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The Midwest will always have a special place in America’s heart. With a rich landscape and a unique climate, the Midwest has a distinct style that’s come about from practicality and timeless American design. It combines many aspects to ensure longevity, functionality and a unique charm that represents the values of all those who live here. Now, with access to

Vendor Lead Times – Vendor lead times have been getting longer but seem to have stabilized, thankfully. Most items we use can be received 6-8 weeks from the day of order. These lead times have almost doubled in length since 2019, so we find ourselves working farther and farther ahead so that we can stay on schedule. HWI Production Schedule

Oak – Oak wood is found in both the red and white variants and are the most popular hardwoods available.  Both the red and white varieties are dense and tough and have straight-grained, rough textures.  As you may guess the red variety has a redder color running through the wood and the white has a lighter coloring ranging from white

Did you know?  We use the Arauco Prism brand melamine produced in Grayling, Michigan!  The Grayling particleboard is hailed as North America’s most productive and modern particleboard facility, and opened in the spring of 2019. As one of the first users of this product in the area we can vouch for how effective the product has been since we started

What do you think about new, trending styles having more organic and natural design styles?  For me, I personally love it!  Colors have become more dusty and muted and typically stick to natural tones.  Textures like wood, leather, jute, rattan, have become more popular as well as potted plants, either fake or real!  And when it comes to metal accents

So, what’s new at HWI?  Let me answer that for you!  In the last month we have hired two new employees to work in the shop.  This will help us manufacture more smoothly without the production workers having to skip around to multiple machines and positions too much during the day.  The second thing that happened is we took a

A Lufkin tape measure – We have personal experience with these as the photo shows, we loved giving out these branded tape measures to ensure everyone could enjoy them as much as us! Makita battery powered handheld vacuum – an essential in the tool bag of every installer and handyman, your clients will thank you for cleaning up after yourself!

This past month we have had a few new things going on, here’s a quick outline:  we received and installed our new edgebander, have started the long process of switching to a new system for scheduling and material tracking, and have received more price increases on our white melamine, and Formica laminate.  All of these things (except the price increases) 

This month we have a few new things happening here! Our new edgebander is arriving on the 10th, with installation on the 17th.  We are very excited to be getting new machinery, as this will reduce our downtime for repairs that we had on our old machinery.  But along with the good there is usually some bad.  That bad happens

The month of August has brought us yet another increase in the demand for manufacturing.  This makes it the 15th consecutive month of growth in the manufacturing economy.  This is good, but also has negative effects.  Not to be the pessimist here, but these negative effects are obvious even to the minimalist consumer.  Shortages of raw materials, extraordinarily long lead

We have compiled a list of the trending top colors and hardware choices for 2021.  2021 has brought on its new colors and styles, especially the Pantone colors of the year (2021) Ultimate Gray, and Illuminating.  We are seeing variations of this theme over and over!  We have seen a definite rise in the use of grey toned woodgrains, both

Due to the rapid changes in the woodworking industry, you may see a lot of updates from us on this page, on our blog on our website, and on our LinkedIn page.  We will continue to use these spaces to keep our customers and readers up to date with the many happenings at HWI.   The first thing to be

2021 is definitely looking up! Due to what some would call a boomerang effect of COVID, a lot of delayed or postponed construction projects were moved into the early part of 2021.  Many of the largest wood product producers say that they are seeing a rise in business with 2021 sales projected to outpace 2020.  We can confirm that with

Here at HWI, we use a log of keku clips.  Some of the applications we use them for are for removable panels on ADA vanity cabinets, electrical access panels on reception desks, and even for access panels for plumbing.  We find them as the most efficient and easy to use fastener for this type of thing.  The best part of

This essential table base system is the ultimate cost effective, entry level adjustable table system, and that’s speaking from experience!  We have been using these at HWI for several months now, and having the option to stand and stretch, or to sit and relax is awesome! Studies have proven that using a standing desk helps improve mood and energy levels,

A favorite accessory of ours, we use this soft close, floor mount, single bin pullout a lot!  This trash pullout features full extension brushed aluminum soft closing slides with 100 pound load rating, easy floor mount installation, and built-in door mount brackets. The Italian design and functionality influence is easy to see when looking at the brushed aluminum frame and

 

Another one in the books!  Finishing a job for the 3rd floor of the Milliman building in Omaha, and it looks great!  The distinctive pattern of the Wilsonart Fawn Cypress laminate mixed with the rectangular oval matte black pulls looks fantastic.  The break room on this project is decked out with Wilsonart Solicor Designer White laminate, which eliminates the black

Just completed a new job for a pediatric dentist in Elkhorn, Nebraska.  Using a unique combination of Formica Nocturne colored laminate (5323-58), plain sliced white oak veneer, and Studio 917 matte black bar pulls.  With matching black locks on the cabinets and sliding doors in some cases this office looks very eye catching!

The Mobile Sanitation Stand is an ideal solution for slowing the spread of germs. This flexible, all-in-one unit can be easily moved throughout a premise as needed. Available as a fully stocked kit, with supplies and accessories, or as a basic fixture to be fitted with accessories of your choice. Features: Storage cabinet for additional supplies Trash can compartment with

Five years later and we still like the design!  Throwback to 2015 and Oracle Aviation.  Love this small but modern take on a private airport lounge.  This is a perfect example of how plain colors and clean lines can really enhance your space.

How to make a drawerbox sturdier and stronger?  Check out these connectors! A Lamello product, this Cabineo piece uses a shaped plastic insert with a preset screw already inside of the insert.  This allows for a quick and easy assembly process when manufacturing a melamine drawer box, not to mention that during testing it actually held up better than our

A reception desk is one of the most important features in your office.  As the saying goes, first impressions count! As Jeff Pochepan said in an article for inc.com in February 2018, “A custom made desk with curves, textures, or even strategic lighting gives off an air of originality and tells your business contacts that your company is at the

A few photos of the lockers that will be going to Werner Park in Omaha.  These lockers are made out of a MDF core with a walnut veneer, as you can see from the darker color and woodgrains.  They have a larger upper section with hooks and a shelf and then the lower section has a heavy duty drawer for

One of the interesting products making a splash right now is the Formica HardStop panels.  This is a decorative protection panel made by Formica, but produced in all of the same colors as their laminate.  This is an awesome feature for designers as this makes wall protection a breeze when trying to find a quality product but something that still

Welcome to our blog and to our freshly redesigned website! We will be using this section to update our readers with important news about our company, new trends we see hitting the industry, and best of all, photo stories from our favorite projects. …And to end this post with a super cliché statement: watch this space!