Builders keeps on building

Durr-nr,ns, BASED IN Kearney, Ne., Llwith a successful Denver, Co., operation, hasn't always mastered both facets of that "right time, right place" secret to success. Locations were just fine, and what its leaders may have lacked in timing, they more than made up for with guts.

Back in 1977 , Myron Anderson launched the enterprise (a big word for what actually served as a brave, new start-up) with a small location and a pick-up truck you didn't dare turn off. With a staff of four, a World War II surplus forklift, and a shoestring, Builders was up and running. It staggered into the downturn of the mid'80s, staring down a year when the town of Kearney had but one single new-home start to its name-"but it was ours, so we had 1007o of marketshare," laughs president and c.e.o. Chris Borrego, in telling the story. "We gutted out the '80s with a stickto-it-staff." and were rewarded in the '90s by continued growth, including launch of a truss plant and lumber operationcum-cabinet shop in Grand Island, Ne. Fast forward to 2008, when Chad Anderson, son of Myron (who's still on hand as chairman of the board), saw an opportunity to open a location in Colorado. With customers and business all set, "we lined up land and bought equipment, just in time for the bust," Chris laughs again. "So we had to reinvent ourselves in the Colorado market. And," he's happy to add, "we've been very successful."

The key to that success-and to the future, the folks at Builders believeis customer mix, "a very diverse scope of service. Back in Nebraska, where we'd started, in order to survive. we strove to serve multiple customer segments-from repair/remodel to singlefamily custom home, to builders with 20 or more homes a year, to light commercial. Hotels," he testifies, "are a growing portion of our business. All that's a little unique. It raises eyebrows in our industry. But we're now shipping [trusses] as far as North Dakota and New Mexico.

"The breadth of materials we carried needed to increase, too-you have to do that if you want to grow."

Thus, both Nebraska stores boast new design showrooms for kitchen and bath-an outgrowth of the flourishing cabinetry business. The showrooms also carry flooring, lighting, windows, doors and appliances, and stage customer events to drive visibility and traffic. And they're spotlighted as the only act in town that can boast these draws.

Builders' customers are 70Vo pro in Kearney, 90Vo in Denver. With this strong contractor focus, Builders is quick to realize its prime function. "We're in the project-management business," Chris attests. "We anticipate the builders' needs." And when it comes to driving new business, "we let our actions speak for themselves. We partner with builders who, like us, are quality-minded, share our values,

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