Family owned since it was established in Springfield in 1947, Vermillion Co. Inc. sends flooring products, including its native Ozark hardwoods – most harvested within 100 miles of its Queen City plant – throughout the United States and Canada.
SBJ: With so many alternatives available, your company is committed to wood. Why do you prefer it, and what’s the most popular option you carry?
Paul Kaminski (general manager): Hardwood floors are a higher-quality flooring option and can cost more at first, but they have an extended lifespan that makes them a once-in-a-lifetime investment. Hardwood can be refinished multiple times, extending its life and maintaining its appearance. It is considered superior for its natural beauty and longevity. Solid three-quarter-inch hardwood will bring more value to a home in the long run. Our company manufactures solid unfinished hardwood using red oak, white oak and hickory. This accounts for 44 unique stock-keeping units under the Springcreek name. White oak is the most popular species among the wider planks.
SBJ: Your product is uniquely situated to highlight what makes the Ozarks special. What’s your company’s connection to our region?
Kaminski: Vermillion was founded in 1947, right here in Springfield, and has continued to be a family business. Our founder started the business making gun cabinets for the Sears, Roebuck catalog. As years went on, beginning in 1978, Vermillion became the largest domestic maker of wooden kitchen and smaller furniture products within the United States. We were most known for our walnut bowls, cutting boards, bread boxes and butcher block tables. In 1998, our focus shifted to unfinished, solid hardwood flooring.
SBJ: Is sustainability an important focus for your company?
Kaminski: We work exclusively with reputable companies that plant and cultivate more timber than they harvest, ensuring a positive environmental impact. Our partners’ forest management practices focus on selecting end-of-life-cycle trees – those that are ready to begin the next phase of their existence as a floor, which can last for 100 years or more. This approach allows us to maintain a sustainable supply of high-quality materials while supporting responsible land stewardship. Most all our hardwoods are milled within 100 miles of Springfield.
SBJ: How do you sell your product?
Kaminski: Our product is sold across the U.S. and even in Canada. Most of our customers are homeowners, builders and interior designers. We have a showroom, which is open to the public in Springfield.
SBJ: Could you describe your manufacturing process?
Kaminski: We like to call it “From the Tree to Thee.” The loggers bring logs to our facility and other gathering locations. The lumber is then milled, air-dried and kiln dried. We use an average of 60,000 board-feet of lumber, producing 40,000 square feet of flooring per day, in our mill. All of the byproducts from the manufacturing process are also recycled, to utilize the entire tree, creating mulch, sawdust and other energy forms used to run our boilers to heat our kilns.
