Sauder Funeral Products is all about value: They manufacture laminated wood caskets that look like fine hardwood but cost much less.
Sauder Woodworking Company was founded in 1934 as a maker of church pews and furnishings. The Ohio-based company has grown to offer a wide range of furniture for homes, businesses and institutions. You’ll find many of their laminated furniture products in Target stores. Seven years ago they started making caskets and other funeral products.
“We’re hearing stories of families that come in to a funeral home and say that they don’t want to spend a lot but still want something that looks nice,” said Dan Sauder. “That’s where we come in. Traditionally, you’d have a cloth covered casket and then a low-end metal as the next step up.”
Sauder manufactures a laminated veneer wood casket that looks like a real hardwood casket. Funeral directors can offer families a nice-looking wood casket at the price level of a low-end metal unit. And for those considering cremation, they provide affordable wooden cremation containers with an oak or pine finish that a family might find more appealing than a cardboard box.
“In surveys we’ve done, we’ve found that families actually prefer wood over metal,” said Sauder. “By buying a Sauder casket, you can spend about half the cost on a solid wood casket.”
Sauder caskets are made from 97% recycled wood. The veneers are finished with realistic wood patterns made with three-dimensional etching. The caskets have traditional brass finishings on the handles. Their catalog includes descriptions like “Rosetan crepe interior,” “”Full-length lift bed,” “Pleated [or Piped] panel with tailored [or shirred] rolls,” and finish colors like Golden cherry, Amber pine, and Carolina oak.
Sauder Funeral Products only sells to the funeral industry, not to the general public. Learn more at www.SauderFuneralProducts.com.
