Digging Deep Into Our Roots

A Look at Marwood Manufacturing’s Company History

 

Marwood’s initial seeds were planted in 1919 when Lyman Martin, Sr. and Jim Courtenay (Lyman III and Jim Martins’ grandfathers) began working for the Louisville, KY based Mengel Company, a large manufacturer and distributor of timber and timber based products. After spending their entire working lives with the Mengel Company, they retired from their respective positions of President and General Manager.

Mengel Company Staff in 1920

In 1955, while still on the hunt for the perfect place for Marwood to germinate, Lyman Martin, Jr. was tasked with opening Martin Sales Company to represent the Mengel Company, along with Hill Brothers Veneer Company and Ashby Veneer & Lumber Company. From 1955-1961, Martin Sales Co. operated on Franklin Street in Louisville, Kentucky. Six years after opening in 1961, that company sprouted into Marwood, Inc. at 2101 Standard Avenue.  

Over the next 30 years, Marwood continued branching out while sticking to its roots in veneer. In the early seedling years, Marwood’s primary focus was in the import of fine veneers from Europe that were then transformed into functional works of art by talented woodworkers and craftsmen.

Within that next 30 years, after initially joining Marwood between the years 1977 and 1979, Lyman, Jr.’s twin sons, Lyman III and Jim eventually proved that they were apples that didn’t fall too far from the tree and jointly inherited the company after Lyman, Jr.’s passing in 1983.

In 1984, this young sapling picked up its roots and transplanted its way on over to where it stands to this day. For the next nearly 30 years Marwood continued developing into maturity as a joint venture shared by twin brothers, Jim and Lyman III. What was initially a predominately veneer based offering, gradually propagated into a wider variety to include live edge slabs, lumber, cookies, and even chunks. 

In 2013, Marwood Inc finally hit a snag, and it became clear that new seeds would need to be germinated. From this sprouted two new strapping young companies, Marwood Manufacturing (that’s us) and Marwood Sales (our sibling company) each to be headed by Lyman III and Jim respectively. 

                        

Today, Marwood Manufacturing is proudly continuing its journey of sapling-hood into maturity of its own right. We have made it our goal to responsibly expand our operations into the hardwood industry as we offer a wider variety of species to a wider variety of customers both big and small.

Still wanna learn more about us? Our sibling company, Marwood Sales, has a detailed timeline of our history that’s definitely worth checking out. Just head on over with this link here and get to learnin’.