ABOUT JOHN BOOS
John Boos & Co. is the oldest industry in Effingham, Illinois. It has been in business continuously since 1887. Conrad Boos Sr. founded the business in 1887 and named it for his son, John. For many years he worked out of the blacksmith shop, which was located at what is now 406 West Jefferson Street in Effingham, Illinois. The wood for his blocks was cut in wooded areas surrounding Effingham and was mostly sycamore lumber. The lumber was processed in his sawmill and sent to his shop for finishing. The plant operated from a blacksmith shop until 1892 and then it moved across town, and began producing the blocks as we know them now.
The company currently occupies approximately 150,000 sq.ft. of total production capacity in Effingham, IL and approximately 65,000 sq.ft. of manufacturing capacity in Philipsburg, PA and Suring, WI, which produce wooden school furniture. The company has four dry kilns that will dry up to 210,000 board feet of lumber on a continual basis. There are 140 employees in the Effingham facility. Most of the hardwoods used for manufacturing is shipped from Great Lakes states via truck, while our second largest commodity, stainless steel, comes from steel warehouses and distribution centers in Chicago, Indianapolis, and St.Louis. The company currently is cutting up about five million feet of maple and oak each year.
John Boos & Co. Cucina products, butcher blocks and cutting boards are being used by celebrity chefs throughout the United States. Celebrity chefs currently using John Boos products are Charlie Trotter, Ming Tsai, Paul Kahan, Susan Spicer at Bayona Restaurant in New Orleans, and Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feninger at Border Grill in Santa Monica, California. In addition, the country’s premier food channel, “THE FOOD NETWORK” features chefs, such as Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse, who prepare meals every day on John Boos cutting boards. In most cases Boos cutting boards are used on the daily and weekly television programs sponsored for the chefs.
Vibrant growth at the company continues, as John Boos & Company enters its 123th continuous year of business in 2010.
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