![]() We’re adding a location.” Hands-on success “Next year we’re budgeting down 2%, but who knows. We always budget down because we don’t think it can be as good, but then it is,” Dirk says. “We haven’t had a year that we’ve gone backwards since 2009. Steady housing growth in the region has also helped fuel Koopman’s growth since the Great Recession. Denise attributes the spike in revenue to the recent acquisition of two locations, one September of 2021 and one June of 2022. With around 420 employees serving customers in New England, Koopman Lumber saw revenues of about $219 million in 2021, and is on pace to exceed that by nearly 30% once 2022’s books are closed. Every year retail becomes a smaller part of our sales.” “All the locations we’ve acquired since have been about 95% pro. “We started out with three lumberyards that were focused on retail,” Denise says. Together, the group has grown the business by seven locations, with a continued focus on serving pro builder and remodeler clients, which make up around 90% of their customer base. Dirk handles purchasing and general management, Tony oversees sales and general management, and Denise directs finance. The three-person leadership team of Denise, Dirk, and Tony cover all aspects of the business. Tony was first asked to help Dirk with the family business, and when the company’s controller moved, a spot opened for Denise, who had been working as a CPA. In 1987, he began what would become his focus of developing the business into a more contractor-oriented supplier.ĭenise and husband Tony, also after attending college in Michigan, joined the company almost a decade later. That was the mid 1970s, and by the time Denise and Dirk were able to be more involved in the store, they witnessed the implementation of the company’s first computer system in 1984.Īfter college in New Hampshire and a stint playing pro basketball in Germany, Dirk returned to Whitinsville ready to start a family of his own. ![]() “He pretty much buried himself into digging this business out of a tough spot.” “I remember that I saw him all the time before we moved back, and once we moved here, I didn’t,” Dirk says. They learned from a young age the dedication and commitment required to operate a small business. Siblings Dirk and Denise trace their own involvement in the company to when they were 10 and four years old, respectively, when their father returned from a teaching and sales career to get involved in the family business. ![]() Now run by Peter’s grandchildren Dirk Koopman, Denise Brookhouse, and Denise’s husband Tony Brookhouse, the family business has grown to include nine locations throughout Massachusetts as well as two distribution centers, and a Cape Cod location set to open in Dennis, Mass. The same community-minded values of generosity that drove Peter Koopman, a builder, to sell off extra lumber he had accumulated, still drives the company today. Koopman in 1939, the company is still headquartered in Whitinsville, Massachusetts, just down the street from where the original location began in Peter Koopman’s garage. In an industry in which it’s common to work alongside family members, the leadership team at Koopman Lumber demonstrates how to do so successfully while also adhering to fiercely independent values and topping an 800% revenue growth over the past 12 years.įounded by Peter T. Together, the group has grown the business by seven locations. The three-person leadership team handles purchasing, sales, finance, and general management. While these companies represent vastly different operations, the common thread is their fierce commitment to finding ever-better ways to serve their customers and their communities.įROM LEFT: Tony Brookhouse, Denise Brookhouse, and Dirk Koopman. By our definition, a Dealer of the Year describes a company in which le adership excels at identifying underserved-or emerging-markets, satisfying customers, and constantly working to grow and improve business. LBM Journal’s Dealer of the Year awards, sponsored by Epicor, recognize LBM companies of different sizes that epitomize the entrepreneurial spirit.
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