On fire: Old Wood ramps up operations

Old Wood, LLC began in 1999 as a small family-owned sawmill that manufactured wood flooring using fire-reclaimed and tribally sourced woods. In 2008, the company expanded its product line to include end-grain flooring: durable, commercial-grade flooring made of small-diameter and lower-grade woods. This has had a significant impact on the sustainability and proper utilization of New Mexican forests.

In 2014, Old Wood began selling bulk firewood to out-of-state clients. The firewood operation has since grown to 12-15 employees working double shifts and serves clients such as Walmart, Whole Foods, and Tractor Supply.

The company expanded its facilities in 2016 to the Las Vegas/San Miguel Wood Business Park (previously the Medite Site), where it now maintains a large, high-tech pre-finishing and CNC facility for its flooring operations and an even larger firewood production facility.

With manufacturing operations encompassing almost 45,000 square feet of indoor production space, Old Wood exports to 12 countries and employs nearly 30 full-time employees, 12 of which joined the company in the last year. The company plans to begin exporting pinon firewood to the Middle East in 2017, and firewood sales, in general, are expected to grow by as much as 70% annually for the next two years — a growth rate the company is currently on track to achieve.

Old Wood has received significant help from New Mexico MEP in setting up its new firewood production and flooring pre-finishing facilities. This assistance has been invaluable in the planning and organization of the new workspaces, allowing Old Wood to meet production goals and at the same time lower production costs. In order to ensure smooth, adequate growth in the future, Old Wood hopes to continue to use New Mexico MEP’s assistance with planning and site-organization of its expanding firewood operations.