Sun Valley Lumber Company at Lalayette

When Tom Jacobsen and Chris Sechrist bought the Sun Valley Lumber Company from its founder, Elmo Lombardi, they moved from a metropolitan area to the suburbs. There is a difference in the way retail lumber companies do business in these areas. In a metropolitan area like Oakland or Alameda policies are determined by the character of the business. The trade comes from contractors, many of them large, tract promoters. and industrial sources. In the suburban areas the retail lumber business has to be fitted to a different set of circumstances.

East of the Berkeley and Oakland hills is a large area w'hich furnishes about the only land for the growth of the better suburban homes which contribute to it. The region is growing of people who like outdoor living, and makes possible the design of homes which contribute to it. The region is growing very rapidly. The heads of farnilies living there have their brrsinesses in San Francisco and other Bay area cities. Already there is a congestion problem on the highwavs, but plans nnder way will relieve this in part. Here lies Lafayette.

The Sun Valley Lumber Cornpanl'of Lafal'ette does much business n'ith small contractors who build the better grade of in<lividualll)' clesigned homes, running frorn $18,000 to $30,000, eLncl over. They build then-r one at a tirne as a rule and there is verl' little if any tract business. There is a larger proportiorr of over-the-counter retail sales than in the cities, and for the nlost part the-r' are cash. There are manl' small buyers, home owners of excellent standing and credit.

The atmosphere is like that of the country. People are neighborly and friendll'. Thel' cnjoy a more informal kind c,f living, and seek more elbou' room than in city areas. One realll' gets ac<luanited rvith his neighbors.

The Sun Vallev Lumber Company is located along the highway on the outskirts of I-afayette on a rise of the hills. There is an office, a plyrvood and finish shed, and one for rustic and Sheet-rock. The ground covers about 2l acres and a large stock is carried of all types of lumber and pl1'wood used in this area. The inventory is varied. They have vacant ground owned by the compan),, ready for expansion, if future plans require it. The companv rnakes deliveries from lloraga to \\-alnut Creek and Orinda. There are 13 employees, and 4 trucks are active in cleliveries. Rusiness has been good since the nerv orvnership, and is expanding rvith a fast growing cornmunitr'.

Both \Ir. Jacobsen and lfr. Sechrist are active in the business and have had long experience in retailing building materials. The former began rvith the I-oop Lumber Company