About The Mill
Union Church Millworks, Inc. was established in 1996 by Stephen A. Bennett. Located in the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia, Union Church specializes in 3/4” hardwood flooring, full-length paneling and wainscoting as well as a wide variety of mouldings and stair parts.
Although our business is defined as “custom millworks” we have the uncommon capability to ship 75% of customer orders within five business days with all standard orders filled in less than 4 weeks. To keep this customer commitment, we utilize a 25,000 square foot climate controlled warehouse in conjunction with an advanced inventory tracking system. We also apply dedicated sales forecasting practices in order to ensure in stock positions.
We stock perpetual inventory of more than 450K square feet of completed flooring product, paneling and trim. In addition, we have in excess of 1M to 2M board feet of kiln dried lumber.
The mill currently employs more than 45 people. Many critical positions such as Mill Manager, Inventory Manager, Warehouse and Shipping Manager, Personnel Manager, and Key Account Managers and Craftsmen remain filled by the same qualified individuals that helped to start and establish the business more than a decade ago.
Approximately, 97% of all logs purchased by Union Church Millworks are supplied by Parent Company Holdings or by loggers who have been trained in SFI (Sustained Forest Initiative) practices and procedures. Local landowners or farmers that do not traditionally harvest timber but may be doing so on a one time or non-routine basis supply the additional 3% of incidental timber.
The company has been featured in numerous Regional and National Publications and in the PBS series, “The New Home Show” and “HGTV” as well as several Major Motion Pictures building authentic/period set designs. Commercial projects have been featured in “Architectural Digest” and include luxury resort work in The Greenbrier, The Homestead and Snowshoe Ski Resort. We supplied flooring for the new corporate headquarters for “The Billy Graham Ministries.” Most recently, we’ve supplied the hardwoods for the “Clifton Forge Masonic Amphitheatre” which won the “Building of 2012” by American Architects Magazine.
The business as a whole was originally structured to handle aggressive sales growth. The machinery, warehousing capabilities and the raw material is currently in place to increase production well over 100%. Additional labor could be easily added and supported due to available skilled labor in the local area.
Owner Profiles
The Bennett Family has been involved in the logging and lumber business for more than 200 years in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. Steve Bennett continued the family tradition and entered the logging business in 1970. In 1982, he purchased a local sawmill operation, of his own, and founded “Bennett Logging and Lumber, Inc.” Union Church Millworks was added in 1996.
His personal land holdings are part of the Certified American Tree Farm Systems under the oversight of the American Forest Foundation and is SFI qualified. Production from his own timberlands equals or exceeds 75% of Union Church Millworks manufactured volume.
Mr. Bennett has long been regarded as a leader and innovator in the Wood Industry. His awards and recognitions include:
1979 “Logger of Merit Award” from the Virginia Forestry Association
1980 U. S. Forest Service “75th Anniversary Award” for his contributions to forestry and conservation on National Forest Lands
1981 “Outstanding Independent Logging Contractor” by the American Pulpwood Association
1983 “Pacesetter Award” from Timber Harvesting Magazine for his willingness and ability to improve logging operations through innovation
1991 “Man of the Year in Forestry” by the Virginia Forestry Association
Served as past Chairman of Appalachian Forest Management Group
Past Director of the Virginia Forestry Group Self-Insurance Association
1997 appointed by then-Governor George Allen to serve on the Open-Space Advisory Board for the State of Virginia
2000 appointed by Governor Jim Gilmore to serve on the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation Board of Trustees
He has testified numerous times at Congressional Hearings in Washington regarding issues to Agriculture and Small Business Concerns
Recently appointed to Virginia Association of Counties Environmental and Agriculture Steering Committee
Past Winner of the Local Tri-County Chamber of Commerce “Business of the Year Award”
Current Chairman of the Local Government Board Of Supervisors
Stephen Bennett, Vice President of Sales & Operations
Stephen Bennett is a third-generation member of a family that has built its livelihood in the Virginia timber and lumber industry. A native of Covington, Virginia, and a graduate of Alleghany High School, he earned his degree from Virginia Tech in 2015, studying forestry, economics, and business management. He came home to join the family business right away. He started as Mill Manager at Bennett Logging and Lumber in Selma, the logging and sawmill operation owned by his grandfather, where he learned the trade from the log yard up. In 2017 he moved into his current role as Vice President of Union Church Millworks, the family’s hardwood flooring mill. Stephen understands the full journey “From Forest to Floor” because he has worked every stage of it.
As Vice President of Sales & Operations, Stephen oversees UCM’s sales, marketing, operations, and field sanding and finishing services. He is not a manager who stays behind a desk. A Loba factory-trained finisher, he works in the field on projects ranging from single-room refinishes to multi-level custom homes for long-time builder partners, in species from white oak and red oak to maple and heart pine. That hands-on experience shapes how he leads. He coaches the sales team on clear, consistent customer communication. He has also championed a renewed focus on the mill’s core strength: solid hardwood made from its own lumber, which the team can stand behind with confidence.
Beyond the mill, Stephen is committed to serving both his industry and his community. He currently serves as Vice President and Membership Chair of the Roanoke Regional Home Builders Association and sits on its Executive Committee, after two years as the association’s Treasurer. He also served three years on the Board of Directors of the Home Builders Association of Virginia. Closer to home, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Better Business Bureau and the Board of Directors of the Alleghany County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism. In every role, he holds himself to the values his family’s businesses were built on: honesty, trustworthiness, and communication. When he’s not at the mill or on a job site, Stephen is at home in Covington with his wife, Karlie, and their daughter.