New Orleans, LA—Robinson Lumber Company (RLC) has promoted Chad Hammonds to manager of its Southern Yellow Pine Division.
Hammonds joined the Robinson Lumber family in September of 2016, as a sales executive in the Export Division. In the past four years, Hammonds has proven to be a valuable leader at the company. His contributions to the Southern Yellow Pine team have significantly increased customer value, by widened product range and providing excellent service.
When Hammonds was asked about his path at RLC, he said, “From the moment I joined Robinson Lumber Company, I felt like part of a family and knew this was where I belonged. Being given the opportunity to lead the SYP Division at RLC is the pinnacle of my career thus far and a goal I’ve strived for and a responsibility that I take very seriously. I continue to have a passion for the lumber business because I sincerely enjoy working with my colleagues, customers and suppliers. The lumber industry feels like one big family, and I’m fortunate to be part of it.”
Vice President Court Robinson reflected on Hammonds’ four years at Robinson Lumber Company by saying, “Chad is highly respected throughout the industry. He consistently demonstrates a pursuit of excellence by tenaciously going after new business and forging new relationships with customers and suppliers. His ability to foster long-term relationships has helped Robinson Lumber Company continue to grow its Southern Yellow Pine business over the years.”
Joe Buckhaults, who started in the Pine business at Caribbean Lumber in 1980 and is today the company’s president, commended Hammonds for embodying the company’s core values “especially courage to speak your mind. One of the things I appreciate most about Chad is that he never shies away from saying the hard things.”
Company CEO Garner Robinson had this to say: “Although today we offer a range of forest products to our customers, our company’s roots are firmly in Pine. My great-great-grandfather pioneered Longleaf Pine sawmills in Mississippi from the 1880s to 1890s, and eventually settled in New Orleans where he established our family company in 1893. He soon began exporting Pine, and in the 1930s, his son built Pine sawmills in Nicaragua. Our third generation expanded to Honduras and into Southern Yellow Pine, which our fourth generation expanded.”
Court Robinson added, “Looking back on this incredible history, those of us in the fifth generation are both humbled by the traditions we build on, and excited to carve a new path for our old company. Nothing is more important to our plans than attracting and developing the best professionals in the industry, and we’re proud to announce Chad as the first non-family manager of the company’s oldest division.”
Hammonds can be contacted on (504) 896-6164 or via e-mail at chad@roblumco.com or you can visit www.roblumco.com.