
<PAGE>
                                      EXHIBIT 11

                              CONCERNED SHAREHOLDERS FOR
                            BETTER MANAGEMENT OF AMERIWOOD
                            c/o Paul C. Drueke, Secretary
                                     P.O. Box 364
                                 Caledonia, MI 49316

                                                                JACOB C. MOL
                                                                  Chairman


                                  September 25, 1997



Board of Directors
Ameriwood Industries International Corporation
168 Louis Campau Promenade, Suite 400
Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Gentlemen:

          The time has come for Neil Longfellow Diver to resign or be
removed.

          Mr. Diver was named to the board in 1990 to represent the
interests of the Willametta K. Day Trust.  At the time of his appointment,
the Day Trust represented 7.51% of the company's stock.  It is no longer a
reported shareholder.  The largest shareholders today are Ameriwood
employees (holding 18.7% through the Employee Stock Ownership Plan) and the
Concerned Shareholders for Better Management of Ameriwood (8.2%).  While
Mr. Diver appears to have effectively represented his own interests, we do
not believe that he represents the interests of today's shareholders.

          Ameriwood's business is manufacturing and marketing durable
consumer products.  It requires a leader who has demonstrated expertise in
manufacturing and marketing and success at leading a business engaged in
those activities.  Our company's leader should be knowledgeable of the
needs of a publicly traded company, and an individual who inspires respect,
confidence, and loyalty in employees, shareholders and the investment
community.  We do not believe that Mr. Diver has these qualities.

LET'S LOOK AT PROMISES AND PERFORMANCE

          As Ameriwood's Chairman since 1991, Mr. Diver has assumed the
role of company spokesman to the investment community.  Ameriwood's stock
price depends on the company's credibility.  Mr. Diver has failed to
deliver that credibility.  Let us review Ameriwood's promises and compare
them to its performance.

<PAGE>
          Let us look back to 1993, Ameriwood's best year.  For the year
ended December 31, 1993, earnings were $7,125,000, and sales were
$103,934,000.  At the end of 1993, Ameriwood stock was trading at $16 per
share.  Ameriwood had a strategic plan which included a capital investment
program similar to the one now apparently being implemented.

     1994

          Mr. Diver presented a promising future for Ameriwood:

     "NOT ONLY DID WE POST RECORD SALES, RECORD OPERATING INCOME AND
     VERY SATISFACTORY PER SHARE EARNINGS, WE ALSO TOOK A NUMBER OF
     STEPS TO ENSURE THAT OUR GROWTH WILL CONTINUE IN 1994 AND THE
     FORESEEABLE FUTURE. . . .AS WE ENTER 1994, OUR OUTLOOK FOR
     AMERIWOOD IS AS BRIGHT AS IT HAS EVER BEEN AND WE EXPECT TO AGAIN
     OUTPACE THE FURNITURE INDUSTRY WITH OUR GROWTH.  WE HAVE SOME
     VERY SPECIFIC REASONS FOR THIS OPTIMISM.  WE HAVE, AS MENTIONED
     EARLIER, EMBARKED UPON A CAPITAL SPENDING PROGRAM THAT INVOLVES
     $16 MILLION OVER TWO YEARS. . . .OUR OPTIMISM ABOUT 1994 AND, IN
     FACT, THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE IS ALSO FOUNDED ON OUR ENHANCED
     PRODUCT LINE." 1993 Annual Report.

     "WE HAVE SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETED THE TWO YEAR $16 MILLION CAPITAL
     IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM BEGUN IN 1993.  THIS SHOULD ALLOW US TO MAKE
     SIGNIFICANT STRIDES IN REDUCING OUR COSTS AND IMPROVING OUR
     PRODUCTIVITY."  News release dated February 3, 1995.

     1995

          However, actual performance in 1994 and 1995 belied those
promises:

     " . . . AN UNEXPECTED COMBINATION OF FACTORS DEVELOPED DURING THE
     YEAR THAT CHANGED THE BUSINESS CLIMATE AND ULTIMATELY RESULTED IN
     1994 BECOMING A YEAR OF DIFFICULT BUSINESS CONDITIONS."  1994
     Annual Report.

     "AMERIWOOD EXPECTS BREAK-EVEN FIRST QUARTER.  CITES FLAT SALES
     VOLUME, UNEXPECTED COSTS."  News release dated April 12, 1995.

