Customer preference for Pacific Northwest hardwoods

Homecenter.com Two logs each of the Pacific Northwest hardwoods Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) and bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) were sawn into flitches, then sliced into veneer. The veneer was wrapped around molding stock. Veneer-wrapped molding of eastern red oak (Quercus rubra) and eastern maple (Acer spp.) was obtained. Samples from all four species were cut to 18-inch lengths and were either stained with light or dark finish or left unfinished as controls. These samples were used in face-to-face interviews of homecenter customers and professional homecenter buyers to determine preferences. Oaks were preferred over maples; eastern red oak was the most preferred species. The dark stain had a significant influence on customer preference; bigleaf maple was the most preferred species within this treatment. There were 43 of 59 customers who valued woods with "character" variation such as small knots or wavy grain patterns common to both Oregon white oak and bigleaf maple. Twenty-eight of those customers indicated that they have decorative trim or furniture resembling bigleaf maple or Oregon white oak, respectively, in their residences.

Previous marketing studies on hardwood specialty products have found that oak is the most preferred hardwood in the decorative hardwood market (2,5). However, these studies only assessed eastern hardwoods. Little information exists about customer preference for Pacific Northwest (PNW) hardwoods. This lack of information is understandable given that PNW hardwoods, except red alder, are not readily available. Although PNW hardwoods are currently used for a variety of products including cabinets and furniture, incomplete knowledge regarding the market performance of PNW hardwoods has contributed to the underutilization of this resource.

Niemiec et al. (6) provided the first regional survey of these commonly overlooked species. Inventories of California, Oregon, and Washington hardwoods show volumes of 2,170 and 463 million ft.3 for bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) and Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana), respectively (6). However, studies on the feasibility of manufacturing and distributing decorative products made from these hardwoods are needed, especially as softwood harvests decrease and lumber prices rise.

Our overall objective is to add to the growing body of knowledge about the potential utilization of PNW hardwoods. In this study, we examined the feasibility of processing Oregon white oak and bigleaf maple into veneer for profile wrapping. We then used the veneer samples in a customer preference study to examine the market performance of Oregon white oak and bigleaf maple compared with two eastern hardwoods.

METHODS

VENEER WRAP STUDY We obtained two Oregon white oak logs of 8.5 and 11.9 feet in length and two bigleaf maple logs of 10.7 and 10.3 feet. Log volumes were calculated with Newton's formula (1). Although not commercially used because of the number of measurements required, it is reported to be the most accurate method of measuring the cubic volume of a log (1). The logs were then sawn on a Wood-- Mizer portable bandsaw to produce clear flitches approximately 1.5 to 1.75 inches thick and 5.5 to 6.0 inches wide. Oak flitches were dominantly quartersawn; maple flitches were quartersawn when possible, but were sometimes flatsawn to produce enough clear flitches of the appropriate dimensions. Lumber recovery factor (LRF) was calculated for each log as:

(lumber volume in cubic feet/ log volume in cubic feet) x 100

A sample of clear flitches was transported to the slicing mill. Flitches were placed on edge, separated with stickers, and conditioned in a concrete block chamber. Flitches were conditioned under a continuous cascade of hot water (180degF) for 48 hours, then were removed and transported to the slicer. Flitches were placed with the wide face down on a merry-go-round system where they were held down, with one flitch butted against the next. After one veneer was sliced, each flitch re-entered the hot water bath until it came around to be sliced again. Veneer was sliced lengthwise from the bottom of each flitch to a thickness of 21 to 22 thousandths of an inch; target thickness for wrapping was 20 thousandths of an inch. Veneer will shrink to about 19 to 20 thousandths of an inch during drying. A fleece backing was applied to add flexibility during wrapping. The fleece backing added approximately 3 thousandths of an inch to the thickness. Veneer was lightly sanded to the target thickness of 20 thousandths of an inch, then was transported to another mill for wrapping.

The Oregon white oak and bigleaf maple veneers were profile wrapped around molding stock. Wrapped samples were also made from veneers of eastern red oak (Quercus rubra) and eastern maple (Acer spp.). The veneer samples from the four species were transported to the Forest Research Lab, Oregon State University, where they were cut into 18-inch lengths and either stained with light or dark finish or left unfinished (control).

MEASURING CUSTOMER PREFERENCE

Sampling design. - We used a purposive sampling method, which consists of picking sample units based on their likely representation of the population of interest (3). The population of interest consisted of homecenter customers and professional buyers for the homecenter. A list of major central Willamette Valley homecenter and building material stores was compiled to access these two groups. Stores were located in Oregon at Corvallis, Albany, Salem, and Eugene. Six stores were chosen from these four cities; at least one store was visited in each city.

