WRLA Yardstick: Fall 2023

Above: Story front of Fries Tallman Lumber.

KEVIN OF ALL TRADES - CELEBRATING A FORTY-YEAR CAREER IN THE LUMBER & BUILDING INDUSTRY

There’s a smile in Kevin Stricker’s voice when he talks about his history with Fries Tallman Lumber, the business started back in 1956 by George Fries and Gord Tallman. “I really wasn’t that interested in the building supply industry at all growing up. That’s what Dad did, and he did well at it. But I thought there was another path in my life. I was going to become a farmer and dad’s brother had the family farm and I was preparing to get involved in that.”

Kevin’s father, Art, became the lumber yard’s bookkeeper in 1958 until 1976, when he became a partner, and grew the business until he retired in 2001.

An unexpected loss in the family resulted in the farm being sold, leaving Kevin to graduate high school without a career. “I graduated at five (minutes) to twelve, and I started working for my dad at 1 pm, and that was forty years ago on June 15,” he says, smiling.

In the years since, Kevin, now the owner of Fries Tallman, got to know his new profession inside and out. From humble beginnings in the saw shed—“which the absolute worst job there is in a building company” he eventually held every different position in the business at one time or another, with the exception of controller.

Though it may not have been the career that he’d planned, Kevin found he had an affinity for the business, and was instrumental in helping grow the business, and became one of the strongest advocates for expanding the store to a second location in Fort Qu’Appelle.

“We had, I think there was a complete staff of eight and, you know, there was Dad. Dad was a child of the Depression and he was he was always really gunshy to take a lot of risk. I told Dad that we were going to have to grow. It wasn’t sustainable the way it was. He understood and he respected that, he just didn’t want to take the risk. So I finally talked him into another store in Fort Qu’Appelle and we’ve added multiple facilities here in Regina and it’s been very challenging but extremely rewarding and I’m very thankful that the opportunity presented itself and that Dad took the chance on me because it’s been a great career and I’ve met lots of fantastic people.”

It’s that history with the business that he’s grown to love, perhaps, that has given Kevin such clear insight into the industry at large. The recent work by WRLA by way of the Let’s Go Build campaign struck a particular chord with him.

“I wish it (the industry) was more appealing to more younger people, although I think it’s starting to change a little bit now. But it’s a great industry, fabulous people, clean work, honest work. I think there’s room in a building supply store for absolutely every diversity, every walk of life and every skill set needed. I mean, from professional to entry level, some people just never really want to do anything other than drive a truck or work in the yard. And you’ve got to respect that.”

The Fries Tallman Lumber (FTL) of today has grown beyond the retail lumber store of its beginnings. Everything they do, though, is in service of the customer—encouraging folks to come into their locations and see, touch, and learn about the products. Their tagline “Let’s get you building!” is all about empowering the DIY customer while also making it very easy for commercial contractors to do business with them. Since the store’s beginnings as a lumber shop, FTL has added additional service lines that have helped the business grow and weather a little bit of the instability that recent events have brought to the entire industry.

One of these additions to their offering, the pre-hung door shop, has proved to be a particularly good investment.

“We’ve been pre-hanging doors for twenty years, and it just came out of a marketplace that had a need for it. It was a good growth opportunity and adds some value to a to a product that is limited on the margin you can make. But if you assemble it all and put it together properly, you know, you’ve got a great opportunity to selling the trim package as well, maybe even the cabinets. So it was just a real good fit for us.”

In addition to their door shop, Fries Tallman offers equipment rental, and custom estimating. When speaking about estimating, Kevin mentioned that he was a proud graduate of the WRLA course, that at the time was taught by Bill Darling. The relationship between FTL and WRLA goes back a long time, and Kevin recalls his parents looking forward to the then-titled Prairie Showcase as one of the only times that they’d get to travel in a year. Kevin’s involvement with the Showcase goes even further, as he was a member of the first-ever planning committee for that event. WRLA, for its part, benefited from his experience and leadership when he sat on the Board of Directors of the association from 2001 through 2009 and served as the Board’s Chairman in 2006 and 2007.

The future is looking bright for Fries Tallman Lumber, as they eye the possibility of further expansion in the next few years. In Kevin’s opinion, this is due in part to a period of revitalization and growth that he sees happening in Saskatchewan at large.

“I think that we are truly about six months away from southern Saskatchewan, really, having a tremendous build. I’m not going to say boom, because this one’s going to be sustainable. There’s so much capital investment coming into the southern part of the province. I think, you know, everything in the world needs, Saskatchewan has and lots of it. When I look at the agricultural sector, the mining sector are very robust economies. I think we’re retaining young people in the province. Immigration is going the right way. And we’re also due to people like WRLA, our industry, and the construction industry, we’re kind of appealing to a new demographic of people.”

In the immediate future, Kevin is celebrating his fortieth anniversary, and expresses that same enthusiasm for bringing Jon into the business, and keeping Fries Tallman Lumber growing along with the province that he loves.

“One thing that we’ve really prided ourselves on in the 66 years of this company is we’ve helped to shape the skyline of southern Saskatchewan. When you’re driving down the road, you see a building that you’ve supplied. And that’s pretty neat.”

Above: Kevin Stricker working in his office.