Escaping communism and seeking refuge from the Vietnam War, Hai and Phoung Nguyen left Vietnam with nothing but the clothes on their back, a boat full of families and insufficient rations to disperse.  Hai and Phuong made refuge in Malaysia for eight months surviving on fish and the fruit of palm trees. Eventually they were given refuge in America. Through back breaking labor, Hai and Phoung scraped away using their “God given” skills of creativity and survival to ensure the prosperity of their family. 

In the early 1980’s, Hai Nguyen left his jobs to pursue the gamble of a lifetime: his own manufacturing business. Through the skills he acquired growing up in Vietnam and the multiple trades he enlisted himself in, Hai gained an acute expertise of machinery and business practice. Phoung Nguyen remained employed during the construction and formulation of Cedar and Hardwood, though she did quit her night job to work with her husband toward the ultimate goal of a family business. Extremely long hours, children to raise and feed, large loans, and cedar dust everywhere, Hai and Phoung Nguyen had their grand opening in 1985.

In the trials and tribulations of business Hai and Phoung became successful in the operation of their manufacturing plant. The skill seemed to trickle down the line of their offspring with Khanh Nguyen (son) creating Iron World Designs, and Bao Nguyen (son) creating Stone World Designs. All three companies operate from the same property and the same office, truly a family business.