A division of the Wood Resources Group, Wood Materials has been providing construction and residential foundation materials for over 40 years. Part of a multigenerational, multi-faceted family company, Wood Materials was formed in the 1980s when Donald Wood, Sr.’s three children joined their father and expanded his company by adding sand pits and tugboats, growing the range of construction materials sold, installing ship mooring facilities, and adding maintenance dredging capabilities. Today, Wood Materials provides river sand, crushed concrete, limestone, and pea gravel with the help of the Mighty Mississippi and the company’s five sandpit locations along the river.
“We use our own dredge—our tried and true “W.B. Wood” suction dredge (which also has cutterhead capabilities)—to pump sand from the river into our sandpits, and we sell it from there,” says Caroline Zimmermann, Land Manager and 4th generation family member. “Because this city and surrounding areas are ever sinking, foundation materials are necessary for all construction projects,” she says.
Wood Materials has contributed to a number of notable local projects, including single-handedly pumping and providing 2.4M cubic yards of sand for the new Louis Armstrong International Airport as well as providing foundation materials to the new VA buildings downtown, the New Orleans Saints practice facility, and the new Bayou Oaks South Course at City Park.
Looking forward, the company is expanding up the river to provide materials for upcoming projects.
“This industry is so unique; it’s something no one thinks about but everyone needs,” says Zimmermann. “Our saying is ‘We Provide the Foundation,’ and we like to think of that not just in terms of sand but in terms of community, too.”
(TOP) Customer transporting pumped river sand, one of the many materials that we provide for various construction projects (BOTTOM) process of recycling raw concrete into crushed concrete
5821 River Road • Avondale
504-436-1234 • woodresources.com
