CLINTON — Bob Vogel led Hardwoods of Michigan in Clinton through three leadership changes, the Great Recession, the China tariffs and the pandemic. He saw the company grow from a local sawmill to a hardwoods manufacturer with $45 million in sales a year. The company is the largest hardwoods’ manufacturer in Michigan and in the top 10 in the country.
Vogel capped off his career Friday, retiring after 43 years with the company, 26 of which were spent as its president.
Hardwoods will be celebrating its 50th year in business this year. Baillie Lumber Co. of Hamburg, New York, which recently purchased Hardwoods, will be celebrating its 100th year in business in 2023. The purchase paved the way for Vogel, 66, to retire. Baillie is the largest privately held hardwoods’ manufacturer in the U.S. It owns a network of 21 sawmills that can share its best practices in everything from sales and operations to productivity and safety with Hardwoods.
By far his biggest challenge was the Great Recession, Vogel said. The company avoided layoffs during that time by asking employees to take cuts in pay, which they did because they wanted to keep the business running. They shed some employees but that was mostly through attrition. The company still employs more than 100 workers.
“Definitely the recession of 2008-2009 was a huge challenge for a lot of people, obviously, economically, but especially in the hardwood lumber industry. If you think about hardwood lumber, it’s not the lumber you use in the construction of housing, it’s the lumber you use for cabinets and for furniture and doors and that type of thing, and it’s almost always purchased with discretionary income. So in economically challenging times when that discretionary income is gone the business follows suit, as far as going downhill,” Vogel said.
Vogel has been an active member of the community serving on several boards of local organizations. He is the chairman of Hospice of Lenawee’s board. He is on the board and the executive committee of the Lenawee Community Foundation and was its chair for a time. He was a member of the Lenawee Intermediate School District board as well as its chair for a time. He is also the former chairman of the Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute.
He also authored a book about being brought up by his grandfather in humble beginnings called “Bumpa,” which is available on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble. He now has five grandchildren, who call him Bumpa.
Travis Havens, president and CEO of Hospice of Lenawee, said Vogel has strengthened the organization and is a great person to work with.
“I would say that Bob is just a tremendous asset to Hospice of Lenawee and to our community as a whole. Bob is extremely loyal, he’s dedicated; he’s just a direct, forward-thinking leader. He’s made a tremendous impact on our board and for our organization,” Havens said, noting that Vogel also serves on the organization’s executive committee, finance committee and development council. “He leads by example, and he encourages others to support our mission financially as he does. He’s a great guy. I’m very confident to say that we’re a better organization because Bob serves on our board.”
Jeff Kuhman, owner and CEO of Glycon of Tecumseh; Scott Hill, an executive at Krieghoff-Lenawee Co. of Adrian;and Tecumseh attorney Chuck Gross have all served on the Lenawee Community Foundation board together with Vogel, and the foursome have become great buddies who have never gone two weeks without having lunch together for more than 15 years.
Kuhman, who’s known Vogel for years, says that he is just a great guy with a keen business acumen. Everyone, it seems, likes Vogel.
“That’s a wonderful quality. If he has any detractors or enemies, I have not met them yet,” Kuhman said. “He’s knowledgeable, he’s trustworthy. I trust him as much as anybody I’ve ever met. He’s cerebral. He’s a very deep thinker. He’s very analytical and that’s why this group of four people get together for lunch on a regular basis. You get three different opinions than your own ,and I value every one of them. Clinton’s Hardwoods has been very lucky to have someone like that and so has Lenawee County with all the boards that Bob is now active on.”
Hill could not think of anything bad to say about Vogel. Vogel has given his organization a lot of work over the years and the two have become great friends.
“He’s very smart, very hard-working, very caring and compassionate, and I think he’s been at the top of his field for a long time in that industry and much respect to him for the way he’s grown the business,” Hill said. “We’ve done a lot of work for him, a lot of construction work, and he’s a really good friend and I can’t say enough good about him.”
Gross agreed. He said that each of the four men in the lunch group are solid businessmen.
“He’s a really good guy. I was on the advisory board of Hardwoods of Michigan, so I got to see his company. He’s a fantastic president of a company. He does a good job. He helps his workers. He just knows how to run a business,” Gross said of Vogel. “But he’s super involved in the community. He does an excellent job of everything he does. He’s a good guy. He’s a joy to be around. You couldn’t ask for a better person.”
Jim Van Doren, executive director of Lenawee Now, has also gotten to know Vogel through the years.
“I’ve known Bob for a long time through business and through economic development and through the county, and Bob’s just an all-around nice guy besides being a good businessman. He runs a good ship over there in Clinton and has done a great job and is very involved in the community,” Van Doren said. “He’s done a great job with the business, and I’m certain that he’ll still be here to help us out in the community, but we just wish him the best in the future.”
Jeff Mercy assumes Hardwoods’ top job. Vogel hired him 30 years ago. Mercy said Vogel has mentored him through the years. Mercy started in sales, became sales manager, then vice president of sales and is now general manager. Baillie does not have officers within its organization so he will not have the title of president.
“I won’t be taking Bob’s place. I’ll be stepping into his shoes, and those are pretty big shoes to fill,” Mercy said. “Bob has very strong core values personally as well as professionally. He’s never wavered from acting with integrity, respecting others or dealing honestly and fairly. He’s a great leader as well as a great person. I’ve been studying him to groom for this position. I don’t think there was any major, laid out plan for how the succession was going to go until probably within the last six months or so. I’ve been prepared by a very good person, and I’ve got a very good team surrounding me. So I really believe I’ve been set up for a successful venture by both Bob and the team that surrounds me.”
For his part, Vogel has plenty to keep him busy in retirement.
“I serve on a lot of the boards. I have five grandchildren, four of whom are boys who love to hunt and fish and do stuff with their Bumpa. So I’m going to spend more time with them, and I’ll be doing some consulting work in the lumber industry,” Vogel said. “Between volunteer work and family and a little bit of consulting I think I can keep myself busy.”