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History of the Company

Hugh's first love is his grandsons, shown with him here in a recent photo. One of our team members suggested that an appropriate caption for this picture might be “the owners and their granddad”.

After serving six years in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper, Hugh McClain spent the first 10 years of his business career in the poultry industry as a sales manager for a national feed company in Iowa and Missouri.

Hugh returned to Arkansas and began producing turkeys in 1970. This was the beginning of McClain Farms. In 1973, he acquired a feed mill and began expanding the operation. At its height, McClain Farms had 42 contract turkey producers in north central Arkansas and was operating a fleet of trucks to support the various facets of the business. McClain Farms purchased wood shavings for poultry bedding from a company in Alton, Missouri. McClain purchased the company in 1996. McClain built a new receiving, drying and processing yard in Alton, then in 2005 purchased a flooring manufacturing plant in Koshkonong, Missouri. In May of 2010, McClain acquired the hardwood lumber operations of the North Pacific Group. After merging the two operations, the company changed its name to McClain Forest Products, LLC.

Hugh has diversified his business interests by expanding into multi-family housing, cattle, and the banking business. During his career, Hugh has been president of the National Turkey Federation and Arkansas Poultry Federation and served on the Arkansas Poultry and Livestock Commission. He was recently inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame.

President's Message

Darwin Murray
President

Darwin Murray grew up in the hardwood industry with his grandfather and father working in sawmills and lumberyards their entire lives. Murray attended his first basic lumber grading short course while still in high school. After that he knew he wanted a career within the hardwood industry. Murray enrolled in the 82nd Class at the National Hardwood Lumber Association's school in Memphis, TN. Upon completion of the course, Murray returned to work in the industry as a lumber inspector, kiln operator, yard foreman and in sales. In addition, he continued his studies at a community college and enrolled in several short courses as well as seminars sponsored by NHLA.

Murray advanced through the ranks of a large corporation to become Vice President of Hardwood Operations. As President of McClain Forest Products, Murray uses the leadership, vendor/customer service and management skills he has acquired in his 30+ years industry experience to properly lead McClain Forest Products. "Working my way through the ranks from General Yard Labor up, has taught me how our employees, vendors, customers and other stakeholders want to be treated, and this is invaluable to me," said Murray. Murray and the company's owner, Hugh McClain, share common beliefs in corporate culture, integrity, relationships, professionalism, and vision to properly support the company's goals.

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