Interview design. - A questionnaire was developed for face-to-face interviews. We chose face-to-face interviews as the main survey method for two reasons. First, we could not compile a list of those who purchased from homecenters, since such a population is not fixed or readily accessible. Using face-to-face interviews with customers intercepted at the distributing location provided a way of surveying a population for which no list exists (4). Second, this was the only method that allowed the use of visual aids in the form of the molding samples. The questionnaire and interview format were first reviewed and tested by personnel at the Forest Research Lab. The questionnaire was then pretested on nine customers and one professional buyer at a local homecenter store.

Data was gathered on several Saturdays in the spring of 1996. Customers were asked to evaluate the finished (light and dark) and unfinished molding samples from all four species on the basis of their own personal preferences, while buyers were asked to evaluate what they thought their "average" customer would prefer. The same questionnaire format was used for both groups. Common names of the species were not revealed until the end of the interview to reduce potential bias. Factors such as price, availability, and product consistency were kept constant to further reduce bias.

In the first part of the interview, respondents evaluated the four species a total of three times. Both groups were asked to separately rate each species for light-stained, dark-stained, and unfinished sets of samples. For a particular finish, the respondent was shown one species at a time and asked to rate it on a 7-point scale (7 = very appealing; 1 = not appealing).

In the second part of the interview, both groups were asked to identify positive wood qualities of unfinished samples of each species. Additionally, customers were asked whether any of the species resembled decorative woods in their residences. If so, the product the sample matched was identified.

Analysis tools.- Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the results of the customer interviews (7). Differences in preference between stores were analyzed with a one-way design; a two-- way design was used to make comparisons of ratings among species across the light-stained, dark-stained, and unfinished samples. The analyses were followed by a multiple-range test to uncover specific differences. A regression approach was required to assess the interaction of species and finish. Preference was measured for statistical significance at the 0.05 probability level using Fisher's least significant difference.

Five professional homecenter buyers and 61 customers were interviewed. Not all interviews were complete; however, the interviews of at least 4 buyers and 59 customers were used in each analysis.

RESULTS

VENEER WRAP STUDY

The veneer wrap study provided insight into lumber recovery, internal stress, and slicing waste associated with manufacture. LRFs were calculated as 45.5 and 37.3 percent for the Oregon white oak logs and 60.5 and 47.0 percent for the bigleaf maple logs. Internal stress was evident in both maple logs, as boards "peeled" away from the cant during sawing. One board split lengthwise before being completely sawn from the cant. This exhibition of stress did not occur in oak logs.

Because of the sawing variation and other variables in the primary processing, sample flitches were not consistent in thickness. Different flitch thicknesses caused variations in the sliced veneer. Some of the first veneer sliced was unusable until the flitch thicknesses became equal. Mill management stated that the value of each slice of veneer wasted was from 40 to 50 cents. The maple veneer became wavy and would not lay flat during drying; however, Oregon white oak veneer remained flat. Although quartersawn when possible, some of the maple flitches were flatsawn. The mill manager stated that flatsawn veneer has more tendency to ripple while drying.

Veneer from Oregon white oak and eastern red oak had more defects after wrapping than did veneer from bigleaf and eastern maples. Unfinished samples of the oaks exhibited an increase in the severity of checks during the 3-week course of the survey. Most of the checks occurred near the contours of the molding; the Oregon white oak veneer even began to chip away from the core. The customers noticed the checks in Oregon white oak more than in eastern red oak. Oak is more susceptible to checking than is maple, but will not check when properly finished.

CUSTOMER PREFERENCE STUDY

Customer preference did not vary among the four store locations (p 0.05). There were significant differences (p 0.05) in customer preference among the four species for each of the three finishes. The two-way design showed that differences among species were somewhat dependent (p = 0.07) on the finishing of the samples. For each finish treatment, customer preference differed significantly among species. The rating scores were not significantly different between the light-stained and unfinished treatments. For both of those treatments, the order of most preferred to least preferred was red oak, Oregon white oak, bigleaf maple, and eastern maple (Figs. 1 and 2). Customers significantly preferred red oak over the other species and Oregon white oak over the maples for the light-stained and unfinished sets. There was no significant difference in customer preference between bigleaf maple and eastern maple in those treatments.

