Over the past 65 years, Lumber King has transformed itself from a small lumber processing operation to a multi-location building center chain across five cities and two states.
Originally founded as King Lumber Company in 1960 by the Stearns Coal & Lumber Company and Ronald King in Stearns, KY, the business initially processed and sold lumber in Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, and Ohio. Before the decade was out, the company had also formed King Building Materials, its first retail location in Oneida, TN.
In the 1970鈥檚, Ronald鈥檚 son, Dwayne King, took over the company and merged the two businesses and soon after relocated the company鈥檚 headquarters to its current location in Whitley City, KY.
鈥淚n 1978 when Ronald passed away, Dwayne took the helm of the company. At that point, in 1980 we decided that it was time [to expand since] we鈥檇 outgrown everything in Stearns,鈥� said Willie Boyatt, vice president of operations for Lumber King. 鈥淲e really needed to open up a retail center. So we opened up this facility that we鈥檙e currently in, in 1980, and we did some reorganization of the company, and we changed the name to Lumber King.鈥�
Since then, Lumber King鈥攁lso led by President John Kayea, CEO Steve Phillips, and Vice President Bill Singleton鈥攈as added three more Kentucky locations in Somerset, Danville, and Mount Vernon and expanded its services to include cabinet design, truss design and manufacturing, estimates, special orders and more.
Employees drive success
Over the years, one constant through all that growth has been the dedicated employees who work at Lumber King鈥檚 locations, many of which have been with the company for decades, Singleton and Boyatt said.
In 2020, the company announced Lumber King had become officially 100% employee-owned following a purchase of remaining company shares. The move has had a profound effect on not only how the company operates, but also how employees view their careers with Lumber King.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always been about our people,鈥� Singleton explains. 鈥淲e have an [Employee Stock Ownership Plan], and that affects our employees in different ways, but they all have what I would call, 鈥榮kin in the game.鈥� We have very, very little turnover鈥擨 think we have more people retire than we have quit. And that鈥檚 very unusual in this industry; our people are our strength. I tell my salespeople, there鈥檚 very little difference between my stick of lumber and anybody else鈥檚, with the exception of the person that鈥檚 selling it. Our people make all the difference.鈥�
Phillips said the ESOP program also allows employees to benefit long after they鈥檝e left the company.
鈥淲e spent a lot of time educating our folks about the fact that they own the company, and if they stick with the company long enough, they can very well become the next millionaires locally and that鈥檚 beginning to happen,鈥� Phillips said. 鈥淚t absolutely thrills my soul to work with an employee who is a cashier, and they have $1.4 million in a retirement plan. They feel like they鈥檙e working for themselves, not for a family or person.鈥�
In addition to longtime employees, Boyatt said the company has also found avenues to hiring younger employees.
鈥淥ne of the things I think we鈥檝e been very successful at is we try to hire either college kids or high school kids during summers to work as seasonal help. These kids may not be looking for a future in college, they might be looking for something else,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen these kids come on, a lot of these managers and sales staff take them under their wing and help guide them.鈥�
For existing employees, Lumber King also offers continuing education opportunities, such as additional training and classes through Do it Best鈥檚 Pro School. Boyatt said the company hopes to grow those programs for wider opportunities in the future, while still keeping the
focus on each location鈥檚 existing reputation.
鈥淲e still have that community-owned type of hardware store feel. When you come in, everybody feels friendly and talks to one another. We鈥檝e always tried to be a big presence in our communities, participating in things and helping fund things within the community. The community feels like a part of us and that鈥檚 been part of our business strategy for the last several years.鈥�
Continued growth
One thing that has changed in recent years has been marked investments in various aspects of the business, including adding a truss shop and rental center, and additional social media marketing efforts and renovations.
Lumber King has also dramatically increased its outside sales staff to reach markets beyond its immediate store locations, which the company鈥檚 leadership team points to as a big driver of success.
鈥淚 think the biggest change is that we鈥檝e enlarged our outside sales program, and that really drives a lot of our volume,鈥� Singleton said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e enlarged our market area from South Lexington to the North Knoxville, and we do really well against all of the competitors in the national, regional and local inland areas.鈥�
The company has also committed to investing in its retail operations, from remodeling its Mount Vernon location with help from Do it Best to partnering with companies like
Milwaukee to expand tool sales.
鈥淲e have branded ourselves as a destination for Milwaukee Tools at all of our locations, and we鈥檝e grown that business over the last three years,鈥� Boyatt said. 鈥淲e really didn鈥檛 have a lot of power tools previously, so we took this and ran with it, and we鈥檝e seen an increase of roughly about $800,000 to $900,000 in sales [company-wide].鈥�
The company credits Do it Best for their help with managing inventory and implementing new tools like online ordering, ship-to-store shopping, and same-day and curbside pick-up.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been very pleased with the response we鈥檝e gotten from Do it Best. They鈥檙e very responsive to any needs that we have,鈥� Singleton said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e a crucial part of our supply chain, and they鈥檙e going to become increasingly important because of all the consolidation that鈥檚 taking place within the industry.鈥�
The co-op has also been instrumental as the company moves forward with new location plans. In the near future, Lumber King will move its Danville store鈥攃urrently on a property the company leases鈥攖o another location in the same area that the company will own, allowing the company to create a more accessible store with a larger showroom and lumberyard, Phillips and Singleton said.
Moving forward, Lumber King will continue serving not only its local communities, but the growing areas surrounding their markets. That strategy, Singleton said, will allow the company to grow beyond their footprint to serve the needs of builders and homeowners alike.
鈥�The idea is to try to move more and more of our business into areas that were economically diverse,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 move the store, but I can move our salespeople, and so we鈥檝e been moving further and further into those diverse markets, and I hope that insulates us against any kind of downturn in the market.鈥�
Get to know Lumber King
Founded: 1960
Ownership: Employee owned
Locations: Five locations, plus one truss plant
Employees: 75
Buying group/Co-op: Do it Best
Customer Breakdown: 70% pro / 30% retail
ERP Software: Epicor BisTrack
