{"id":16998,"date":"2015-06-05T20:07:47","date_gmt":"2015-06-06T00:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2015\/06\/curtis-lumber-celebrates-125-years-in-the-business-employs-570-people-in-21-stores.html"},"modified":"2015-06-05T20:07:47","modified_gmt":"2015-06-06T00:07:47","slug":"curtis-lumber-celebrates-125-years-in-the-business-employs-570-people-in-21-stores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2015\/06\/curtis-lumber-celebrates-125-years-in-the-business-employs-570-people-in-21-stores\/","title":{"rendered":"Curtis Lumber Celebrates 125 Years In The Business; Employs 570 People In 21 Stores"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\"curtis-wm.jpg\"\n<\/div>\n
Bob Eakin, left, and Dan Nelson, employees at the Curtis Lumber, stand outside the store in Ballston Spa. The business now has grown over 125 years and now has 21 stores in its fold\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

BY ANDREA PALMER<\/p>\n

Curtis Lumber, a well known lumber yard for
\ncontractors and do-it-yourselfers, is celebrating
\n125 years in business.<\/p>\n

Founded in 1827 by Captain Isaac Henry Curtis
\nas a sawmill, the family-owned independent
\ncompany has bloomed into a 21-store operation
\nemploying around 570 people full-time.<\/p>\n

“The two biggest things driving our success in
\nthe region are people and customer service, said
\nDoug Ford, general manager of the Ballston Spa
\nlocation. “Curtis Lumber has a habit of hiring
\ngood people and keeping them. My average staff
\nmember has been here over 15 years. Many have
\nbeen here over 30 years. Curtis Lumber has a
\nphilosophy of listening to our customers. We pay
\nattention to what works and don’t try change
\nthe game all the time. We are consistent.”<\/p>\n

Ford has been with Curtis Lumber for 19
\nyears. Prior to Curtis, he worked for 17 years
\nwith Grossman Lumber. “Prior to that, I went
\nto school to be a high school math teacher and
\nended up in the lumber business by default,”
\nhe said.<\/p>\n

Jay Curtis, CEO of the company, is the fifth
\ngeneration in the Curtis Lumber lineage. His
\nson and daughter both work for the company
\nand represent the sixth generation. Curtis
\nbecame president of the company in 1992, assuming
\nownership of nine stores from his father
\nand expanding to additional stores shortly after.<\/p>\n

Ford said that, while there has been an increased
\ndemand for green and energy-efficient
\nbuilding products in recent years, consistency
\nin customer service is what has driven the company’s
\nsuccess. He said part of good customer
\nservice is equipping employees with knowledge
\nand ability.<\/p>\n

“Customers are always looking for good service
\nand that’s something that we give them. We
\ndeal with middle and higher end products. We
\ndon’t try to play down our price with imports
\nand low price-point items like our competition.
\nWe carry quality products, brand names. We
\ninvest in customer service. We spend a lot of
\nmoney training our employees so they can do
\nmore than just find something on a shelf for a customer,” said Ford.<\/p>\n

Curtis Lumber saw $170-million in total sales
\nlast year. Its project center includes flooring,
\nkitchen equipment, lighting, baths, doors,
\npaints and stains, windows, decking, siding,
\nroofing and stairs.<\/p>\n

Curtis Lumber is involved with many area
\norganizations, including Rotary, local chambers
\nof commerce, business associations and
\nhomebuilders organizations. The Ballston Spa
\nlocation hosts a farmer’s market every Friday,
\nas well as Lion’s Club events, a yearly car show
\nand a Pet-A-Palooza pet adoption event. Jay
\nCurtis is an avid animal advocate.<\/p>\n

All stores are involved with their respective
\ncommunities.
\n“One of the big reasons we’ve been so successful
\nis that we are willing to get involved in
\nthe communities our stores are in. We are encouraged
\nfrom the top down to be involved, not
\njust come to work, do our job and go home–we
\nwant more than that,” Ford said.<\/p>\n

Said Ford, “As far as future plans go, Curtis
\nis always looking to grow. It has to be the right
\nopportunity and the right market. We are a
\ncommunity-driven company, so we look to be
\nin communities where we are welcome and we
\nprovide a value to the community.”<\/p>\n

The Curtis Lumber timeline for its history in
\nthe area includes:<\/p>\n

1823 – Captain Isaac Henry Curtiss builds
\nfirst sawmill on Charlton Road.<\/p>\n

1890 – Business purchased by Elmer A.
\nCurtis. Drops second ‘s’ of name as waste of
\ntime. Inception of modern day Curtis Lumber
\nCompany.<\/p>\n

1910 – Fire destroys Curtis sawmill, but is
\nrebuilt.<\/p>\n

1938 – Kent Curtis assumes ownership from
\nfather Elmer.<\/p>\n

1949 – Robert K. Curtis assumes ownership
\nfrom father Kent and establishes Curtis Lumber
\nCompany Inc.<\/p>\n

1952 – New office constructed with nine
\nemployees.<\/p>\n

1955 – Store rebuilt in Charlton. Expands into
\nhardware with 11 employees.<\/p>\n

1966 – Schuylerville store opens.<\/p>\n

1967 – Warrensburg store opens.<\/p>\n

1969 – Curtis Lumber clears way for construction
\nof Ballston Spa location.<\/p>\n

1971 – Schodack store opens.<\/p>\n

1972 – New sawmill opens.
\n1974 – Delmar store opens.
\n1976 – Curtis Lumber moves Charlton Road
\nstore to current location at Route 67, Ballston
\nSpa.
\n1981 – Hoosick Falls store opens.
\n1982 – Mill fire closes sawmill operation.
\n1986 – Amsterdam and Glens Falls stores
\nopen.
\n1989 – Schroon Lake store opens.
\n1990 – Curtis Lumber celebrates 100th anniversary
\nand expansion to current 130,000
\nsquare foot store.
\n1992 – Jay S. Curtis becomes president, assumes
\nownership of nine locations from father.
\nHoosick store opens.
\n1994 – Perth store opens.
\n1996 – Fort Plain and Granville stores open.
\n1997 – Queensbury store opens.
\n2004 – Curtis Lumber is “Pro Sales Magazine”
\nDealer of The Year.
\n2005 – Curtis Lumber purchases 7 Webb &
\nSons locations in Central New York.
\n2006 – Curtis Lumber purchases 4 Gregory
\nSupply stores in Northern New York and Vermont.
\n2007 – Curtis Lumber, with 22 locations
\nthroughout New York and Northern Vermont,
\nreaches over 600 employees and more than $150
\nmillion in sales New York and Northern Vermont’s
\nlargest independent building supplier.
\n2008 – Curtis Lumber is Home Channel News’
\nPro Dealer of The Year.<\/p>\n

Its website is www.curtislumber.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bob Eakin, left, and Dan Nelson, employees at the Curtis Lumber, stand outside the store in Ballston Spa. The business now has grown over 125 years and now has 21 stores in its foldBY ANDREA PALMER Curtis Lumber, a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":22618,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[52,57],"class_list":["post-16998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-building-trades","tag-ballston-spa","tag-business-news"],"yoast_head":"\r\nCurtis Lumber Celebrates 125 Years In The Business; Employs 570 People In 21 Stores - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2015\/06\/curtis-lumber-celebrates-125-years-in-the-business-employs-570-people-in-21-stores\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Curtis Lumber Celebrates 125 Years In The Business; Employs 570 People In 21 Stores - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bob Eakin, left, and Dan Nelson, employees at the Curtis Lumber, stand outside the store in Ballston Spa. 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