 |
|
| BACK ROW FROM LEFT: MIKE, RUSTY AND JEFF. FRONT ROW FROM LEFT: JERRIE, DON AND KRISTI |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
FAMILY BEFORE IMAGE
Egan Hardwood’s Twenty Years in Business
BY JULIE NEIL
Front doors can reveal a lot about those who inhabit the space behind them.
Cobwebs, dirty buildup, loose knobs? The people who live there lack the time, energy, or motivation to attend to basic maintenance. A bright red door? Expect the person who opens it to have a vibrancy, either in style or personality. Iron bars or multiple deadbolts? There’s a concern about security. Hard-and-fast rules? Certainly not. But front doors say more than just “Enter here.”
Take, for instance, the front door of Egan Hardwood’s new showroom. The first thing you notice when you drive into the parking lot is… the front door. It’s massive and absolutely, positively gorgeous. Made of maple with a honey glaze finish, it looks so rich that you feel compelled to touch it just to see how the wood feels. And then there’s the glass in the door - true
divided light insulated beveled glass, to be precise – with an oversized “E” for Egan engraved on top.
Impressive, to be sure. The door says, “We love wood, and we really know what we’re doing here.” But it’s not about creating an image, says Mike Egan, president and part owner of Egan Hardwood. “We choose family over image. This is a place for our family – our staff, our builders, our customers – to come.
We have repeat customers who are like our family; that’s our foundation. It’s old fashioned and simple. We care about them, and they care about us.”
Pleasing aesthetics aside, what stands out once you enter Egan Hardwood is a sense of history.
Still in the finishing stages of their new 23,000 square foot office, showroom and warehouse located on five acres off Rutledge Pike, the Egan family is solidly that – a second-generation family
business celebrating their 20th anniversary. Mike and his brothers Rusty and Jeff share
ownership of the endeavor with their sister, Kristi Hughes. The front entrance hall is
dedicated to the telling of the family history.
And a rich family history it is. Parents Don and Jerrie Egan started the business in 1988. “They worked totally by themselves,” explains Mike. “Dad had run a millwork business. He was in sales, too, and worked his way up through Bruin Supply, making president when he was 28 or 29. He was known for his ethics; he was respected in the business.” The brothers didn’t join their parents immediately. “We all had good jobs,” continues Mike, “and we helped out only on vacation at first. It was so physical. We couldn’t believe Mom and Dad were doing this.
We eventually decided we had to do something to help.”
When Don Egan was 47, he suffered his first heart
attack, on his and Jerrie’s wedding anniversary, at that. Within the next two years, the Egan siblings would lose all four grandparents. “It was profound. We bonded,”
recalls Mike. Youngest brother Rusty was the first to join, then Mike followed a year later. Sister Kristi came on board about 12 years ago; Jeff has been there roughly four years. And much of the staff? They’ve been
at Egan Hardwood longer than some of the Egans themselves. “We have basically zero turnover,” says Mike. “These are guys who we grew up playing ball with. We have a true team of all-stars who believe that it’s easy to be average – we all believe in living above average in all that we do.”
And while their new facility is certainly large,
it wasn’t always that way. “Our family business started in an 11 X 11 room in Papaw Egan’s house on Myrtlewood. We couldn’t even afford equipment then,” laughs Mike. The company grew from that modest space to its current location in the warehouse district off Prosser Road, but the growth was not overnight. The Egan family started out leasing about 2000 square feet, then grew to its current use of 18,000 square feet of office and warehouse space. The conditions were anything but comfortable. “I’d walk in
during the middle of February and see our guys, all wearing coats, standing at desks in the warehouse filling out orders,” shares Jeff. “I didn’t know if I would want to work here.” Adds Mike, “It’s all family and friends. We’ve gone completely against the usual corporate handbook, which says not to hire family and friends. Since we’re so close, we all know each others’ weaknesses and strengths. That makes us a stronger team.”
From having sales people who are not on commission to putting in a shower for employees to use in their new facility, the Egans do what they feel is best for their family. And keep in mind that their definition of family includes staff, customers, builders, architects, the Koetter family (long-time business associates whose wood the Egans distribute) – all of the people who have helped make them successful for twenty years. “No matter what, we take care of people,” says Mike. “If there’s a problem, we figure out how to fix it.” Not the typical blame game.
Testimony to their word lies in their client list: it reads like a Who’s Who of Knoxville. Mention a well-known area family, builder, or architect (many of whose plans call specifically for Egan products to be used), and it’s almost certain that an Egan Hardwood product and/or
design was involved in the completed structure, whether it be residential or commercial. But ask either Mike or Jeff to give a public shout-out to any of those folks, and they are both simultaneously modest and cautious. “Sure, we do custom, high-end projects,” explains Mike. “But what I saw a long time ago was a void in the market. People like our family, families in $100,000 to $300,000 homes…they weren’t being served. I was offended. Everyone deserves quality. They were using lumberyard stuff. We can offer great quality at prices better than the chain stores. Plus,” he adds with a smile, “we could never try to
list everyone we’ve done business with and possibly leave
someone out.”
And that brings us back, full circle, to the Egan’s new showroom and warehouse. They’ve left out no one. Customers,
architects, builders, interior designers – all were considered
during the design concept phase. The conference room will have inlays of multiple types of wood so that those who visit can see, and feel, the differences in wood types. Can’t tell mahogany from walnut, bird’s eye maple from Brazilian cherry? It’s all right there, ready to be touched and admired. Even the doors to the
individual offices of each Egan sibling are lessons in wood. Rusty’s office door is knotty pine – “new made to look old, the way he likes it,”
relates Mike, whose own office door is one of his favorite wood types, American cherry. The door to Jeff’s office is walnut with lots of glass, with poplar trim that looks like walnut. And sister Kristi? Her
office door is made of oak, symbolic because of her father’s old oak desk which she uses. Pull up to the front door of Egan Hardwood, and the door says, “We love wood, and we really know what we’re doing here.” But open the door, get to know the Egan family, and you’ll find even more behind that door. You’ll find people who define family and who widely and genuinely care about them. You’ll find a rich sense of history coupled with deep thankfulness and gratitude. When asked what the Egans hope to accomplish in the next five years, Jeff becomes serious. “We want for everyone, all the people who have helped us over the years, to be happy and healthy. Keep the circle going. Sustain healthy growth and health and growth,” he muses. Then, with a wide smile and hearty laugh, he adds, “Plus, don’t forget who took you to the dance.” At Egan Hardwood, they
remember each day all those who helped bring them to their
new front door. They are thankful.
Egan Hardwood
www.eganhardwood.com
865-524-2161
5315 Parker Rd.
Knoxville, TN 37914
sales@eganhardwood.com |
|
|
|
| TELL YOUR FRIENDS |
 |
|
|
READER SERVICES
