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Stringfellow Lumber Company was established in 1913 at Reform, Alabama by E. D. Stringfellow. The company was a combination manufacturer and wholesaler, mostly of yellow pine products. The markets then were fairly strong for certain specialty items in the northern part of the U.S.A. and, in particular, the Midwest. Chicago was a good market for yellow pine products. The company has always been very involved in the wholesale (brokerage) part of the industry and, periodically, in manufacturing. Mr. Stringfellow moved from Reform, Alabama to Tuscaloosa, Alabama about 1920 and there he enlarged his wholesale operation somewhat and then in 1927, he moved the company to Birmingham, Alabama where he again added to it. About 1935, a sawmill cutting southern pine was built at Maplesville, Alabama and it operated for a number of years. The manufacturing end of the business was not always kind to the company and it was an on and off type thing. The wholesale part always had Mr. Stringfellow's main attention and, as a result, it was always successful. During the Second World War the company did a lot of business with defense contractors and governmental agencies. After the Second World War, agencies like the Tennessee Valley Authority were good customers while they were constructing dam projects in North Alabama and Tennessee. Retail lumber dealers have always been good customers. The company has enjoyed good business with other industrial customers for small pine timbers and crating material. Around the time of World War II, shipping remained mostly within the South while the Midwest also continued as a strong market. Shortly after the Second World War, the company secured an order for lumber requirements for a large apartment project in Birmingham, Alabama. These apartments were perhaps the very first project of this type after the war and there were several million board feet of lumber required. Following the war years, one of the main markets for the company was governmental housing, mainly low rent housing projects around the eastern half of the country, mostly within the Southeast. At various times, Mr. Stringfellow would venture into other activities in the lumber industry but his emphasis would always remain on the wholesale activities. Stringfellow Lumber continues that brokerage tradition today. In 1954, a distribution yard for West Coast Lumber Products was opened in Birmingham. The inventory consisted of a large amount of Redwood lumber, Douglas Fir lumber and timbers and Douglas Fir Finish. All of this material was, of course, shipped in carloads from the West Coast. It was stored in a very large three-story warehouse building in which the company's offices were then located. This was perhaps the only lumber storage facility utilizing three levels in a building. The building had a large freight elevator and the material was moved into the building from railroad cars and out of the building and into customer trucks with the use of dollies. The outside space was limited but was utilized for any items that could be stored without protection from the weather. In 1992, the company bought a large building formerly used for steel fabrication and storage and moved the operation to that location. There is over 100,000 square feet of covered storage and ten acres of outside storage with a rail siding that runs through the middle of the yard and into the warehouse. This has allowed for expansion of the Birmingham distribution facility. In 1968 another distribution yard was opened in Atlanta, Georgia. This yard was moved in 1995 to Winder, Georgia which is close to Atlanta. There was plenty of room (10 acres) for inside and outside storage. Both of the Stringfellow distribution yards still operate and have expanded over the years. The Engineered Wood Products Division was started in 1998 and operates at the same location as the Birmingham distribution yard. Growth has been steady in the Engineered Wood Products Division and operations are being continually expanded. The Emerging Products Division was recently merged with the Engineered Wood Products Division to gain synergy for more efficient service to our customers. In addition to engineered floor systems, the EWP Division inventories and sells composite decking, Ipe' (Brazilian Hardwood), composite deck screws, joist hangers, house wrap and penofin sealer. Mr. Stringfellow died in 1971 and the company was sold by his estate to Jemison Investment Company, Inc. in 1972. Mr. John Jemison had been asked to arrange a sale of the company for the estate, but he liked what he saw so much, he bought the company himself. It was a very good match because Stringfellow is still owned by Jemison Investment Company, Inc. after 33 years. The company has many long time employees, all of them specialist in what they do. The officers of the company are Don Fisher, CEO and Chairman who has been with the company since 1956. Harold Fletcher, President, started with the company in 1967 and will be retiring September 30, 2005. Neal Young, Executive Vice President in charge of Distribution Yard Operations has been with the company since 1973. Rob Steverson, Vice President of Finance started in 1977, and Bill Fisher, Executive Vice President in charge of Brokerage Operations, started with the company in 1982. Many of the other 45 employees have been with the company 15 or 20 years or more. Stringfellow Lumber credits much of its success to the corporate knowledge shared by the stable work force. The leadership team of officers has an almost unheard of experience level in the lumber industry and also in a single company. Building on this experience and successful track record, Stringfellow Lumber is well poised to be your lumber and building materials supplier of choice well into the future.