Kuiken Brothers Saw Wood at Newark Ribbon Cutting

By Anthony Birritteri, Editor-in-Chief On Oct 11, 2019

Kuiken Brothers Company, Inc. a leading supplier of residential and commercial building materials in New Jersey and the tri-state region, celebrated the opening of its ninth warehouse complex yesterday with a non-traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony: a two-by-eight beam of lumber was cut in half by a chainsaw.

What is special about the 10-acre complex at 500 Doremus Ave., Newark, is that the facility not only has immediate access to major highways, but it has onsite access to Newark Bay with a bulkhead in the rear of the complex.

Doug Kuiken, president of the company, says that while most wood building products come from mills in the US and Canadian West Coast via rail to Kuiken Brothers facilities (most of which have onsite rail access), he envisions using the waterway to have products delivered to the site.

“The bulkhead needs work, but we will ultimately replace it and find ways to get materials to the complex and in and around the metro area, or wherever the water route takes us. That’s our goal. I don’t know if its achievable yet, so in the meantime, we will be doing it the old-fashioned way,” Kuiken said.

The “old-fashioned” way of delivering products to commercial and residential builders, developers, contractors, architects and other customers is by truck, and Kuiken Brothers has a fleet of some 100 vehicles – ranging from 18-wheelers to pick-ups – that travel up and down the state’s major highways. What the Newark location offers the company now is perhaps the best access to such roads when compared to any other Kuiken Brothers location.

According to Matthew Kuiken, vice president of operations and Doug’s son, “This site can be a major distribution hub for us with access to the NJ Turnpike, Routes 78, 280, 1&9, 287, and the Garden State Parkway. However, we also have access to Newark Bay. So, we think we are well positioned to take advantage of the continuing movement to get more trucks off the road.”

Doug Kuiken explains that the company invested approximately $10 million to upgrade the site, which at the beginning of the 20th century, was home to one of the largest smelting and refining operations of its time. Most recently, the site housed the operations of Cardolite Corporation, a leading producer and developer of specialty chemical products originating from cashew nutshell liquid.

The complex houses some $3 million worth of building materials, and approximately 35 new jobs have been created at the location. Kuiken expects the job number to double in the “not-to-distant future.”

Kuiken Brothers, a 107-year-old family-run business, is based in Fair Lawn. Its other facilities are located in Emerson, Roseland, Wantage, Succasunna, Midland Park, and Garfield. There is also a facility in Warwick, New York.

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