Dark stain was the only treatment that changed customer preference for a particular species. The mean ratings for the oaks and for eastern maple significantly declined as a result of the dark stain. Preference for bigleaf maple significantly increased above its preference in the light-stained and unfinished trials (Fig. 3). All dark-stained oaks had a muddy appearance, which may have caused them to be rated lower.

In addition to rating the individual species, each respondent was asked to comment on positive wood qualities such as grain, color, and special features of the four species. Special features included wavy grain and knots, which were the dominant features of the Oregon white oak and bigleaf maple samples, respectively. Unfinished samples were used for this question. Most customers interviewed provided remarks about these wood qualities. Forty-one (69%) of the respondents liked the knots in bigleaf maple; of those, 16 (27%) would not be willing to buy a wood with knots unless the knots were evenly dispersed through the grain. Forty (68%) of the respondents liked the wavy grain variation in the Oregon white oak samples; however, 12 (20%) said they rated Oregon white oak lower because they did not like its greenish-blue color.

Twenty-eight customers (47%) said that Oregon white oak and bigleaf maple resembled decorative wood in their residences; 7 respondents (12%) claimed that Oregon white oak resembled wood furniture in their homes (Fig. 4). Oregon white oak did not resemble any interior structures, such as paneling or flooring, nor did it resemble any cabinets in the respondents' homes; 13 (22%) felt that bigleaf maple resembled their trim.

Respondents did not typically recognize the maples. They often thought bigleaf maple was cherry, birch, or cedar. Eastern maple was often mistaken for hemlock, which is one of the most commonly used woods in trim work. This may explain why a large proportion of respondents matched eastern maple with trim in their homes. Respondents had a more difficult time distinguishing between the oaks. Several respondents knew they were looking at oak, but could not distinguish between red oak and Oregon white oak.

Customers did not show as strong a preference for red oak and eastern maple as buyers thought they would. Buyers felt that customers would significantly (p <>

DISCUSSION

It is technically feasible to use Oregon white oak and bigleaf maple for veneer and in trim applications. Better control over primary processing will produce flitches of acceptable size variation. As with most applications, a finish should be applied to oak before it begins to check. Such improvements would increase acceptance by manufacturers and customers.

Conditional preference for bigleaf maple demonstrates both the highly variable nature of its wood characteristics and customer acceptance of that variability. Almost 70 percent of respondents interviewed preferred bigleaf maple when the knots were well dispersed. The pattern of knots in wood cannot be controlled, however. Thus, only 40 percent of customers seeking a decorative wood with knots might actually prefer bigleaf maple, holding price and availability constant. This could make bigleaf maple more of a market risk than Oregon white oak.

We found that knots were an attractive feature to customers who preferred bigleaf maple. Grain variation was also favored by those who preferred Oregon white oak. Our results are consistent with the results of Idassi et al. (5); the customers interviewed in that study rated straight/even grain and the absence of surface flaws as contributing less to overall product value than perceived by producers. In our study, customers preferred decorative woods that had "character," which indicated to them that they were looking at real wood. The proliferation of artificial-grain products that resemble red oak may be a contributing factor to this preference among customers. The buyer-customer discrepancies may be due to the inability of the buyers to recognize some of the wood attributes that their customers actually prefer.

Integrating Oregon white oak into a marketplace dominated by red oak is problematic for both manufacturers and customers wishing to use local products. Several respondents said they would prefer to buy Oregon white oak over red oak once they were told where each species came from. However, a large proportion of respondents already had trim, interior structure, and cabinets that resembled red oak. Oregon white oak would not match well with red oak in such applications.

Targeting the furniture market might be a better marketing option for Oregon white oak. Respondents did not match their furniture with red oak as often as they did for Oregon white oak (Fig. 4). The unfamiliarity of Oregon white oak made many respondents feel uncomfortable about its workability. Customers might not have this discomfort if they could see finished furniture made from Oregon white oak.

CONCLUSIONS

Successful marketing of Oregon white oak and bigleaf maple to PNW residents will require appropriate strategies. Marketing of bigleaf maple should take advantage of its broader resemblance to other popular woods and its greater appeal when darkly stained. Visual demonstrations of dark-stained bigleaf maple at the point of sale might help in this regard. Marketing of Oregon white oak should address its association with furniture-- based products and its greater appeal when lightly stained.

This study indicates that there are opportunities for successfully developing markets for PNW hardwoods in veneer-- wrapped applications. However, market development efforts must acknowledge the differences between PNW and traditional species. Targeting consumers who value the unique characteristics of PNW hardwoods is key to success.