Texas dealer experienced in riding out storms

ESPONSE TIME, How quickly they respond to the first sign of an emergency is critical for paramedics, firefighters and even lumber dealers.

For Canyon Drive Lumber Co., Amarillo, Tx., a 26year-old dealer specializinS in western woods, the

Story at a Glance

Amarillo lumber and buildlng products firm hangs tough desplte Texas buildlng bust adapts by expandlng customer base and experimenting with product mix... urestem woods a specialty.

emergency was the Texas building bust of the mid1980s. The company has long catered to the professional builder, and they soon found themselves with a shrinking number of customers and a rising pile of worthless

IOU's as many of their builder clients declared bankruptcy.

With competitors going belly up, Canyon I)rive didn't wait for the storm to pass. "We suffered considerably," says general manager l)ean Barnett, who has 39 years of industry experience, the last I I with Canyon Drive. "We had to reduce operations, manpower-wise. From about 50, we're down to 28."

Eliminated were unprofitable product lines: nailguns, nailing equipment, power tools and other equipment for professionals. They experimented with a servicing department for power tools.

The company expanded into door fabrication. "We are the only lumber yard in Amarillo with an in-house door unit plant," he said. Short line contract hardware has also been brought in.

And in October the firm began selling melaminefinished cabinet stock. "Building is still'real slow here, but we have a number of local millwork shops who are shipping all over the country." says Barnett.

The Canyon Drive customer has evolved, as well. The company was founded in 1964 by two residential building contractors, primarily to supply their own building material needs. Servicing other professionals, though, soon became almost the entire business. Now builders account for only 800/o of sales. Wholesaling to smaller yards has hit 150/0 and climbing, and homeowners are 50/0. Sales have held at $5.5 million annually, after a peak of $10 million in the early 1980s.

But Canyon Drive has always been responsive to change. lt was one of the first lumber businesses of its size to develop a computerized accounting system. It began leasing computer time in 1968, added an in-house system by the early 1970s and had a fully staffed data processing department by the 1980s.

More than two-thirds of the business is wood and wood products. Top sellers are western species hem-fir, shipped in from Oregon and California, ,larch and fir from Idaho and Washington. Why transport wood from the Northwest all the way down south?

"The climate," answers Barnett. "We still inventory lumber outside, and in the low humidity, southern pine doesn't yard well. Hem-fir stays a lot straighter. With southern yellow pine, we lose too much to warpage and twisting."

Other species include pine, Douglas fir, cedar, redwood and some hardwoods. Other products: doors, windows, skylights, roofing materials, plywood, engineered wood products, mouldings, millwork, steel products, the full line of building materials.

Sales are aided by an annual open house, buying shows and seminars. Canyon Drive belongs to six industry associations, and retired oflicer Ruel Alexander served as Lumbermen's Association of Texas president in 1985.

The service-oriented firm has assembled an experienced staff. Three years ago, it calculated its l6-person management and sales team had a combined 354 years of lumber and building material industry experience - an average of 22 years apiece.

The experience shows in how the company has thrived - and survived.