day along comes a husky fork lift that will car ry it to the dry kiln where it remains from 6 to 20 days, de pending on its condition oX DRYNESS, beginning at 100 de grees temperature and soon building up to a sweltering 190 degrees. The kilns are complete ly automatically controlled which season the board correct ly so as to prevent damage to lumber. The five mammoth kilns, which hold 175.000 board feet of lumber, are heated by two boilers. The boilers are fueled with shavings and sawdust from the planing mill. TO THE MILL As soon as the period of con finement in the kiln is over the lumber is carried to the whirring, clacking mill. First it is ripped into three inch strips. Then its frantic pace leads it through a planer and end matcher which dresses both sides of the strip and tongue and grooves it at the time; this is followed by a set of matchers which match the ends. SENT OUT Finally the "Zickgraf trade mark Is stamped on, it is bun dled with kindred siaes and qualities, and it is strapped for shipping. By rail and truck the flooring is transported all over the United States and even into Canada. DISPLAYED with pride The lucky homeowners who install it are careful not to use too many rugs or carpets so they can display with pride their Southern Appalachian Oak Flooring, expertly finished by Zickgraf Hardwood Company. OTHER PRODUCTS Although Oak Flooring is a specialty, amounting to wen over half of the company's an nual production of seven million board feet of finished lumber there are a number of other products. These include Pin* Flooring Framing, Wall Panel ing (in 15 different varieties of wood, mouldings of any speci fied dimension. WASTE USED Waste products are all utilis ed. What sawdust and shavin ar* not used In the boiler i sold to farmers for chic* house Utter. Scrap waste is as fire wood. These sal made by Louin Cabe, wU, contracts for all the waste company cannot use.
The Franklin Press and the Highlands Maconian (Franklin, N.C.)
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Oct. 2, 1958, edition 1
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