Hogan definitely has a business approach that is unique and flexible, but it is also creative, which is very uncommon with companies its size.
“We don’t have a cookie cutter approach to business,” Hipp said.
"Several months ago, we spent a weekend running billets for a baseball bat manufacturer. We didn’t think that we would be in the billet business, but a customer wanted it.
“As we were sending out the specs for the billets to a mill, one of our front office guys said he had done billets before,” Hipp explained. “He spent the weekend manufacturing billets because the bat manufacturer wanted a certain texture and wanted knots in the barrel, but not in the handle. The bat manufacturer was ecstatic.”
Through growth and acquisitions, Hogan has also hired very good employees. “Recruiting and hiring the right employees has helped our growth
tremendously,” Hogan said. “We are very fortunate to have Louisiana Tech right here in Ruston and other area colleges that we can hire from. Those graduates know when they come to work for us they have big opportunities.”
Hogan Hardwoods has a very diverse customer base, primarily custom cabinet shops, millwork facilities and retail lumber yards.
“Like with our vendors, we also have a very strong commitment to our customers,” Hipp said. “We have 102 DOT regulated trucks and everywhere we go, we go twice a week. So every customer that we service gets twice a week delivery off a Hogan-owned curtain-sided delivery truck.”
That makes for a strong commitment to customer service, when the cost of owning and operating those trucks comes into play.
“There are many distributors out there that don’t have their own trucks and are dependent on common carriers,” Hogan said. “Our customers can depend on us because we are running our own trucks and we are going to be there for them, now and in the future.”
With such an exciting short history, what could possibly be in the future for Hogan Hardwoods & Moulding? In the next six months, the company is unveiling a package tracking system.
“It will be through our website and will be interactive,” Hipp
said.
Hogan Hardwoods International offers exotic and imported Hardwoods..
“It will be equipped with a GPS system. It will enable us to sign off on our tickets out in the field and tie it back in with the system. It will also allow for individual accountability. The customer will know exactly where their order is and we will be able to track trucks and assist in sales.”
In a nutshell, it will be technology that takes the company to the next
level. “We need to become more efficient, but still maintain our service and deliver the highest quality products, and technology will help us do it,” Hogan said.
In addition, the headquarters staff recently moved into a 20,000-square-foot office that will allow the entire staff to be together allowing for better communications.
When the philosopher said everything big starts small, he probably concluded that becoming big was slow and methodical, not with Hogan Hardwoods & Moulding. If the next 13 years are anything like the first, the company will certainly have a tremendous impact on the Hardwood forest products industry.
“We want to become the number one distributor in the country and the one-stop shopping place for woodworkers across the country,” Hogan concluded.
