LANSING, Mich., April 4, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — When the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men’s Basketball Championship Round kicks off in San Antonio Saturday night, the teams will compete on a court manufactured in Michigan from Michigan-harvested wood.
Michigan has a long and proud tradition of providing sports floor systems for the NCAA, spanning over 20 years. This year’s NCAA championship court, as well as the regional courts, were assembled from renewable, Michigan-grown maple and assembled at the Connor Sports Flooring facility in Amasa, Michigan.
“Michigan’s forest products industry is honored to be a partner with the NCAA in providing high quality flooring systems for their premier sporting events,” said George Berghorn, Director of Forest Policy. Connor’s manufacturing approach emphasizes quality and sustainability. “Quality and resource conservation are important to Connor,” stated Conrad Stromberg, Plant Manager for Connor Sports Flooring. “Our processes are designed to get the best yield out of the raw material that is being made into flooring; any excess sawdust is recycled to produce wood pellets, animal bedding, and mulch for home gardening,” added Stromberg.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the Michigan Forest Products Council have recently developed a branding program for Michigan’s wood products called “Select Michigan Wood & Wood Products.”
“The Select Michigan Brand showcases the bounty, and diversity, of Michigan agriculture,” said MDA Director Don Koivisto. “The brand stands for high quality, Michigan-grown products, and this recognizable application of Michigan wood and manufacturing capacity is representative of the brand.”
The Michigan Forest Products Council is a statewide trade association representing the $12 billion forest products industry, which owns millions of acres of timberland and employs over 154,000 men and women in Michigan. The Council works to protect, promote and sustain a globally competitive forest products industry in Michigan.
MDA is the official state agency charged with promoting, preserving, and protecting the food, agriculture, environmental, and economic interests of the people of the State of Michigan. Its programs serve all sectors of Michigan’s $63.7 billion agriculture industry, which is the state’s second largest industry.
Connor Floor was founded in 1872 and provides the marketplace with comprehensive indoor sports flooring and outdoor sports surfacing solutions for residential, community-based, educational, and commercial customers. The Connor Sports Flooring Amasa, Michigan mill began manufacturing flooring in 1976, and currently has 135 employees. Very little of the manufacturing process is automated to any degree - the lumber used to make flooring is defected, graded, and bundled, by people who take great pride in their work.
Michigan Forest Products Council