“Our long-standing relationships with mills allow us to get proprietary grades pulled that other distributors do not have access to. We get input from our customers to produce a product that works for them. These relationships span decades and generations based on common goals and mutual respect.” – Bernie Nugent, former president (retired), Warren Trask Co.
Pictured is the Warren Trask Company team. From left to right in front is Kimberly Sever-ance, Keith Pruden, Charlie Stewart, Amy Mann, David Loretta, Debbie Bernier, Brian Tetreault and Gil Adams. Pictured from left to right in back is Mike Miller, Kyle Tiringer, Bren-dan Nugent, Eric McGovern, Dean Adams, Bernie Nugent, Matt Gondek, and Ryan Gagne.
Warren Trask Co., headquartered in Lakeville, MA, started out as a distribution yard servicing local lumberyards 100 years ago prior to the Great Depression. Initially founded by a member of the Gerrity family, the company’s name’s sake, Warren Trask, and the Adams family came on board to help make the company a continued generational success, with there being four generations of each of the founding families still involved with the company to this day.
Warren Trask wouldn’t have been able to become a century-old business without the dedication of their employees.
“We have had four generations of the Adams family who started with the company in the 1920s and continues with Gil Adams’s son, Dean,” Bernie Nugent, president of Warren Trask, said. “We value the fact that we have younger family members coming into the business. They have the opportunity to draw on the experience of the older generation, easing the transition to Warren Trask’s next century. We have multiple father and son teams working together in the yard as well. My son, Brendan, is part of the organization, and my hope is we continue to get interest from the younger generation going forward.”
Pictured from left to right is James Webb, Robbins Lumber Inc., Searsmont, ME; Win Smith, Robbins Lumber East Baldwin, East Baldwin, ME; Alden Robbins, Robbins Lumber Inc., Searsmont, ME; Matt Duprey, Hancock Lumber Company, Casco, ME; Keith Trask and John Cole, Hancock Lumber Company, Bethel, ME; Bill Tapply, Maki Building Centers, Gardner, MA; and Gil Adams, Vice President of Warren Trask Company, Lakeville, MA.
“We are looking forward to passing on the knowledge that has been passed down through the sales force here at Warren Trask over the years,” said Gil Adams, vice president of Warren Trask. “We are constantly training the young people that we bring on board. They understand the knowledge that is being imparted on them allows them to better communicate with our customers. Once they are able to truly grasp how powerful customer relationships are, it brings an added value to the salesforce/customer relationship.”
Warren Trask has been headquartered in Lakeville since 2013, sitting on 32 acres of land with a rail spur and loading dock. “Moving from Stoughton to Lakeville really changed the way we did business. It has allowed us to expand our product offering, run our own trucks and offer product the way our customers want to purchase it. We unload rail cars and containers daily, allowing us to pass the cost savings onto our customer base,” said Nugent.
The second Warren Trask location in Menands, also acquired in 2013, has been key to expanding business into New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Menands began as a feeder location that quickly grew into a key part of the business. “This location used to be an old Gerrity lumber yard. It’s just over two acres; we have one building for storage and a couple of out buildings for lean-to’s,” said Nugent.
Pictured from left to right is Jim Gerrity and Jamie Gerrity, members of the founding family of Warren Trask Company, Lakeville, MA; Sergio Munhoz, Accoya USA, Atlanta, GA; Remy Torrico, Accoya USA, Washington, DC; and Kimberly Severance, Marketing and Engineered Wood Sales & Support, Warren Trask Company.
Since its inception, Warren Trask has extended its reach to cover New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and all of New England. Lasting partnerships, product excellence and a dedicated community of employees have been key to Warren Trask’s longevity and success.
“When Warren Trask first started, we primarily distributed Eastern White Pine and Spruce from mills in the Northeast. We now purchase and sell lumber from all over the world. Our domestic species include Eastern White, Sugar, Ponderosa and Southern Yellow Pine, as well as Douglas Fir uppers and timbers. Our imported species include Dark Red Meranti, Red Balau, Ipe and Radiata Pine. We handle 25 million board feet of upper grade domestic lumber annually through our two distribution centers,” Nugent said.
