Back in business

fr.r 1949. LrNcor-r.r Trueerrs bought ICox Lumber. his first lumberyard.

When he retired, as the largest independent lumber dealer in Florida in 2005, he sold off 28 locations. Nice run. Good timing. Happy golfing.

End of story? No, hang on. We're just getting to the good part.

A funny thing happened on the way to the old folks' home. In 2009, as the recession spread through Florida faster than its infamous kudzu weed, Mr. Tibbetts stepped back in. Sixty years after his initial debut in the lumber business, he repurchased the St. Pete site-this time calling it Tibbetts Lumber, no longer Cox-as an immense, full-service yard on a threeblock stretch the family owned, which had sported a ProBuild store. Then he hired Juan Quesada as president.

Mr. Quesada himself has been in the lumber business for 45 years, so let's take time out for his backstory. "I joined Cox in 19'79, after working for another lumber company through its period of growth and accession."

When that owner decided to sell, Juan was reviewing his options: stay on with an unknown boss or move along?

A phone call decided his future. "I was contacted by Cox, a local independent we'd competed with," Juan says. "We respected each other. Their manager took me to dinner"-and you already know the outcome. "They had a very good team, were very supportive, and were geared for growth and expansion-but," he adds with a pregnant pause to make sure a listener gets the message-"they were also very conservative"-a deal-clincher for someone like Juan, who respected their way of doing business. "They didn't buy a yard until the previous one was paid off."

So, let the good times roll-which they did, until "in 2005, at the peak of the boom, Home Depot contacted us-we were not for sale-and made an unsolicited offer. Mr. Tibbetts was in his 80s"-matter of fact, this past summer he turned 87-"so decided it was the right time to exit." (He kept the Grand Cayman and Tibbetts export business he'd founded, which we'll hear more about in a minute.)

Following the sale. the recession was growing deeper and deeper, so many of those 28 yards he'd sold shut down. Which left old customers really, really unhappy.Oh, they didn't miss the Home Depots that had then occupied the space; they longed for the glory days of good service, efficient business practices, and promises kept. So all Tibbetts heard was, "Open back upl"

The family listened. But alas, in the flurry of gearing up again, they overlooked one little thing. They failed to let Quesada know. So he walked into Tibbetts' office to tell him that. because of the shut-downs. he'd accepted anotherjob.

"You can't do that!" came the response. So-long story short-he stayed on. This time, as president. And the St. Petersburg store reopened as Tibbetts Lumber, the only independent in town (back in 1949 when Tibbetts got started, there were l4 competitors).

Next, the Tibbetts family repurchased its former Land O Lakes location, a distribution and manufacturing site of 100 acres (we're also talking a return to manufacturing trusses and doors) and turned it into a full-service retail center. "Now we can compete! We're getting back where we used to be!" Quesada crows-well, only as gustily as his soft-spoken manners will permit.

Next up, Lehigh Acres, another truss, door and rail-line location from the former portfolio. Also Fort Myers. And the Palm Bay location. sporting the same truss, door and rail amenities. is being readied once again as we speak, expecting a grand opening celebration in early autumn. Plus...

"Plus, we're looking at l0 or 12 yards for future growth," says Quesada. "We'll carry our old footprint."

And just why did that succeed in the good old days? "We sell service," Quesada contends: "old-time service. Lots of specialty work, and a knowledgeable team," many of whom were former Cox employees, eager to return to the mothership. "We adhere to the basic principles such as Do what you say you'll do. Never renege. Be the flagship, be the leader. But"-another pay-attention pause-"make a profit. We're not apologetic about that; we're here to do business and people respect that."

He offers, as example, the kind of story ad dollars cannot buy. "At a social gathering in St. Pete last week, a lady asked me, 'How can you compete with Home Depot?' Another man stepped up and said, 'I'll answer that! At my business, a fire inspector told me I needed fire-retardant doors. So I called Home Depot and was on the phone 25 minutes without an answer. Then I called Tibbetts, and, within an hour, a sales rep was out; he let me know I also needed fire-retardant hardware and door jambs to be in compliance, so that saved me another hassle. Home Depot has seen the last of me!"

That's service. Service also means, according to Quesada, "If there's a mistake or a problem, you fix it." Another example: "A customer called because she was having problems with her windows. She had purchased them elsewhere, but our sales rep went out and adjusted them. We'll always send a sales person to do measurements to get them right rather than have a homeowner just phone them in." he adds.

Extras like those-plus free delivery, free take-offs, and estimates for all Tibbetts' contractor customers (807o to 857o of its trade are pros) and d-i-yers-are backed by expertise. "They've had good training because they've worked for us in the past and came over from the competition."

Why? Because the same philosophy that applies to customers also extends to staff. Or, as Quesada puts it, "fair pay for fair work"-and a chance to advance. "A driver just became a foreman, as we develop our footprint. And I myself didn't start out as president," he chuckles.

During those brief "retirement" years, Linton Tibbetts retained his robust export business to the Cayman Islands and Caribbean. Now, in his golden years, he's ramped it up, too. (One advantage: To do business in the Caymans, you must be a Cayman Islands citizen. And Tibbetts was born there.)

He exports anything and everything, from calico to Cadillacs, but first and foremost, lumber. By the mid-80s, he'd launched a generous retail store: building materials, appliances, furniture, the whole nine yards (still called Cox). It flourished, so he opened a second location that included a truss plant and door shop. He also opened the first cabinet shop on the island (since sold). Today, the island empire consists of the retail store, a contractor warehouse, and a third site to debut any moment. Another reason for its financial success: Only two taxes are levied on the islands: import duties and land transfer. Talk about a friendly business climatel

Not the case in Florida. Opines Quesada: "The economy here will not be quick to turn around-and NASA layoffs are coming, which will be a tremendous setback. Cunently, we're doing a lot of business in remodeling projects-purchases of foreclosed houses that need improvements. That keeps us fairly active. But 50Vo of our business is in new custom homes."

Little starter units? Oh no, he laughs. "The folks who build have money."

Still, "the competition's fierce. Everyone's trying to survive. We feel blessed because we started up again from zero-so each day is better than the day before. We're hiring, while other yards are laying off. That helps morale.

"Vendors are glad to see us back, too. I made a mill tour to let them know we were back in business, but I wasn't looking for special deals. We're just back in business, with the same philosophy."

Well, except for one thing, and that's the Internet. Tibbetts' website needs improvement, and Quesada is the first to admit it. "I got a call from the Dominican Republic because they couldn't find what they wanted on our site. 'You need to fix that,' they told me. But I'm too old and I'm too busy." (Possibly another new hire is on the horizon?)

As we end our phone conversation, he takes a moment to confide, "I never give interviews because reporters always get everything wrong and just say what they want to say, anyway. This is the first...."

Okay, then, I'll just go ahead and say what I want to sav. and it's this: Welcome back! You guys are masters. Keep on truckin'.

Carla Waldemar