BY JOHN REED LEADER EDITOR
NORTH JUDSON — If you’re shopping for scented pine cones at Walmart or craft supplies at Michael’s, there’s a good chance they came from American Oak Preserving Company in North Judson.
On Thursday, Dec. 3, close to 100 local dignitaries turned out for a ribbon cutting ceremony and luncheon celebrating the opening of a $1 million expansion of the company.

American Oak is a homegrown industry, founded in North Judson by the Vorm family in 1916. In those 93 years, the company has grown to be a leader in the global marketplace.
“He’s global, he’s got customers, he’s got suppliers all over the world,” Sen. Ed Charbonneau (R-5) said.
State Rep. Nancy Dembowski (D-17) called the company “another building block in a strong foundation of North Judson industry” and praised company management for their entrepreneurial spirit.
American Oak specializes in manufacturing and importing home decor products, such as wreaths, bouquets, balls, bowls, potpourri, pine cones, dried flowers and vases. American Oak sells to national companies such as Michaels, Target, Crate & Barrel, Pier 1, TJ. Maxx, Bed Bath & Beyond and Walmart.
One of the most impressive features of the new building is the large wholesale showroom, where buyers from retail stores can view ready-made craft products, or supplies, appropriate to Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween and other holidays, as well as everyday decor.
The building also includes new high-tech offices.
American Oak has its international headquarters in North Judson, where it also manufactures products. It has a sister company in Canada selling to large Canadian retailers and a manufacturing facility in Mexico.
This year, American Oak has already imported more than 180 full-size shipping containers of products, of which 134 were delivered to North Judson. Their raw material is obtained from the U.S., India, China, Italy, Brazil, Vietnam, Philippines, Kenya, Madagascar, Indonesia and Thailand.
Charles Weaver praised American Oak and President Charlie Vorm for staying in North Judson. “It’s a real mark of a company when they want to stay in the community where they started. People often forget that the foundation of economic development is, one, a company you have that stays, and stays and prospers and, two, that stays and expands.”
Weaver is executive director of the Starke County Development Foundation and spearheaded Thursday ceremonies.
The project saw the construction of 6,000 square feet of new showroom space and offices, as well as new office equipment to support the company’s international business with a capital investment of approximately $1 million and the eventual creation of 14 new jobs.
Visitors toured an assembly line where pine cones were being processed with a cinnamon scent and then bagged for retail sale. Vorm explained that the line, their small assembly line, could process 18,000 bags a day. The firm was processing an order of 100,000 bags for Walmart, which reported 600 stores had run out of the product. He said the plant needed to produce 30,000 to 40,000 by the following Tuesday.
“We’re proud to support a long-established business... Thank you to Mr. Vorm and American Oak for expanding,” Town Council President Dan Anderson said.
The Starke County Development Foundation assisted American Oak in obtaining incentives from the town of North Judson and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation for this expansion.
Among those incentives were relocation of a water main and some tax incentives.