Building a family business

By Sean McCarthy

As a fifth-generation family business, Brightman Lumber Company has grown in size and reputation.

But over the years some things remain the same: their reliance on a quality product and a timehonored approach to their customers. If you enjoy doing business by shaking a familiar hand and looking in a familiar eye, you’ll find that Brightman Lumber is a modern-day company with old-fashioned values. “My grandfather, who owned this business, used to say that ‘If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life,’” says Edward Brightman Jr., who manages Brightman Lumber with his father, Edward Brightman Sr., and Patti Brightman. “This isn’t really a job, it’s more of a way of life.”

And that way of life has benefits for the growing clientele of this Assonet-based company, whether they are supplying a simple two-by-four to a homeowner or contributing lumber to extensive projects by large contractors or government agencies. But regardless of the size of the job, the attitude and work ethic are the same. It’s an approach that has been as important to this family as the effort they invest in their products and services. “The customers who come here tend to want a smaller and more personal experience,” says Patti Brightman, who handles much of the company’s financial and organizational business. “They want to know who they’re talking to when they’re placing an order or if they have any questions or concerns. They like dealing with the same family that harvests and produces their product, we’re with them every step of the way. It’s a different experience than a box store.” “I like dealing with this family-oriented business much more than the bigger companies. You’re treated with more hospitality,” says Mike Dunn of Somerset, who began manufacturing custom Cornhole boards a year ago. “If I need something, they go out of their way to get it to me. I’m treated like family and I appreciate that.” “I like helping out local businesses,” says Kevin DaPonte of K DaPonte Construction Corp. in Fall River, who has been supplied by Brightman Lumber since 1999 for form wood in the construction of cement sidewalks throughout New England. “They’re reliable and dependable, and if we’ve ever needed a special order they’re very efficient in providing it. I’ve never had a problem with an order.”

But the Brightman family extends beyond the bloodline. It encompasses a staff that has been with them for many years and many of the customers who do business with them. “The people who work here aren’t people you can just get from a temp agency,” says Patti Brightman. “We’re a tight group that sticks together. Our staff knows everything from the equipment to the customer’s names. We’re comfortable and confident in them. It’s super-rewarding to us when we hear from someone who has used our product – people will send us pictures of what they’ve done with something they bought from us.”

Always growing

In most cases, the wood products being sold by Brightman Lumber are harvested by the company’s Land Clearing division, which supplies them with 95 percent of their wood. The majority of wood being cleared is Eastern White Pine, native to the southeastern New England area.

“Eastern White Pine is popular and very easy to work with,” Edward Brightman Jr. says. “It’s super versatile, a lot cheaper than most other woods, and can be used indoors or outside. It’s got a nice warm look and a nice feeling.” Most of the Land Clearing is done within 100 miles of the area, including commercial, residential, and government locations. Land may need to be cleared for a wide variety of reasons, such as building a home or a subdivision, or installing solar panels. A job can be a single acre or hundreds of acres. The resulting logs are trucked back to the Assonet facility where they are crafted at their sawmill. Two-thirds of wood purchased from Brightman Lumber comes from customer’s orders, the remainder of their sales comes from their lumber yard at 181 South Main Street in Assonet, a location close to Route 24 and Route 79. All of the wood cleared by the company is recycled, which allows them to also sell wood chips, sawdust, mulch, and firewood in addition to post-and-beam, flooring, decking, boat blocking, and grade stakes. Brightman Lumber opened its doors in 1978, a year after John Brightman Jr. bought a parcel of land in 1977 from Leonard Moniz. John Brightman Jr. was 40 at the time, and had previously worked with his father and greatgrandfather in the north end of Fall River in the cedar pole business, as well as doing logging and harvesting of timber throughout Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. John Brightman Jr. passed away last August at the age of 83. The company is owned by his wife, Nancy Brightman. “We’ve recently lost some people who are very special to us,” Patti Brightman says. “But we love what we do and we’re going to keep on doing it. It’s rare that after all of the generations in this business that we don’t see it as a job – it’s our way of life. At the end of the day we’re not just a family, we’re the best of friends.” Learn more about Brightman Lumber by visiting their website, brightmanlumber.com.