Business Spotlight: Alpine Wood Products

When John Boyd of Alpine Wood Products started his company in 1981, it was based on the tenets that he learned growing up in his father's woodworking business: Work hard, do a good job and have integrity in all of your dealings.

Built on that foundation, revenue at Alpine Wood Products has grown at an average annual rate of 10 percent by offering custom wood products to a long list of clients that includes hospitals, banks, and Branson theaters and attractions, as well as regional and national multimillion-dollar residences. Last year, the company recorded $6 million in revenue. Alpine Wood Products has expanded from its original 3,000-square-foot building to its current location of 75,000 square feet, which includes a $1.2 million, 6,000-square-foot showroom that opened this spring.

Boyd left school at the age of 14 to work full time at the cabinet shop owned by his father, Marvin Boyd Sr.

"I guess I already had a lot of experience under my belt by working summers for Dad," he says.

The Boyd brothers

Boyd originally started Alpine with his father, uncle and brother - but it was his brother, Marvin Boyd Jr., who ran the front office until his unexpected death at the age of 36 in 1994. "Those were some challenging times," John Boyd recalls. "He was my best friend, and suddenly I had to step in and run the place."

Ten years ago, client and private investor Donna Hall approached Boyd and asked if he would be interested in selling Alpine to her. He agreed and stayed on as president and general manager.

"She is entrepreneurial and owns lots of companies and she loves fine woodwork," Boyd says about the Joplin businesswoman.

Boyd says Hall stays in the background with regards to Alpine's day-to-day operations, but she and her husband, Gary, "are fantastic people who made it possible" for the company to open its elaborate showroom.

Springfield custom homebuilder Roger Tiller has worked with Boyd and Alpine for 23 years. He believes Hall's investment is key to Alpine's services.

"(Alpine Wood Products has) the equipment that most people don't have because of the financial backing behind the company," says Tiller, who builds $1 million-plus homes, about 25 of which are in Highland Springs. "It has given them the opportunity to go overseas and buy a lot of equipment. They also have a lot of talented people - not only doing woodworking, but finishing cabinets and doors, and they have access to people who do wrought iron work."

Global appeal

Alpine's work has garnered the attention of an audience well beyond southwest Missouri.

Mentions in high-end magazines such as Architectural Digest and Veranda have increased its presence nationally.

"Right now, I have a crew in New Orleans working on a historic hotel, and we have projects in Las Vegas and Denver. The last five years we have really branched out," Boyd says.

And although 80 percent of its business is in furniture-grade cabinets, Boyd envisions growth in "megahome" projects as well as commercial work.

"We have the automated equipment and machinery to compete for the business in schools and hospitals," he says.

The economic turmoil in 2008 certainly has affected Alpine. Boyd says business was down about $1 million from 2007, but the company prepared for the downturn by purchasing computerized equipment that allowed Alpine to trim staff. And he points out that the company's long-term goal is that the new showroom will bring in additional business by showcasing its expertise.

Designed by Ron Hill of Ozark-based Euro World Design, the showroom's exterior resembles a castle. The interior boasts a wine cellar, cathedral ceilings and a mural painted by Mike Middleton.

"I have traveled to Italy a couple of times and I brought ideas back from Ireland - old pubs for example - for the showroom. It's pretty cool," Boyd says, noting that clients can tour the facility and Alpine is adding a full-service kitchen to hold events.

"We have actually had people fly in on their own jets from Colorado, Boston and from the Texarkana area. (They) walk through the doors and see the huge manufacturing plant where it is all done. It is kind of an emotional thing - all these amazing products being built by our neighbors and friends."