innovation driven by history

In 199X we launched the modern-day iteration of WD Flooring with a radical approach to the market and our craft. When almost every company was focused on producing strip Oak flooring, we released a collection filled with 10 different North American species available in five different widths. Some looked at us like we were from outer space, but we quickly earned a reputation as fresh and new company that challenged the status quo. Our roots go back 150 years to a disruptor who innovations still define standards of today. Our namesake and muse, WD Connor, inspires us to continually push boundaries, evolve, and change. It is the past which made us, which defined us and allows us to follow a mantra of change – continually finding new ways to innovate and move our craft forward.

WD Flooring is a tribute to WD Connor, who served as Wisconsin’s Lieutenant Governor, is enshrined in the Forestry Hall of Fame, and is the great-great grandfather of the sustainable forestry, modern milling and also our founder Peter Connor. In 1898, as the Connor family forest grew in size, Connor built the largest hardwood mill in the world. He also had a passion for politics. As a Wisconsin State Legislator, he created the blueprint for sustainable forestry with the passing of the Wisconsin Forestry Act, which later was adopted by states across the United States. A strong supporter of women having the right to vote, he pushed legislation for women’s suffrage, and also sponsored bills strengthening public education.  

When WD Flooring made its first appearance at the NWFA convention in the mid-1990s, we took the industry by surprise. Our product line swam against the prevailing tides with our variety of species and plank widths. We also had a unique power – all of our managers were trained and certified installers, giving us a unique viewpoint of the entire process from the forest to the mill to floor.

After quickly making a name for ourselves, we didn’t stop. We sought to understand wants and needs of our customers. As character grades became shorter and shorter, we knew this was counterintuitive to customers’s needs . So, we turned the rules on its head and redefined the grading rules. When the housing market collapsed in the early aughts, and inspired by European counterparts, we decided to take a crash course in finishes. We developed our own palate of unique finishes. Our treatments and pre-colors combine with the 42 colors of oil, and our vast resource of species diversification, give us an unlimited platform for design.

Have we always been innovators? We don’t know – but we have set a pace that competitors often follow. We were the first manufactures in this space because we haunted by our inability to answer a question “What will you do to differentiate yourself going forward?” To answer that question today is easy: “Whatever we please”.