Low maintenance, high energy

Ifo* Do You cEr srAR BTLLTNG ll.among your region's "50 Best Women in Business"? Or gain company status as "one of the fastest-growing in the region"? Or be hailed as "one of the most influential Filipina women in the U.S."?

Chances are slim that anyone but Isabelita "Lita" Abele could win these recognitions, just a few among many, by running-that's right-a lumber company. Serving as president and c.e.o. of U.S. Lumber, an outfit today doing $6 million in business from Woodbury Heights, N.J., was far below the radar when she left the Philippines for New York in l98l in search of a better life.

The American Dream took a while to kick in, however. During her first job, as a housekeeper, she was caught in a never-ending round of cooking, cleaning, babysitting, shoveling snow, what-have-you, for $150 a month before she made an escape to life as a Woolworth's clerk by day/nursing home attendant by night. With that leg up, she went back to school (she'd been a teacher in her homeland) to master accounting, bookkeeping and computer skills.

But-get ready for the Hollywood ending-her biggest asset was her smile. While weekending with friends in Boston, a fellow diner at the Hyatt was smitten by it. Merrill Abele began phoning twice daily, delivered a dozen roses every week, and soon dialed her parents back in the Philippines to ask for her hand in marriage.

Dad said yes, and so did Lita. In 1984 she wed and moved to New Jersey, determined to learn the lumber business her husband Merrill had launched there 10 years earlier. She started in as a telephone receptionist, hiding her tears when the occasional boor would ridicule her accent. But Lita soon learned how to figure lumber so she could operate as a trader, to complement the family business ("I would buy; he would sell").

When Merrill eased into semiretirement in 1993, they merged the two operations. Lita became president and c.e.o. of U.S. Lumber, with 5l%o ownership, thus a minority- and woman-owned company, which meant that contractor customers could bid on the big jobs that required such compliance.

Hang on before you grumble about "window dressing." She's heard that one, too (more tears). Five minutes on the phone with this dynamo and not a speck of doubt remains that she's no figurehead. "Ask me! I can talk about products! About accounts receivable. Accounts payable. Clients. Everything!" she demands, and then produces.

Singlehandedly, Lita keeps the books, writes the sales letters, makes the cold calls, trains the staff, and clearly never sleeps. She visits jobsites, attends professional meetings (where she trolls the room for nametags of prospective customers). She manages the company's niche specialty, selling plywood products to concrete contractors to use as building forms for concrete used in bridges, highways, sports stadiums, and the list goes on. Clients include Atlantic City casinos, the Philadelphia Eagles stadium and Phillies ballpark, Boeing, DuPont. Merck. and the new Freedom Tower in New York. You need moulding, hardware, trusses, stakes? HDO panels? How about FSC-certified materials for your LEED projects? lnsulation, sheetrock, trusses, windows and doors? Cedar specialties? You name it, and if you're anywhere near the tri-state area, U.S. Lumber will deliver.

Unless you're a residential developer. The company used to serve them, too, until Lita got stiffed once too often. "They used me as a bank and didn't pay their bills, whereas in commercial business, the money is revolving. I'll call their office once a week, and if there's been a delay, don't just tell me, 'It's in the mail.' I tell them, 'Just be honest with me and I'll gladly work with you.' Then when the check arrives, I call back with a thank you." She makes the rounds of jobsites on a near-daily basis, growing business by referrals from one sub to the next.

Yes, there's fierce competition, she acknowledges, but she counters it with a service cocktail of fast, 24-hour order turnarounds; a warehouse that can accommodate the commodities she buys by the carload (and then passes on favorable prices to her customers), encompassing a vast variety of building needs; and the ultimate in courtesy. Lots of pleases and thank- yous form the basis of her very personal service-for, as she's the first to testify, it all boils down to rapport.

And that's her fort6. She doesn't mind playing the foreigner or femme cards now and then. If she runs into a former G.I. who's spent time in the Philippines, they reminisce about the food, the culture. If checks are slow in coming, she shows up in their office, laughing, "I'm skinny! I have to eat!" If her accent once caused her stress, today it's also been turned into a selling tool to gain recognition: the "Oh, Lita! I remember you!" factor at work. She's the ultimate networker, and delivers instant quotes. "I can do it ASAP; I call the supplier, add in our mark-up, and give an instant answer," she boasts.

But boasting is zilch without back-up. "We build our loads at 5 p.m. and send them out at 6:30 the next morning' But if someone needs a box of nails sooner, we jump in the car with it. We understand your deadlines and will help you get the job done, no matter what," she pledges. "You're buying more than products, you're buying a teammate' Your goal becomes our goal; your deadline is our deadline," ihe proclaims. And so does the staff working with her, largely family. Her daughter works at accounting and her son-in-law, the yard manager, also fills in as a driver substitute. She trained them the same way she learned the operation: "step by step, from the ground up," she says: "With plenty of pleases and thank-yous."

