84 Lumber, headquartered in Eighty Four, Pa., now has 304 stores (all company-owned) in 36 states and employs about 4,000 people. It operates six component manufacturing facilities.
Value-Added Programs Boost 84 LUMBER’s Durability
By Matthew Fite
Eighty Four, Pa.–Joe Hardy started 84 Lumber Company in 1956, and in the 53 years since then, some things have remained the same with his company and some things have changed.
Mitch Wagner, director of purchasing, says 84 Lumber carries SYP, SPF, KDDF, GDF, HF, F/L, ESLP, Redwood, Treated Cedar and European in all grades, lengths and widths. It also carries most domestic hardwoods, Borate and Fire Rated. OSB and Plywood are also offered.
Hardy remains founder and chairman of the board. The company still sells building materials. But the scope and size of the company is vastly larger than when there was one store in Pennsylvania. Today, it’s easier to list the states where 84 Lumber does not have a store than it is to enumerate all the states in which it does business.
84 Lumber now has 304 stores (all company-owned) in 36 states and employs about 4,000 people. It operates six component manufacturing facilities.
In 2009, 84 Lumber purchased 400,000,000 board feet of lumber; 500,000 board feet of that being certified wood.
84 Lumber, like everyone else, has been affected by today’s economy.
“Our business is tied to housing starts,” says Mitch Wagner, director of purchasing.
About four years ago, there were 2 million housing starts in the U.S. In 2009, that number had dropped to 600,000.
“It’s been difficult,” Wagner says. Helping in this equation is an increase in installed sales, a builder insurance program and other offerings.
In the mid-1950s, 84 Lumber began as a cash-and-carry store for do-it-yourselfers. In the early 1990s, the target market was redirected to building professionals. Today, 95 percent of the company’s customers are professional builders. 84 Lumber also sells to commercial customers, such as hotels and restaurants.
In 2009, 84 Lumber purchased 400,000,000 board feet of lumber; 500,000 board feet of that being certified wood.
84 Lumber has a centralized purchasing system. Lumber is purchased in the area in which it is produced, Wagner says, and sold in stores where the market demands it. For example, he says, Spruce that is grown in Canada or the Northwest is sold at 84 Lumber stores in Florida. Whatever species is needed in a market is carried there.
Hardy oversaw a massive retail expansion. Wagner says that in 1956, the chain of stores began to spread out and Hardy was always working to grow his company. Now this massive, spread-out company strategically works to keep all its workers on the same page.
Wagner says cohesiveness comes, in part, from the fact that 84 Lumber never has acquired any other chains. It has grown from within.
In the mid-1950s, 84 Lumber began as a cash-and-carry store for do-it-yourselfers. Today, 95 percent of the company’s customers are professional builders. 84 Lumber also sells to commercial customers, such as hotels and restaurants.
Executives of 84 Lumber, in addition to Hardy, include his daughter Maggie Hardy Magerko who is owner and president; executive vice president of operations Frank Cicero and CFO Dan Wallach.
84 Lumber sells lumber, plywood, insulation, trim, moulding, flooring, siding, drywall, decks, trusses, roofing, skylights, engineered lumber, hardware, doors and windows, kitchens and baths, garages and pole barns and 84 Home Packages and Plans.
Services include 84 Components, 84 Travel, Lending & Credit, Inner Circle Rewards Program, Maggie’s Management, LLC, Installed Sales and Builder Plan Services.
The company’s website says, “84 Lumber exists for the purpose of serving our customers through a team of dedicated, honest and hardworking associates. 84 is dedicated to supplying our customers with the best quality products from the top manufacturers. 84 saves for its customers by offering competitive value-added pricing for each specific market. 84 Lumber is dedicated to being the low cost provider of lumber and building materials to professional home and commercial builders, and remodelers/renovators adding value to our products through a highly trained, knowledgeable and motivated team of professional associates.”
These associates participate in on-the- job training and take home-study tests. Associates learn in-depth product knowledge about windows and doors, framing, hand tools, power tools, load bearing for floors and roofs, lumber quality, blueprint reading and everything in between.
Store employees also get sales training. They are taught to ask open-ended questions to find out what customers want and need. They are trained to figure out all materials needed for adding on a kitchen or a garage – or even for constructing an entire home. They are to be able to read blueprints and make a bid for the customer’s business.
84 Lumber stores are designed to function as an extension of the customer’s business, anticipating what products the customer might need next. Wagner says the idea is to keep the customer satisfied.
84 Lumber sells lumber, plywood, trim, moulding, flooring, decks, trusses, roofing, engineered lumber, doors and windows, kitchens and baths, garages and pole barns and 84 Home Packages and Plans.
Each store is staffed by a manager, a co-manager, a manager trainee and three to four outside salespeople. These employees get an increase in pay when completing training and, eventually, can earn promotions.
84 Lumber’s headquarters is located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, 35 miles from Pittsburgh. Today, its stores spread across the varied landscapes of the nation, using a cohesive company culture and a proven business plan to meet the needs of professional builders. “We’re very customer-oriented,” Wagner says. “We’re going to do whatever it takes to make that customer happy.”
84 Lumber is aggressive in growing market-share, Wagner adds.
“We have one culture,” Wagner says. “The company identity is the same in California as it is in Pennsylvania. The way we do business, the way we dress, the way we think, it’s all one culture. I think that gives us a very strong advantage in the marketplace.”
