Lumber Manufacturing & Wholesale Sourcing Specialist Needed

Lumber Manufacturing & Wholesale Sourcing Specialist Needed Dominican Republic / Caribbean / Latin America Preferred DanKen Industries is seeking an experienced Lumber Manufacturing, Wood Products, and Wholesale Sourcing Specialist to help us develop, validate, structure, and implement a reliable lumber supply and manufacturing program for our furniture production business. We are looking for someone who deeply understands the lumber market, wood manufacturing, wholesale sourcing, sawmill operations, plywood/panel production, toll manufacturing, and the supply chain for furniture-grade wood materials. Our preferred location is the Dominican Republic, where we are building our production operations. However, we are open to nearby lower-cost countries in the Caribbean, Central America, South America, or other regional markets if they offer better cost, quality, and logistics. Important Sourcing Direction: At this stage, we are not looking to source lumber or wood products from China. China may still be useful for furniture hardware, mechanisms, smart modules, electronics, machinery, tooling, and specialized parts, but for lumber and wood materials we are looking for a regional solution. Due to rising shipping costs, container freight, long transit times, duties, logistics risk, and high landed cost, sourcing bulky and heavy materials such as plywood, MDF, particle board, veneer, lumber boards, and panels from China is not ideal. We want to reduce shipping distance, lower landed cost, improve lead times, simplify logistics, and build a reliable lumber supply chain around the Dominican Republic or nearby countries. Project Goal: We want to create a program that allows DanKen to toll manufacture, secure, or source lumber and wood-based materials as close to factory cost as possible. This may include toll manufacturing, contract manufacturing, wholesale sourcing, supplier development, local Dominican Republic sourcing, regional import sourcing, and partnerships with sawmills, plywood plants, MDF/particle board plants, veneer suppliers, and panel board manufacturers. The goal is to build a dependable supply chain for American-grade, furniture-grade lumber and wood products to support furniture manufacturing in the Dominican Republic and eventual distribution into the United States. Materials Needed: We need high-quality wood products including: - Plywood and furniture-grade plywood - Lumber boards - Hardwood and softwood boards - LVL / engineered lumber - MDF sheets - Particle board / chipboard sheets - Veneer - Melamine board - Laminated panels - Frame-grade wood - Upholstered furniture frame materials - Cabinet and furniture panel materials - Other wood-based manufacturing materials The specialist must understand the difference between construction-grade and furniture-grade materials, including quality, durability, moisture content, treatment, strength, warping, finishing quality, consistency, grading, and U.S. market expectations. Pre-Award Requirement: Before we award the full project, the candidate must provide a clear, realistic, validated, and executable plan. We are not looking to move forward based on vague ideas, general advice, assumptions, or unverified supplier claims. The plan must be practical, verifiable, and capable of being implemented. The candidate should be able to clearly explain the recommended sourcing or manufacturing route, why that route is best, which country or region should be targeted, what suppliers or manufacturing partners are needed, what needs to be verified, what risks exist, and what realistic pricing, MOQ, lead time, logistics, landed cost, and quality expectations should be. The plan must be 100% clear, validated, and executable before we commit to the full project. Scope of Work: The specialist will help us evaluate, design, validate, and implement a complete lumber supply program. This may include: - Assessing the Dominican Republic and regional lumber market - Identifying sawmills, plywood producers, MDF suppliers, veneer suppliers, particle board suppliers, panel manufacturers, and wholesale lumber distributors - Determining whether to toll manufacture, contract manufacture, import regionally, or buy wholesale - Developing a direct-to-factory-cost sourcing strategy - Finding suppliers that can provide American-grade, export-grade, or furniture-grade lumber products - Evaluating quality, grading, moisture content, treatment, consistency, capacity, pricing, equipment, and lead times - Structuring relationships with mills, manufacturers, suppliers, and toll manufacturing partners - Advising on logistics, import/export requirements, shipping routes, and landed cost - Helping us avoid unreliable suppliers, poor-quality wood, overpriced distributors, unnecessary middlemen, and suppliers that do not meet furniture-grade standards Ideal Candidate: We are looking for someone with real experience in the lumber, wood manufacturing, forestry, or wood-products supply chain industry. Ideal backgrounds include lumber consultants, sawmill specialists, plywood/MDF/particle board specialists, veneer or panel board specialists, wood products sourcing agents, furniture material sourcing specialists, wholesale lumber buyers or brokers, lumber import/export specialists, procurement managers, toll manufacturing specialists, supplier development specialists, or former lumber mill/panel plant operations managers. Experience in the Dominican Republic, Caribbean, Central America, South America, or other regional markets is strongly preferred, but not required. Knowledge Required: The candidate should understand lumber manufacturing, sawmill operations, plywood/MDF/particle board/veneer/panel production, kiln drying, moisture control, wood treatment, grading, furniture-grade requirements, wholesale pricing, factory-direct sourcing, toll manufacturing, contract manufacturing, supplier qualification, quality control, export-grade/American-grade requirements, import/export logistics, cost reduction, and regional lumber supply chains. We are especially interested in candidates who can help us secure high-quality lumber and wood products close to factory cost while building a reliable long-term supply chain for furniture manufacturing. Best regards, Daniel DanKen Industries

Project ID: 40530102