Bliffert, Portage Lumber Merger Will Deliver More Building Support, Products To Central Wisconsin Market
Bliffert Lumber, headquartered in Milwaukee, has merged with Portage Lumber Do-It-Best in Portage, WI.
Portage Lumber was founded in 1953 and has offered building materials, hardware and home decor in the Portage market for the majority of its 70 years in business.
Portage Lumber Do-It-Best attributes its strong position in the market to its focus on customer service. Kimberly Dorn, the general manager of Portage Lumber, represents the third generation of the Dorn family’s ownership and management and will continue to run this branch.
“We believe that merging with the Bliffert family of companies allows us to continue to serve our customers and community for generations to come,” said Dennis Dorn, CEO of Portage Lumber.
Bliffert Lumber, which sells Douglas Fir, Hemlock and White Fir, and Knotty and Yellow Pine, among other Softwoods, has served contractors and homeowners in southeastern Wisconsin for over 120 years.
“We are always looking to merge in other great lumber families like the Dorn’s that share our values,” said Eli Bliffert, vice-president of Bliffert Lumber. “We are very excited to extend our reach into Central Wisconsin and beyond. We are stronger together.”
For more information, go to www.bliffertlumber.com.
Hayward Lumber Acquires Economy Lumber
Hayward Lumber, the Campbell, CA-based pro-dealer, has announced that it recently acquired Economy Lumber.
The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Economy Lumber is also located in Campbell.
Following the acquisition, Hayward Lumber’s expanded footprint will include eight lumberyards, six design centers, a pro tool and repair shop, one truss plant, four rail yards, and a combined workforce of approximately 270 employees across California.
Across these locations, they are able to offer species such as, Cedar, Douglas Fir, Fir, Green Douglas Fir, Hemlock-fir, Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Redwood, Southern Yellow Pine, Spruce, Spruce-Pine-Fir, Sugar Pine and White Fir.
Hayward Lumber officials said the union of the two “local, family-owned businesses is a significant step forward for the companies and their communities.”
Founded in 1936, Economy Lumber is the first lumberyard in the unincorporated district of Santa Clara County, known as Burbank. It carries solid sawn framing lumber in common sizes and grades.
The company later relocated to Campbell. Under the leadership of John Saunders, the third-generation president and CEO, Economy Lumber has played a “vital role in the region’s construction industry,” according to sources.
Both companies are members of LMC, the Wayne, PA-based forest products and building materials buying group.
The pro-dealers also noted that in addition to their business initiatives, Hayward Lumber and Economy Lumber are “actively involved in community projects.”
For more information, go to www.haywarddlumber.com.
84 Lumber Opens New Component Plant In Florida
84 Lumber, among the nation’s largest privately held building materials supplier, announced the opening of its new component plant in Winter Haven, FL.
The company’s primary component plant in the state of Florida, was scheduled to open its doors for operation by the end of January.
Florida has historically been a strong market for 84 Lumber and the “component element will remain a priority moving forward.”
“This location will not only generate new business but will also offer customers increased service options,” according to 84 Lumber Vice President of Installed Sales and Manufacturing Ken Kucera.
The 80,000-square-foot facility features new, state-of-the-art roof and floor truss building equipment and will employ a staff of more than 80 associates. The plant will cover the central Florida market, including Tampa and Orlando, as well as the surrounding areas.
In addition to this new plant, 84 Lumber recently opened truss plants near Atlanta, GA and Columbia, SC; a new door shop in Denver, CO and is opening new stores in the state of California.
For more information, go to www.84lumber.com.
Gulfeagle Supply Acquires Banning Lumber & Millwork
Banning Lumber & Millwork of Largo, FL has been sold to Gulfeagle Supply.
Terry and Marc Banning founded Banning Lumber & Millwork in 1990. The company is a fully stocked lumberyard offering an extensive selection of building products including but not limited to millwork, doors, windows, mouldings, stair parts and exterior siding.
Banning is a wholesaler that sells exclusively to the trade. The company is one of the largest and most successful such businesses in the region.
Banning Lumber and Millwork’s Lumber Department offers a variety of framing lumber, including Doug and Hem Fir, Southern Yellow Pine and Spruce Pine Fir.
One of America’s premier roofing and building products distributors, Gulfeagle Supply specializes in servicing the professional roofing contractor and provides a variety of products and services to the homeowner, building owner, architect and general contractor.
