LBM was different a quarter-century ago, but not so different as to be unrecognizable. You can tell this by scanning the names and fates of the companies that filled our first ProSales 100 list in 1992.
Home centers still were a big thing in those final days before big boxes like The Home Depot and Lowe's started popping up everywhere. Only 40 of the 100 companies got 90% or more of their revenues from pros; this year, 64 do.
So, what happened to these companies? Based on what you told us and what we had in our records, 41 companies are still here, usually under their original name but sometimes with an updated logo or specialty. Another 38 companies were bought--sometimes several times--over the past 25 years. We don't know how many of the original firms' branches survive. And of the final 21 companies, 19 are completely out of business and two others were broken up so severely that they also are basically gone.
ProSales thanks all the readers who helped us track down what happened to these companies. If you disagree with what we've reported or have extra details to report, tell us. Write to me at [email protected].
The 1992 ProSales 100 | |||
Rank* | Company | ’91 Total Sales ($mlns) | Fate / Current Owner |
1 | 84 Lumber | $848 | Still Here |
2 | Wickes Lumber | 750 | Sold to Various Firms |
3 | Erb Lumber | 353 | Mostly R.I.P. |
4 | Carolina Builders | 194 | BMC |
5 | Harcros Lumber & Bldg Supplies (Roanoke, VA) | 350 | R.I.P. |
6 | BMC West | 208 | BMC |
7 | Wolohan Lumber | 304 | BFS |
8 | Carter-Jones Lumber | 285 | Still Here |
9 | Leeds Bldg Centers (Marietta, GA) | 145 | BFS |
10 | Edward Hines Lumber | 175 | US LBM |
11 | Meek’s Bldg Centers | 173 | Still Here |
12 | Fagon’s (Wexford, PA) | 120 | Busy Beaver |
13 | Terry Cos. (Tarzana, CA) | 115 | BMC |
14 | Miron Bldg Products (Kingston, NY) | 150 | R.I.P. |
15 | Foxworth-Galbraith | 135 | Still Here |
16 | Strober Organization | 100 | BFS |
17 | Copeland Lumber Yards (Portland, OR) | 152 | Mostly R.I.P. |
18 | Anderson Lumber (Ogden, UT) | 110 | BMC |
19 | Gerrity Bldg Centers (Newton Falls, MA) | 110 | R.I.P. |
20 | Dixieline Lumber | 125 | BFS |
21 | West Bldg Materials (Atlanta, GA) | 157 | Sold to Various Firms |
22 | A.C. Houston Lumber (Wichita, KS) | 81 | Still Here in ID, CA |
23 | Scherer Bros. Lumber | 80 | Still Here |
24 | Stock Lumber (Green Bay, WI) | 75 | US LBM |
25 | Alexander Lumber | 100 | Still Here |
26 | Wolf Organization | 92 | Distro only |
27 | Seigle’s Home & Bldg Centers | 105 | Revived |
28 | National Lumber (Warren, MI) | 63 | R.I.P. |
29 | Builderway (Greenville, SC) | 72 | BFS |
30 | Pelican Bldg Centers | 82 | BFS |
31 | Thompson Bldg Materials (Orange, CA) | 71 | Still Here |
32 | Lyman Lumber | 58 | US LBM |
33 | Bison Bldg Materials | 56 | BMC |
34 | Barr Lumber | 63 | Ganahl |
35 | Latham Lumber Sales (Roseville, CA) | 55 | R.I.P. |
36 | Brown-Graves | 56 | Still Here |
37 | Cox Lumber | 59 | Revived as Tibbetts |