     "AMERIWOOD REPORTS FLAT SECOND QUARTER SALES REPORTS .05 PER
     SHARE NET LOSS FOR PERIOD."  News release dated July 26, 1995.

     "AMERIWOOD REPORTS LOSS FOR PERIOD."  News release dated October
     24, 1995.





                                      2
<PAGE>
     1996

          In January of 1996, Jay Miglore, the last manufacturer on the
Board, resigned.  Chuck Foley became interim President.  Promises resumed:

     "THE COMPANY HAS BEGUN A REORGANIZATION OF ITS MANAGEMENT
     STRUCTURE AS PART OF ITS PLAN TO STREAMLINE ADMINISTRATIVE
     PROCESSES AND REDUCE FIXED COST.  News release dated Feb. 27,
     1996.

     "OUR 1995 RESULTS ARE CLEARLY UNSATISFACTORY AND WE ARE TAKING
     CORRECTIVE ACTION.  SOME MIGHT DESCRIBE THE TYPE OF YEAR
     AMERIWOOD HAD IN 1995 AS 'ONE THEY WOULD RATHER FORGET.'  BE
     ASSURED, WE KNOW OUR RECENT ADVERSITY BRINGS WITH IT THE LESSONS
     NECESSARY TO MAKE US A STRONGER COMPANY MOVING FORWARD."  1995
     Annual Report.

     "WE BEGAN TO REALIZE SOME OF THE EARLY BENEFITS OF OUR
     REORGANIZATION AND EFFICIENCY GAINS IN THE FIRST QUARTER, BUT WE
     DON'T ANTICIPATE EXPERIENCING THE FULL EFFECT UNTIL LATER THIS
     YEAR."  News release dated April 15, 1996.

     "WE ARE PLEASED THAT OUR EFFORTS TO STREAMLINE THE ORGANIZATION
     AND IMPROVE EFFICIENCY ARE BEGINNING TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON
     RESULTS."  News release dated July 24, 1996.

     "WE HAVE TALKED THE TALK, NOW WE ARE READY TO WALK THE WALK."
     Statement of Mr. Diver to shareholders at July 25, 1996 annual
     meeting.  

          On November 1, 1996, Ameriwood announced that it would take a $1
million to $1.3 million charge to recall futon cushions, but:

     "OUR OVERALL BUSINESS REMAINS STRONG . . . "  News release dated
     November 1, 1996.

     "AS YOU KNOW, THE EFFORTS TO IMPROVE AMERIWOOD'S PROFITABILITY
     ARE STARTING TO SHOW RESULTS."  Invitation to investors for a
     meeting at Cascade Country Club November 14, 1996.

     "WE HAVE TALKED THE TALK . . . NOW WE ARE READY TO WALK THE
     WALK."  Neil Diver, to investors at Cascade Country Club November
     14, 1996.

     1997

          After serving as interim President and Chief Executive Officer
for a mediocre year, Mr. Foley was named President and Chief Executive


                                      3
<PAGE>
Officer, and appointed to the Board of Directors, on January 21, 1997.
Promises continued:

     " . . .HE AND THE MANAGEMENT TEAM CONTINUE THE TURNAROUND EFFORT
     BEGUN LAST YEAR." Neil Diver said.  News release dated January
     21, 1997:

     "WE MADE SOME IMPORTANT STRIDES IN 1996, AND NOW MUST FOLLOW
     THROUGH IN ORDER TO MAKE AMERIWOOD MORE CONSISTENTLY PROFITABLE."
     News release dated February 19, 1997.

     Ameriwood attributed the decrease in net sales from the year-ago
     quarter to lower furniture sales, which decreased 14.7% to $19.3
     million.  "BEGINNING LAST YEAR, WE LAUNCHED SEVERAL KEY
     INITIATIVES THAT SHOULD HELP BOOST SALES AND IMPROVE
     PROFITABILITY IN THE NEAR-TERM."  News release dated April 22,
     1997.