Mike Taron, Elk Creek Forest Products LLC, McMinnville, OR; Jeff Jackman, Sierra Pacific Industries, Corning, CA; Ben Sluder, Sierra Pacific Industries, Anderson, CA; and Ian Kelly, Patrick Lumber Company, Portland, OR
“Our long-standing relationships with mills allow us to get proprietary grades pulled that other distributors do not have access to. We get input from our customers to produce a product that works for them. These relationships span decades and generations based on common goals and mutual respect,” Nugent continued.
“We work with our customers, and we sell them exactly what they need,” said Adams. “We recognize the value of inventory management to our customers. We have set up a racking system where we can pull products in the amounts that are required for the job at hand and send it to our customer in a timely manner.” Warren Trask constantly monitors our yard operations to meet the changing demands of their customers.
Gil Adams, Vice President of Warren Trask Company, Lakeville, MA; and Justin Cabral and Luis Franco, Mahoney’s Building Supply Inc., Mattapoisett, MA
To sustain their best-in-class standards, Warren Trask added Boise Engineered Wood Products in 1996, Claymark Centurion in 2006, Versatex PVC in 2010, BlueStar in 2016, Elk Creek Fir Timbers in 2019, Fairway Railing and Accoya Modified Wood in 2023. “We select our lines and partners carefully,” Nugent said. “We are not a ‘latest and greatest’ new product every year company. We target companies and products that have a track record of success and develop the business along with them for the long term. We look out years, not months, when we bring in new products. When we commit to a product line, we put all our resources into it.”
“What stood out to us about Accoya is the 25-year ground contact and in water warranty, and the 50 years above ground warranty,” said Gil Adams, vice president of Warren Trask. “Because of the unique qualities of this product, we wanted to make it affordable and available to our customer base.”
Pictured is the Warren Trask Company’s Sales and Engineered Wood team. From left to right is Josh Darling, Christopher Duarte, Brendan Nugent, Kimberly Severance, and Dean Adams.
“Accoya isn’t just a great modified wood for decking, it is also great for siding as there is a maximum two percent expansion which allows for the consistency on the exterior of a house,” said Nugent.
Currently, Warren Trask has 10 outside sales representatives, seven inside sales representatives and an engineered wood team. The company has also recently developed a purchasing department. “In the past, we have had sales representatives handle purchasing, but with the changing times we realized that the future pointed to having a central purchasing department. We realized that the talent required was already on the payroll in administration and operations. We promoted two veterans with over 20 years of experience with Trask,” Nugent explained.
Warren Trask distributes 25 million board feet of Eastern White, Sugar, Ponderosa and Southern Yellow Pine, Douglas Fir, Radiata Pine, Dark Red Meranti, Red Balau and Ipe through their two distribution centers.
Dan Maher and Erin Carr, two familiar names at Warren Trask, are part of the team that make up the new purchasing department. “They are taking the knowledge and experience that they have gained over the years to make sure that we have the right inventory in-house so that our sales representatives have what our customers are after. My goal is to get the Warren Trask Company ready for the next hundred years,” Nugent noted.
“I think that the key to how we have survived for so long and will continue to survive is having knowledgeable people purchasing the lumber, having a commissioned sales team and having accountability for the products that we have in the yard. We are detailed oriented, and we are going to focus on what we do and the products that we market,” said Adams.
The company’s outside sales team includes Amy Mann (New Hampshire), Ryan Gagne (Maine/Eastern New Hampshire), Gil Adams (Central Massachusetts/Cape Cod), Dean Adams (Connecticut/Western Massachusetts), Eric McGovern (Rhode Island/Southeastern Massachusetts), Kyle Tiringer (Long Island), David Loretta (Mid-Hudson Valley/Western Massachusetts and Western Vermont), and Matt Gondek (Northern and Central New York).
Warren Trask offers Boise Cascade Engineered Wood Products from AJS and BCI Joists, Versa-Lam Beams, Versa-Lam Columns to Versa Studs.
The inside team including management, sales and purchasing consists of Paul Burnham, Debbie Bernier, Brendan Nugent, Eric Wildnauer, Eric Carr, Dan Maher, Brian Ferchaw, Keith Pruden, John Miller and Laura Bevevino.
The engineered wood team includes Mike Miller (head of engineering and current President of Warren Trask), Darrin Galvao (design manager), Chris Duarte (designer), Josh Darling (designer), Will Lyle (designer), and Kimberly Severance (EWP sales and marketing).
Warren Trask is a member of Western Wood Products Association, North American Wholesale Lumber Association, Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association and the Northeastern Retail Lumber Association.
