Building Materials Holding Corp. (BMHC), America's sixth-biggest building material dealership, announced today it has emerged from six months under Chapter 11 bankruptcy and renamed itself BMC Select.

With the change, the former BMHC and its two operating units, BMC West and Select Build Construction, has moved from a stockholder-owned public corporation to a private entity owned by BMHC's secured lenders. According to this year's ProSales 100, BMHC had $1.3 billion in sales last year, all of them to pros, and operated 77 locations with 8,200 employees. In today's announcement, BMC Select said it employs more than 3,700 people and operates in 11 states and 16 markets.

Based on a Nov. 30 court filing, BMHC incurred $32.1 million in net losses between mid-June, when it filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy laws, through Nov. 30. The results would have been far worse had the company not booked a $44.8 million income tax benefit in October, enabling it to swing to a $17.9 million profit that month. On the other hand, thanks to a recent change in the tax code BMC Select's owners will be able to apply those losses against profits BMHC made up to five years ago. In Chapter 11 filings, BMHC estimated the losses, combined with sales of two of its units, could generate as much as $73 million in tax benefits.

"Like every business associated with residential housing and construction, our company has faced unprecedented challenges during the last few years," Paul Street, BMC Select's new chief executive officer, said in a statement. "However, we've emerged quickly with a stronger balance sheet, enhanced liquidity, and a streamlined cost structure. And we're not just leaner, but greener, as well, with a deeper understanding of emerging trends like sustainable building and smart growth."

Street described BMC Select as "the only company that consolidates construction services and building materials, and having one name, one company, and one brand going forward underscores this advantage."

BMC Select is based in Boise, Idaho. According to its website, it will serve the following markets:

  • Arizona: Phoenix
  • California: Central Valley, Northern California, Southern California
  • Colorado: Northern Front Range, Southern Front Range
  • Idaho: Eastern Idaho, Yellowstone and Teton Territory; Southwestern Idaho and the Treasure Valley
  • Montana: Western Montana
  • Nevada: Las Vegas
  • Oregon: Portland
  • Texas: Abilene and the Big Country; Austin and the Hill Country; Dallas / Fort Worth; El Paso; Houston; Lubbock; Midland - Odessa; San Antonio, The Hill Country and The Coastal Bend
  • Utah: All Utah
  • Washington: Puget Sound, Southwest Washington

According to the BMC Select news release, BMC West was created in 1987 in a leveraged buyout from Boise Cascade that included 20 retail building materials centers. BMC West went public in 1991, and Building Materials Holding Corp. was formed in 1997. BMHC launched what would become SelectBuild, the company's construction services division, in 1999 when it acquired the framing company Knipp Brothers in Las Vegas and Phoenix.