The Burlwood Story
Burlwood, Inc. was formed in 1999 by the Melhorn family. For many years, the Melhorn family had owned and operated an electrical business in the York, PA area. In 1992, the Melhorn family started another business, Decks by John, as a means to supplement the electrical business. In 1999, after much sole searching, the Melhorn family decided to sell the electrical business and venture out into the woodworking industry. Woodworking had always been a hobby for the Melhorns and with the lucrative deck business, it seemed logical to proceed in this area.

In April of 1999, Chris Melhorn recieved a flyer from the Woodcraft corporation referencing franchise opporunities at Woodcraft. After a few phone calls, the Melhorns decided to meet with Woodcraft and explore a franchise in the Knoxville, TN area. The franchise rights for Knoxville were given to another franchisee, but the Melhorns were offered the Harrisburg, PA territory.

Since Chris lived in Knoxville, TN and was not able to relocate, John, Jan, and Daniel Melhorn started the paperwork for the Harrisburg, PA area. In the summer of 1999, the Melhorn family became part of the Woodcraft family. In November of 1999, Burlwood, Inc. was formed as a holding company for the Woodcraft franchise and Decks by John.

The name "Burlwood" was John's name for the company and was selected only because the name "Cherrywood", which was Jan's choice for the name of the new corporation, was already in use in the state of Pennsylvania.