Westman Lumber Supply marks 10 years

Westman Lumber Supply marked a decade in business with a customer appreciation event on Friday afternoon.

The event featured free food, giveaways supplied by the company’s vendors and suppliers, and sales. Customers dropped in throughout the event to grab food and take part in the anniversary.

“It’s our second annual customer appreciation,” said general manager Kevin Fast. “We prepared enough food for about 600 people for the event, after about 420 customers attended last year’s customer appreciation event.”

Fast, who has been with the company since 2016, said the company has built its business around customer service and satisfaction.

“We try to build ourselves on service and just customer satisfaction,” he said. “We try to put one event on every year as a customer appreciation.”

The company’s 10 years in business have not been without challenges.

“COVID definitely was the most challenging,” he said. “We had a lot of supply chain issues. A lot of things were not available, or just with the shipping and everything.”

The company has also had to navigate higher prices and continued price fluctuations, including the effects of tariffs and surcharges.

“Tariff increases have affected products, including fasteners and other metal items, while fuel and freight costs have also contributed to higher expenses,” he said.

“Usually everything is still available as before. It’s just it’s getting more expensive.”

Fast said the company has tried to absorb some of the increases rather than passing the entire cost on to customers.

He acknowledged, however, that absorbing the additional costs indefinitely is not sustainable.

“At some point, it can’t go on like that forever,” Fast said. “At some point, we will have to implement some of these increases.”

He said the company tries to be transparent with customers about price increases so they are not caught off guard.

Products affected by tariffs have included fasteners, screws and other items made of metal, particularly products originating in China. Some flooring products have also been affected.

Despite those pressures, Fast said the company has continued to grow and become more competitive.

“When we started, we were just a small company, family-owned, here from Brandon, and it’s just with volume comes better pricing and stuff,” he said.

He pointed to investments in delivery trucks, staff and other operations as part of the company’s growth over the past decade.

Westman Lumber Supply currently employs 14 people, including inside staff and accounting personnel.

Looking ahead, Fast said the company plans to continue growing, with additional vehicles and storage capacity among its goals.

“Just keep going, keep growing,” he said. “Hopefully get more vehicles to get the deliveries out on time, and maybe build some more storage sheds, so our material is pristine, and just keep growing.”

The company is also looking to fill a sales position, with Fast saying finding employees with the right knowledge and experience remains one of the challenges facing the building-supply industry.

» aodutola@brandonsun.com

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