Caskets |
Cremation Urns |
Cemeteries |
Burial Vaults |
Alternative Resting Places |
Embalming |
Lumber Costs and Hardwood Caskets |
|
|
There are five elements that influence the price of a species of wood:
The main labor costs are harvesting and milling. Costs related to availability are generally low across the species of wood used in production of Aurora Casket Company's caskets. That's because the majority of hardwood used is harvested from the Eastern seaboard. However, some woods come from other parts of the world (e.g., mahogany comes from Eastern Africa), so additional transportation charges need to be added to the price of the wood. Some species of wood are knotty or split very easily while being dried, resulting in waste. Walnut is an example of a wood with a high waste factor; as much as 40% of walnut purchased will be wasted. Scarcity of the species or supply and demand affects the final price of the casket. Walnut is a species with a relatively low supply (when compared to other species) and high demand. When you combine scarcity with the waste factor, it's understandable why walnut caskets are among the highest priced hardwood caskets. Victoriaville, Aurora Casket Company's hardwood casket manufacturing partner, has always been known for producing high-quality caskets. Achieving this consistent high quality is easy because Victoriaville uses the best grades of lumber to produce their products. First and seconds (FAS), the top grade for hardwood, and number one common, the second-best grade of lumber, are the only grades used in their caskets.
|