38 | Honsador | 49 | Still Here |
39 | Haddonfield Lumber | 48 | BFS |
40 | National Home Center | 70 | BMC |
41 | Western Lumber (National City, CA) | 60 | R.I.P. |
42 | Ganahl Lumber | 48 | Still Here |
43 | Blackstone Co. (East Brunswick, NJ) | 51 | BFS |
44 | Feldman Lumber | 45 | US LBM |
45 | Holmes Lumber (Jacksonville, FL) | 41 | BFS |
46 | Builders Supply (Omaha, NE) | 41 | Still Here |
47 | Ply-Marts | 38 | Revived as PMC |
48 | Great Plains Supply (St. Paul, MN) | 52 | 1 Millwork Firm Left |
49 | General Bldg Products (Medford, NY) | 45 | R.I.P. |
50 | HPM Bldg Supply | 45 | Still Here |
51 | Midpac Lumber (Honolulu, HI) | 38 | R.I.P. |
52 | Western Home Center (Cincinnati, OH) | 38 | BFS |
53 | Mayfield Bldg Supply (Arlington, TX) | 36 | BFS |
54 | San Lorenzo Lumber | 53 | BFS |
55 | Ridout Lumber | 48 | US LBM |
56 | Star Lumber | 62 | Still Here |
57 | Lezzer Cash & Carry | 48 | Still Here |
58 | Standard Cos. | 41 | US LBM |
59 | E.C. Barton & Co. | 54 | Still Here |
60 | Golden State Lumber | 35 | Still Here |
61 | Daniels-McCray Lumber | 33 | Still Here |
62 | Grove Lumber (Ontario, CA) | 32 | Still Here |
63 | Lampert Yards | 47 | US LBM |
64 | Causeway Lumber | 33 | Still Here |
65 | Pine Tree Lumber (Escondido, CA) | 33 | Still Here |
66 | MG Bldg Materials | 40 | Still Here |
67 | Bellevue Builders Supply | 48 | US LBM |
68 | Hancock Lumber | 45 | Still Here |
69 | Stripling Blake Lumber (Austin, TX) | 39 | BMC |
70 | Choo-Choo Supply | 32 | BMC |
71 | Davidson Industries (Southport, IN) | 27 | R.I.P. |
72 | F.E. Wheaton Lumber | 27 | R.I.P. |
73 | Curtis Lumber | 50 | Still Here |
74 | Builders General Supply (Little Silver, NJ) | 31 | Still Here |
75 | Hope Lumber | 26 | BFS |
76 | Raymond Building Supply | 26 | US LBM |
77 | Maryland Lumber (Baltimore) | 25 | R.I.P. |
78 | Roper Bros. Lumber | 25 | R.I.P. |
79 | William M. Young | 25 | R.I.P. |
80 | R.P. Lumber | 34 | Still Here |
81 | Yaeger & Kirk (Santa Rosa, CA) | 30 | R.I.P. |
82 | J.C. Snavely & Sons | 27 | Still Here |
83 | Hayward Lumber | 39 | Still Here |
84 | Fingerle Lumber | 30 | Still Here |
85 | Millard Lumber | 30 | Still Here |
86 | Nassau Suffolk Lumber | 30 | Riverhead Bldg Supply |
87 | Richardson Industries (Sheboygan Falls, WI) | 31 | Truss maker |
88 | Dolan Lumber & Truss (Sacramento, CA) | 22 | R.I.P. |
89 | Babbitt Brothers (Phoenix, AZ) | 26 | BFS |
90 | Walter & Jackson (Christiana, PA) | 23 | Still Here |
91 | Cedarburg (Wis.) Lumber | 24 | R.I.P. |
92 | Hammond Lumber | 29 | Still Here |
93 | Masten Home Centers (Milford, DE) | 30 | R.I.P. |
94 | Sinclair Lumber (Laurinburg, NC) | 22 | R.I.P. |
95 | Lee Lumber | 21 | Still Here |
96 | Lummus Supply | 20 | Still Here |
97 | Boland Maloney Lumber | 19 | US LBM |
98 | J.T. Home & Builders Centers (Newport, RI) | 18 | Still Here |
99 | Riemeier Lumber (Cincinnati, OH) | 18 | R.I.P. |
100 | Hoida Inc. (Green Bay, WI) | 17 | BFS |
*--Rankings are based on sales to pros only. |