          At the May 20, 1997, annual meeting, shareholders were assured
that the recovery would be back on track in the 2nd quarter.  Instead, what
followed looked close to a record quarterly operating loss:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
           AMERIWOOD         6 MONTHS ENDING JUNE 30
           ---------         ------------------------
                                1996         1997
                             ------------------------
<S>      <C>                <C>           <C>            <C>
          Sales              51,565,900    50,203,700     Sales down 2.64%,
          Earnings from                                   close to a record
          Operations            333,100    (2,230,100)    loss.
</TABLE>

          "LOWER THAN EXPECTED SALES, COUPLED WITH HIGHER SELLING,
     GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS COMPARED TO LAST YEAR'S SECOND
     QUARTER, NEGATIVELY IMPACTED PROFITABILITY IN THE 1997 SECOND
     PERIOD.  EXPENSES RELATED TO STRENGTHENING PERSONNEL AND
     MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS, AS WELL AS INCREASED MARKETING COSTS,
     CONTRIBUTED TO THE NEARLY $1.4 MILLION INCREASE IN SG&A VERSUS
     LAST YEAR'S SECOND QUARTER RESULTS. . . .FURNITURE SALES, WHICH
     ROSE 3% IN THE QUARTER, WERE LOWER THAN EXPECTED DUE PARTLY TO
     SOFT ORDER FLOW IN THE OFFICE SUPERSTORE, SPECIALTY STORE AND
     WAREHOUSE CLUB CHANNELS.  INCREASED OVERHEAD ABSORPTION DUE
     TO LOWER THAN PLANNED PRODUCTION VOLUMES, AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL
     SG&A EXPENSES OFFSET THE SALES GAIN IN THE SECOND QUARTER."  News
     release dated August 5, 1997.




                                      4
<PAGE>
IT'S NOT JUST AN INDUSTRY PROBLEM

          Broken promises, together with Mr. Diver's lack of responsiveness
to the investment community, has cost the company the interest and support
of the investment community.  In 1993, three analysts wrote research pieces
on Ameriwood.  Analysts continued to provide coverage of the company's
publicly traded competitors.  However, to our knowledge, there is no
continuing analyst coverage of Ameriwood.  We believe the company's current
stock price reflects the lack of confidence in Ameriwood in the investment
community, as well as its poor operating results.

          Mr. Diver and Mr. Foley have stated or implied that Ameriwood's
problems are industry problems.  Let's look at the performance of
Ameriwood's competitors:

          BUSH INDUSTRIES, INC. Bush Industries, Inc., a leading furniture
manufacturer and supplier of surface technologies, reported record results
for the quarter and six months ended June 28, 1997.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
      BUSH INDUSTRIES        6 MONTHS ENDING JUNE 30
      ---------------        ------------------------
                                1996         1997
                             ------------------------
<S>      <C>                <C>           <C>            <C>
          Sales              120,232,000   143,286,000    Sales up 19.2%,
          Earnings from
          Operations          14,652,000    17,280,000    earnings up 17.9%
</TABLE>
          "SALES AND EARNINGS WERE STRONGER THAN EXPECTED FOR THE QUARTER.
     THE SALES INCREASE WAS THE RESULT OF GOOD SELL-THROUGH AT RETAIL
     AND SOME MAJOR PLACEMENT OF NEW PRODUCTS WITH KEY CUSTOMERS."  Bush
      Industry news release dated July 16, 1997.

          O'SULLIVAN INDUSTRIES HOLDINGS, INC.  O'Sullivan Industries
Holdings, Inc., reporting double digit sales gains, stronger gross margins
and improved capacity utilization, produced record sales and the second
most profitable year in the company's history.  It was O'Sullivan's fifth
consecutive quarter of improved financial performance.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
         O'SULLIVAN          6 MONTHS ENDING JUNE 30
         ----------          ------------------------
                                1996         1997
                             ------------------------
<S>      <C>                <C>           <C>            <C>
          Sales              137,418,000   157,771,000    Sales up 14.8%
          Earnings from
          Operations            (457,000)   14,413,000    near record earnings
</TABLE>
                                      5
<PAGE>
     "AS WE NOTED IN OUR PRE-EARNINGS NEWS RELEASE ON AUGUST 5, O'SULLIVAN
      HAS ENJOYED AN EXCELLENT FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL-YEAR PERFORMANCE IN
      FISCAL 1997, IN PART DUE TO OPERATING IMPROVEMENTS WE'VE MADE DURING
      THE PAST 18 MONTHS." O'Sullivan news release dated August 19, 1997.

