Flexibility, Teamwork Are Keys to Moncure Plywood's Success

MONCURE, NC (10/02/2009)(readMedia)-- If the last year and toughest economy Moncure Plywood LLC has ever experienced have taught the company anything, it's that flexibility, innovation and teamwork are the keys to the success.

Moncure Plywood has long been known as a leading producer of high-quality plywood products for the furniture industry. But with many of its longtime customers in the furniture industry struggling to cope with reduced customer demand, leaders have looked inside their own company and outside into the marketplace to find ways to innovate, adapt and keep the business strong and growing.

Inside the company, they found years of experience, dedication and a willingness to take on new challenges. Outside in the marketplace, they're still finding new sales opportunities.

While serving the furniture industry remains the core of its business, employees responded to the challenge by helping make manufacturing processes more lean and efficient - and by expanding the product line to offer a broader variety of premium-quality hardwood to the furniture and cabinet industries in the Carolinas and increasingly across the Northeast. Not only did they diversify their hardwood mix, they added high-end specialty pine for concrete forms and a variety of other commercial and industrial uses.

"Our commitment to continuously adapting our business to meet the needs of the marketplace relies on the total engagement of our 108 employees, most of whom call Lee and Chatham counties home and some of whom have been with us for 30 years or more," says sales manager Jeff Matuszak. "They have dedicated themselves to learning the new production techniques that are necessary to maintain an evolving product line and grow our business."

Matuszak believes Moncure Plywood's strength is its reputation for premium, high-quality products - delivered on time, according to specifications and with superior customer service. "Our insistence on product quality and our commitment to workplace safety," he says, "also go hand in hand." With a goal of zero workplace accidents and continuous improvement in the safety record, management and hourly employees have teamed up to form a safety committee. Employees work directly with their fellow workers to spot and correct unsafe work practices, and the true sense of collaboration and cooperation on safety infuses all other areas of their business as well.

The company continues its longstanding commitment to encouraging, both by word and example, sound forestry practices. As a founding member of the Sustainable Furniture Council, the company recognized long ago that the future of its business relies on an abundance of healthy forests -- and sound, sensitive forestry management. Moncure Plywood products carry the coveted Sustainable Forestry Initiative certification, and company leaders continue to be active members of the North Carolina Forestry Association.

Just as the quality of life inside its plant is a priority, so is the quality of life experienced by neighbors nearby. That's why Moncure Plywood sponsors the Merry Oaks Baptist Church Gospel Bluegrass Festival, which benefits the Moncure food bank. Supporting both the Moncure and Sanford food banks, Matuszak believes, is particularly important to the company and its employees.

Moncure Plywood and its friends and customers in the furniture industry are already looking forward to increasing customer demand, just as everyone looks forward to a stronger national economy. And the company is ready to seize the opportunities ahead. "We at Moncure Plywood are committed to growing our business, deepening our strong customer relationships, continuing to diversify our products to meet new demands, and contributing, as we have for many years, to the high quality of life we all enjoy here," Matuszak says. "We are proud to be part of the Moncure and Chatham County community."

Originally published in the Sanford Herald Industrial Edition, Sanford, NC (http://sanford.southernheadlines.com/)