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.