          THE GENERAL MARKET.  As a result of Ameriwood's comparatively
poor performance, and as a result of Mr. Diver's personal inability to
instill confidence (or even hope) that performance will improve in the
future, your shareholders have suffered a loss in the value of their
investment in Ameriwood, while investors in the market in general have
enjoyed the greatest bull market in history.  Consider the following
comparative analysis of total return:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                              DECEMBER 31, 1993
                           THROUGH AUGUST 29, 1997
                      ------------------------------------
                                               ANNUAL
                      TOTAL RETURN       EQUIVALENT RETURN
                      ------------       -----------------
<S>                     <C>                    <C>
Ameriwood                (69.59%)               (28.30%)

S&P 500                  103.34%                 21.99%
Index 

Dow Jones                109.10%                 22.89%
Indus. Avg.
</TABLE>

MANAGEMENT AFTER MR. DIVER

          Our concern for Ameriwood's future has certainly not been
mollified by Chuck Foley's appointment as chief executive officer.  We see
little in Mr. Foley's biographical information that would give investors
any reason for confidence that he has the leadership, management skills and
expertise in manufacturing and marketing that the company needs to succeed. 
The company's operating performance during the 11/2 years Mr. Foley has
served as president and chief executive officer has been abysmal.  If Mr.
Foley is indeed qualified to lead our company, he must present himself to
the employees, shareholders and investment community in a manner that
inspires confidence.  If he cannot produce acceptable operating results in
short order, he should be replaced.

WHAT ABOUT THE EMPLOYEES?

          Since 1994, Neil Diver and Chuck Foley have received more in cash
compensation than the net income from operations of the company.  What
about non- management employees?

                                      6
<PAGE>
          Ameriwood's employees are its most valuable resource.  Through
the employee stock ownership plan, they are also Ameriwood's largest
shareholder.  Because employees depend on the value of Ameriwood stock for
their retirement security, they also have a stake in effective management
of the company.  Between December 31, 1993 and August 29, 1997, the value
of Ameriwood shares held by the ESOP fell over 69%.  How secure is their
retirement, or their employment, if management continues business as usual.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?

          On behalf of all Ameriwood shareholders, we urge the board of
directors to change its focus to effective and profitable management of a
company engaged in manufacturing and marketing durable consumer goods.  To
that end, we urge you to:

          -    Remove Neil Diver from his position as Chairman of the
               Board.

          -    Enlarge the expertise of the board of directors to
               include the skills needed for the company's future
               success; to that end:

               -    appoint to the board of directors one or more
                    directors with personal experience as chief
                    executive officer of a company engaged in the
                    business of manufacturing and marketing products.

               -    appoint to the board of directors a director who
                    represents nonmanagement employee participants in
                    the Employee Stock Ownership Plans.

          -    If Mr. Foley doesn't produce marked improvements in
               operating results by the end of the year, hire someone
               new to provide the leadership the company badly needs.
               This individual should have demonstrated ability to
               manage a company engaged in manufacturing and marketing
               similar products, and the leadership ability to instill
               respect, confidence and loyalty of the management,
               employees, shareholders and the investment community.

          -    Discontinue annual director stock option awards until
               there is a minimum of 6% return on equity from
               operations to link director compensation to the
               company's performance.

          -    Pay director fees in stock, not cash.

          -    Discontinue awarding stock options and stock
               appreciation rights to management during periods of

                                      7
<PAGE>
               poor performance, to link management compensation to
               performance.

          -    Close the Grand Rapids executive offices and move the
               officers of the company to Dowagiac to promote
               efficiency, communication with employees and hands-on
               management.

          -    Communicate to the investment community a willingness
               of the board of directors and management to stake their
               own positions on their ability to cause the company to
               compete successfully by dismantling the corporation's
               poison pill and other defenses against acquisition
               proposals.

          -    If an acceptable level of financial performance cannot
               be achieved in short order, merge or sell it to a
               company which is able to operate it effectively, before
               continued operating losses further threaten employee
               security and shareholder value.

          The Concerned Shareholders for Better Management of Ameriwood
believe in Ameriwood.  We believe that Ameriwood has good products and a
loyal and effective work force.  If the board of directors will support
these assets by providing effective leadership, we believe that the company
can deliver superior financial performance and provide a more secure and
rewarding environment for its employees.  We demand that you take the
measures needed to provide the shareholders and the employees with the
value they deserve.

                                      Sincerely,

                                      CONCERNED SHAREHOLDERS FOR
                                      BETTER MANAGEMENT OF AMERIWOOD



                                      By /s/Jacob C. Mol
                                           Jacob C. Mol, Chairman


                                      By /s/Paul C. Drueke
                                           Paul C. Drueke, Secretary





                                      8