Result: plenty of pay-backs honoring her success. She's served on New Jersey's Asian-American Commission, as co-founder of the state's Asian-American Chamber of Commerce, and received numerous humanitarian awards for giving many others a leg uP.

Credii U.S. Lumber's success to "long hours and hard work and extra service," which, let's face it, builds not only a strong, solid customer base but a overload of stress. Lita's found a secret remedy, however: "I go down to the basement, do karaoke and dance, then take a deep breath and say, 'God help me!"'

Well, He helps those who help themselves' as the saying goes. As testimony, listen to some of the many commendaiions earned from customers: "Over 30 years ago, Madison Concrete formed a relationship with U.S' Lumber. Many things have changed over the years, but one constant has beerithe fact thatltheyl continue to be our sole provider of all our lumber needs."

Another concrete contractor attests, "Our business is ultra-competitive. U.S. Lumber's exceptional pricing and service have kept us competitive lwithin it]. They constantly help us meet and exceed our clients' schedules'" Even more precious to her ears, "President Lita Abele's presence on the jobsite reflects U.S. Lumber's commitment to their customers."

As the petite boss exPlains it, "Our philosophy is simple: the customer comes first." That's the published promise. Privately, she adds, "You've got to work at something you enjoy or it's not worth any amount of moneY." Not a problem with this c.e.o.

Carla Waldemar cwaldemar@ comcast.net

Kingston Lumber Supply, Kingston, Wa., has acquired Penin. sula Truss, Bremerton. Wa.

Hess Lumber & Home Center, Malad City, ld., celebrated its 75th anniversary with the April b grand opening of its a 9,000-sq. ft. replacement building.

Ace Hardw?ro, Alamosa, co., has closed after 87 years.

Owners Leonard and Evelyn Smith are retiring, and longtime manager Albert Chacon has joined Alamosa Building Supply.

Star Ace Hardware, san Marcos, Ca,, is closing after 39 years, Owner Bill Slay decided to retire after receiving a $S.4-million offer from the city, which wants to redevelop the 3.9-acre property.

Ace of Jewell Square, Larewood, Co., held an April 30 grand opening. Jim Hassig owns lhe 11,000sq. ft. hardware store.

True Value Hardware, patm Desert, Ca., will be opened in August by Jeff and Faye Lohman.

Lowe's is readying plans for a new home center in E. Petaluma, Ca., for an October 2011 opening.

California's Piedmont Lumber Continues Consolidation

Piedmont Lumber, Lakeport, Ca., closed its truss plant in Calpella, Ca., on March 31, and agreed to sell its yard in Oakland, Ca., to Economv Lumber, Campbell, Ca.

Spokesperson James Simmons said that the March 13 fire that destroyed the company's yard in Walnut Creek, Ca., made it "too difficult" to keep the Calpella facility open. "The inventory has been moved to the Lakeport store, which will stay on," he said.

"This is really about two old Oakland companies coming together," said John Bacon Jr., president of Economy, about the sale. "It will work great for us."

Economy had also considered buy- ing the Walnut Creek yard, which Bacon toured the day before the fire. "That ended the conversations," he said.

"The official word is that Piedmont continues to explore all of its options," said Simmons.

True Value Pushes New Look

Lyle Heidemann, president and c.e.o. of True Value, Chicago, Il., wants more of the co-op's nearly 5,000 stores to upgrade to the company's new larger store format, which features brighter lighting, specialty floors, and shelf-level signage.

The co-op will also open its first corporate store, in nearby Mount Prospect, Il.

"Our vision is to help every loca-

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Since the program started in late 2007, only 89 stores have signed up, but he hopes at least 100 more will refurbish or build this year. As encouragement, the co-op is offering financing of up to $150,000 to remodel existing stores and up to 9400000 for opening new ones.

Since Heidemann took over five years ago, he has worked to move True Value away from its roots as a buying co-op to make it act more like a retailer. Earnings rose JVo last year to $65.4 million. "I wanted to create a growth strategy to improve the profitability, which we have done, and get it on a growth trajectory," he said.

Although Heidemann won't disclose the cost of remodeling a store, he said that stores with the new layout have seen sales increase l2vo on average. "We're not forcing it on them," he says. But "what sells it are the people who benefited from it."

Alpine Lumber Receives New Owners and New Name

Alpine Lumber & Hardware, Frazier Park, Ca., has new owners and a new name: Alpine Lumber & Mercantile.

"Alpine Lumber has been in business for 28 years in the center of town, and it would be a shame to see their doors close and employees lose their jobs," said Kathy Parker, who bought the store with her husband, Mike. "We didn't want to see it so."