Many of the companies you find on the internet selling flooring are selling engineered and solid exotic wood flooring from Chinese manufacturers.  Many of them don’t own any of the flooring, they simply sell it from the Chinese manufacturers U.S. stock.  Some of the companies are the largest and have large advertising budgets on tv and in sports. China has very few native wood species which are desirable for use as wood flooring for visual or technical reasons.  China relies on shipment of raw materials from North America, South America,  Europe and Africa to manufacture their engineered and solid wood flooring with few exceptions.  There are sure to be winners and losers in the pending lawsuit regarding engineered wood flooring and duties are likely to be imposed, albeit not likely the 240% being requested.  What impact, if any will this have on warranty issues and support?  How will the Chinese flooring manufacturers react to a potential negative decision against them?  Chinese have long offered manufacturing capacity, but they have never had a brand name and that is where well known and not well known American & Canadian companies come in to the scene.  They manufacture offshore and private label.

At stewartfloor we are proud to buy all of our flooring from family owned manufacturers in Brazil, Paraguay & Peru.  The factories we buy from have high safety and environmental standards and working conditions are very good.  Employees are paid many times more than Chinese workers, have health& social benefits and some have living expenses paid for as well, such as housing.  I know this because I personally visit the companies I buy from and always have.

The Woodman likes to call it what it is.  We do not make up names or associate names with lesser known species, often which are less expensive and may not have the technical characteristics of a much more widely known species of wood.  Obviously, this is a marketing ploy and one which really confuses the homeowner, designer and architect.  From the business side it is easy to see why it happens, take species no one has been introduced to yet or not commonly known/accepted, put a name people relate too and off to the races.

If you want a Brazilian Cherry Hardwood Floor, we will be happy to sell you a Jatoba floor, botanically known as Hymenaea Courbaril, which is what everyone knows as Brazilian Cherry.  If you want Tauari or Curupixa or Guajara, we will tell you exactly what they are and we will never call them Brazilian Cherry Lite.  These are nice species and diversity is good for the forest and for the market, but they have no relation to “Brazilian Cherry.”

We support this wholeheartedly!  It protects the world’s forests and protects buyers who practice due diligence and buy from ethical supply chains.  We only buy from a couple of suppliers in all of South America and we import all containers with our own import bond.  This is granted by the USDA.  Additionally, this amendment helps to curb low cost imports which many times can be low cost because they are avoiding government regulations.

We believe in clients being able to enjoy the wood floor of their choice, but doing so legally and ethically.  This helps provide longterm jobs and livelihoods for native peoples as well as insuring future supplies for generations to come.  We work with family owned businesses with the same philosophy and which work within the government guidelines for the betterment of all of our lives.

• It’s relatively inexpensive to start a business and launch a website
• It costs very little to offer products for sale on a website
• Does the website you are considering to purchase your new floor from actually own an inventory or simply offer manufacturers products for sale?  This is unfortunately very often the case which means the site is purchasing flooring from an importer or distributor.
• Does the website company have any influence or control over the quality control of the flooring production?  This is a key element in protecting yourself.  If a company has no investment in inventory and no control over the quality of the product they are selling this is a red flag.
• We own all the flooring we sell.  The difference?  We are completely invested in the process from start to finish.  We have exclusive relationships with manufacturers in Brazil, Paraguay & Peru.  We inspect everything we purchase and offer for sale.  Although we currently do not have a storefront, we maintain a half million dollar investment in Exotic Wood Flooring between our 4 warehouses.
• We are specialists!  We are available to answer any and all of the questions you may have and help you navigate between fact and fiction in the world of exotic wood flooring.
• As the old adage goes, “if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.”  We have 13 years experience in brazilian hardwood flooring.  We are here to help educate you so that you can make a sound buying decision and one made with confidence.
  

  Stewartfloor flooring being prefinished in Paraguay

  

  Stewartfloor Brazilian Cherry Flooring being inspected on grading table in Brazil

Gorgeous & Unique Interlocked Sucupira Grain Pattern

Stewartfloor is excited to once again offer Tiete Chestnut/ Sucupira Prefinished solid wood flooring.  We are offering this exceptionally elegant choice in 3/4″ x 3-1/4″ width with lengths of 1′ to 7′.  As with everything we sell, we directly import this product from one of our longtime suppliers.  No middlemen and no tax!  Call us today.