At a time when the poly-lumber category is crowded and business is competitive, EC Woods has not found it hard to keep up.
The company, which also manufactures indoor wood products, has an advantage in the poly category and has seen strong growth over the past few years.
Jeremiah Wingard, vice president of EC Woods, says the company has added quite a few new dealers and has started to get its name out in the industry.
The company was founded by Ernie Wingard, Jeremiah’s father, and became more of a family business when James, Ernie’s other son, also came into the company.
“Our recent growth has exceeded our expectations,” Jeremiah said. “Part of that is our focus on customer service and good quality products, which is such an important key in retaining dealers and being a good partner to them.”
Ernie adds that EC Woods sets itself apart by putting a large emphasis on innovation and style.
“We’re growing, but we’re not too large that we can’t respond to requests, and we do a good in responding to those requests and bringing to market what people are looking for,” he said. “That has contributed to our growth. Our overall quality is another factor. We have put together one heck of a team of craftsmen and women who have a lot of the same priorities that we do. We also try to keep our lead times down as much as we can.”
Current lead times are three to four weeks, but the company recently revamped its quick-ship program to speed up its lead times on certain products. Jeremiah says the quick-ship lead times are one to two weeks, and EC Woods offers 26 color options in the program.
“Today’s consumer is concerned with how quickly they can get a product,” he said. “(The program) still caters to the retail customer who wants to pick and choose what they want; we have popular colors and collections available in our quick-ship program that can meet the expectations of the customer who wants their product immediately. We think the quick-ship program is going to be a key to our growth this year as well.”
The quick-ship program includes a couple of popular dining sets, as well as the company’s Calistoga deep-seating collection and the new Sonoma modular deep-seating collection, which was introduced at the last Casual Market.
At the upcoming July show, EC Woods plans to unveil its Tacoma modular bar system. Its previous bar collection, Summit, has been a popular seller, and making a modular version offers more versatility.
Looking to the future, Ernie and Jeremiah said they are excited to see the family business thrive through authenticity, dedication to its partners and innovation.
“With my two sons and my daughter on the team at EC Woods, it’s hard to put into words the pride I feel seeing our kids carry forward what we’ve started,” Ernie said. “We’ve always believed outdoor spaces are where some of life’s best moments happen. If the furniture we build helps bring families together, then we’ve accomplished something meaningful.”
