Standale Lumber Revenue and Competitors

Standale Lumber and Supply Company was founded March 1, 1952, by Ken Holtvluwer and John Koppenol. When Ken approached his father for a loan to get started, he was asked, "What do you know about the lumber business?" His reply was, "Not a thing, but I can sure learn!" The history of the company is typified in that response, as much has been learned from customers and suppliers; competitors and partners; adversity; and opportunity. By 1954, Ken had learned enough to buy out his partner and triple the business in a couple of years. Some of the neighboring stores back then were Thompson Hardware, Sam & Jerry's Department Store, Nellist Drugs, Heyboers Grocery Store and the Standale Beauty Pacemaker to the east. To the west were the Delite Grill, Phil & Gerry's Gulf Station, Bergman Lumber, the Lincoln Dairy Bar and Hi Tone Cleaners. Across the street were Lou and Joe's Standard (later, Shell) Station, Stanton's Grocery Store, Tassel Hardware and Chuck's Mobil Station. On April 7, 1956, a tornado roared through Standale and the little town that was there at 7:00 p.m., was gone at 7:30 p.m. With nothing left but faith, and with the special help of Abe Krissoff, owner of Empire Lumber in Grandville, Ken decided to keep at it, and a few days later, built a small plywood shed with a sign saying "Standale Lumber ... Open for Business." Soon after, the building that now houses Standale Interiors was built. At this time, Standale was the youngest and smallest of 33 lumberyards in Kent County, 22 of which were members of the fledgling Grand Rapids Retail Lumber Dealers Association. Ken worked hard, God was good, and the business grew. The Standale yard expanded in the early 60's with the purchase of the Bergman Lumber property where the Home Center is now located. Also, interest was purchased in a small yard in Holland which became Northgate Lumber. On Palm Sunday, 1965, a tornado destroyed the large lumber storage shed at the Three Mile Road and Kinney rail siding. This one was insured ... Ken learned ... so pieces were picked up, the building was rebuilt and restocked, and new challenges were sought. Notable technological advances in the 60's were Standale's first forklifts and dump trucks which greatly improved efficiency in handling all the business generated by our first outside salesman, Ed Gilde, hired in 1967. Also notable was the opening of the first nearby yard which was part of a large chain, Wickes Lumber, whose first manager promised to "bury" us in short order. Unburied, Standale grew into the 70's with great plans and expectations. Despite losing a building to fire early in the decade and another to snow late in the decade, and surviving the governments ill-conceived, and fortunately, short lived price controls, which meant that you didn't pay more, but you couldn't get it. The company grew at a dramatic pace. New divisions-- carpet, furniture, and pre-hung doors were created. Sales tripled, employee count tripled, more property was acquired and buildings were built. Some of the 33 dealers had closed, but there were still twenty some competitors. There were 8 full-line lumber warehouse wholesalers, two millwork houses, and many specialty shops. Many of the "old timers" joined the company in the 70's, Rod Mosher, Cal Visser, Bub and Rick Vandenburg, Jan Male and Gord Shively. Three semi's and a whole bunch of smaller trucks were shipping material to five states and the unofficial motto coined by Rod Mosher, "If we can't do it, don't bother calling anybody else" was born. The company had become a major factor on the local scene and we were ready for more. And then came the 80's. 1980 started slowly and got slower. As interest rates climbed, housing starts fell. In 1981, local starts dropped 95% and they did it again in 1982. The Home Center was opened in 1980, with Cabinetry soon to follow. Carpet and Furniture were promoted more and it helped, but by the end of 1982, business had declined by half. Lumberyards were going the way of corner grocery stores. Of the 33 that had been doing business when Standale started, only six were left. The depth and longevity of the downturn, and the uncertainty about when it would end easily brought the greatest test of faith and challenge to survive that the company and the industry had faced since the 1930's. Three decades of growth and effort were imperiled in three years and the troops made great sacrifices to hang on. The high-powered CPA hired in 1978 to help handle the growth left in 1982 because he doubted that there was a future for Standale or any company like ours. By mid 1982, the hope was that the elections in November would bring a new administration and leadership that would quit killing business and industry, particularly in Michigan. The elections were held and the people spoke and there was, for the first time in years, a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. By early 1983, confidence was returning to the building industry and the core folks at Standale were more than ready to get back to doing what they do best. This core talent allowed the company to respond rapidly to a demand that had been pent-up for years. Business increased by almost 40% in 1983, and by 1984, had almost doubled from 1982, getting things back to pre-recession levels. Building boomed in the late 80's and with it the Contractor Division grew dramatically. As it became apparent that the current facility was max'd out; the search began for more space for the Contractor Division. With housing starts beginning to decline in 1989, some of the pressure was relieved, but in October an opportunity arose that could not be foregone. The Empire Distribution facility in Grandville became available and a more perfect fit could not have been imagined. The facility was virtually perfect for a Contractor Lumber Yard and what was most intriguing was that the same company that had helped us survive the 1956 tornado was providing the opportunity for our growth into the nineties. We knew that we were on the back side of the greatest building boom in recent history and that it was likely that starts would decline for a while. We certainly had not forgotten the boom to bust cycle of ten years before, and, as it was the biggest single bite of the elephant we ever had to consider, we waited a full ten seconds after hearing the offer before accepting. The winter of 89-90 was spent remodeling the office building and moving the Empire operation to Zeeland. The first Friday and Saturday of May were spent moving inventory from Standale to Grandville in pouring rain and, on Monday, May 7, 1990, the new yard opened for business. As expected, new housing starts and sales were off slightly in 1990. Unexpected was a more significant decline in 1992. Even though the economy was healthier, the similarities to the early 80's was disturbing. It was apparent that we had greater capacity than demand and that we had some operational issues to address. In particular, we needed help, to get the Standale story out and give sales a jump. Mr. Tom Touzel was retained as a consultant to assist in this endeavor. During the six-month term of consultation, the learning was significant, and mutual. One of the most crucial results was that making the relationship permanent with Tom, which promised great benefits to all. Since 1992, procedures have been refined, the story is being told and business has almost tripled. A positive benefit of the latest growth spurt has been the opportunity to add highly talented people to the highly talented group, which had grown over the last twenty-some years. It is unlikely that one could find a greater depth and breadth of expertise, skill, and willingness to help. We thank all those folks, old and new, for their continuing contribution to this family we call Standale Lumber.