Veneer valued at $500K donated to wood tech program

  Wednesday, November 20, 2013 2:00 AM
  News

Pittsburg, KS

Veneer valued at $500K donated to wood tech program

When the Houston-based woodworking company Brochsteins was looking to reduce some of its inventory of domestic and exotic woods, they reached out to the Wood Technology Program at Pittsburg State University.

“They asked us how much we would want,” said Doug Hague, assistant professor of wood technology. “I told them that we’d take all of it. Of course, at the time, I said it as a joke.”

Joke or not, Hague initiated one of the largest material donations in the history of the program. Recently, Brochsteins delivered to the Kansas Technology Center approximately 1 million square feet of veneer valued at nearly $500,000.

“It’s unbelievable, really,” Hague said. “I never would have imagined that they’d actually donate this amount. And this isn’t just some scraps they had left over. This is top-of-the-line material. This would be like Jay Leno opening his garage and telling us to take whatever cars we wanted.”

Hague said the material will be used for student projects and KTC remodeling projects.

“I can’t even begin to explain how much use we’ll get out of this and for how long,” Hague said. “To have this much veneer to use however we want it means a lot to our program. The students will have a seemingly endless supply to work with. The veneer is absolutely beautiful, which will only add to the quality of the finished products.

And while Hague never expected his “joke” to become a reality, he said he’s grateful for Brochsteins’ generosity.

“This is quite the gift, and we couldn’t be more thankful for it,” Hague said. “This will benefit our students and the College of Technology for many years to come.”


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