Founded in 1973, Gulfeagle Supply opened its first location in Tampa, FL. Today, Gulfeagle has grown to 118 branches across the United States, with Banning Lumber & Millwork being the most recent acquisition.
For more information, go to www.gulfeaglesupply.com.
Premier Landscaping Acquires 75-Year-Old Lumberyard
Johnson True Value Lumber, Wickenburg, AZ, has been sold to a local entrepreneur after nearly 75 years of family ownership.
Jesus “Chuey” Gonzalez, the owner of Premier Landscaping, Premier Moving and Premier Hay, has purchased the lumberyard, now dubbed Premier True Value & Lumber, and sells a variety of framing lumber.
He noted that he hopes to retain all current employees.
For more information, go to www.premierwickenburg.com.
Texas Lumberyard To Open Fourth Location
Matt’s Building Materials has announced that it will add a 17,000-square-foot retail operation and lumberyard in Harlingen, TX.
The new store is expected to open in January 2025 and will sell Spruce, Pine and Hem Fir, along with Southern Yellow Pine.
Matt’s Building Materials currently operates three locations, employs more than 170 people, has a fleet of over 25 delivery vehicles and is a “local leader in many product categories.”
Matt’s already operates locations in Pharr, Palmview and San Benito, TX.
For more information, go to www.mattsbuildingmaterials.com.
Stine Lumber Acquires Bossier City Assets Of Cassity Jones Lumber
Stine Lumber is bringing its lumber and building materials to Bossier City and the surrounding communities.
Stine CEO Dennis Stine announced that the Sulphur, LA-based company has acquired the Bossier City assets of Cassity Jones Lumber, which sells Southern Yellow Pine, Spruce and Fir.
“We’re excited to locate in the Bossier/Shreveport region, a community we’ve been serving peripherally from our Natchitoches facility,” said Stine.
It is the12th Stine location in the state of Louisiana.
Stine is Louisiana’s largest family-owned building materials dealer and employs more than 800 associates in 12 stores across the state of Louisiana, with one store in Natchez, MS.
The sale to Stine Lumber involves the only Cassity Jones Lumber facility that was located outside of Texas.
The executive team of Cassity Jones Lumber elected to focus the growth of the company in Texas, where it has five locations, with a sixth location in west Fort Worth to be opened next month.
Wendy Stine, president of Stine, explained that all Cassity Jones Bossier City employees have accepted jobs with Stine.
There will be no interruption of service and customers may continue to interact with the same employees with whom they have built relationships.
Initial plans for the lumber yard include expanding product selection for the builder customer.
In addition to Bossier City, Stine Louisiana locations include Sulphur, Lake Charles, Iowa, DeRidder, Natchitoches, Pineville, Eunice, Jennings, Crowley, Broussard and Walker.
Stine began in Sulphur in 1946 and now has 12 locations throughout Louisiana and Mississippi. Stine was awarded the 2020 Company of the Year, greater than 100 employees, by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.
To learn more about Stine, visit www.stinehome.com.
Westcap Invests In Timber-Tech Truss
Westcap Mgt. Ltd. of Saskatchewan, Canada has made an investment in Timber-Tech Truss Limited Partnership, which is the third buyout fund focused on succession and growth opportunities in Western Canada.
Timber-Tech is a provider of engineered truss systems and engineered wood products, servicing customers throughout Western Canada.
Founded in 1980, in Lethbridge, Alberta, the company has four decades of experience and has grown to operate three manufacturing facilities, which are located in Lethbridge, Calgary and Medicine Hat.
With 52,000 square feet of combined manufacturing space and an employee base of 100, Timber-Tech can produce over 44,000 board feet per day. The company’s ability to meet product demand on time through all cycles has earned Timber-Tech a long-standing reputation of credibility and reliability with the top builders across Western Canada.
Timber-Tech has a wide range of customers across a large geographical region with a focus on servicing large, tract home builders in the Calgary region that require standard roof and floor trusses as well as engineered wood products.
The company’s products from the Medicine Hat and Lethbridge facilities are sold through a vast dealer network ranging from Southeastern British Columbia to Southwestern Saskatchewan.
Between 2020 and 2023, Timber-Tech increased board foot production by 26 percent despite industry supply chain challenges and volatile commodity pricing by focusing on strategic growth in the Calgary region including the acquisition of a new facility in Calgary in 2018.
This will continue the trend of interprovincial and international migration into the region and drive demand for new housing and commercial buildings.
For more information, go to www.timbertech.com.
