NLBMDA UPDATE NLBMDA members wary of vax mandate The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association, explored the hot topic of vaccination mandates through a survey of its national membership. Background: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s plans to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard to require companies with 100 or more employees to either a) ensure full vaccination; or b) test unvaccinated employees on a weekly basis. Clearly, those conditions raise concerns among employers with 100 or more employees. Concerns range from the cost of weekly testing, the possible loss of employees, additional administrative burdens, and general business disruptions. Here are two questions, and results from respondents with 100-plus employees: Do you support President Biden’s SHA COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for employers with 100+ employees and weekly testing for non-vaccinated employees?
18.7% Yes
81.3% No Will the new vaccine mandate result in a negative impact to your business and the ability to retain employees?
16.8 No
18.7% Yes Some respondents to the NLBMDA supported the new mandates. Reasons cited include the benefits of having a fully vaccinated staff and less resources spent on COVID recovery, sick leave, and contact tracing. Visit the NLBMDA at Dealer.org for more information.
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The acquisition beat goes on Texas serves as a big stage for US LBM and Nation’s Best. US LBM announced additional expansion moves in Texas with the acquisition of Oldham Lumber Company. Oldham serves professional builders in North Texas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth market. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Founded in 1921, Oldham Lumber provides lumber, plywood, engineered wood and framing materials to residential builders and commercial contractors in Collin, Dallas, Denton, Hunt, Kaufman, Rockwall and Tarrant counties in North Texas. Altogether, Oldham operates two locations including a 10-acre yard in Dallas and a 12-acre yard northeast of Dallas in Melissa, Texas that currently operates under the name McKinney Lumber and was acquired by Oldham earlier this year. “What’s made Oldham Lumber successful over the past 100 years is establishing strong relationships and creating a high-level of trust with our customers, and we’re pleased to find a partner in US LBM that shares and recognizes the importance of these values,” said Harley “Bubba” Finnell, Jr., who will lead Oldham Lumber as president and general manager. Finnell was recently elected president of the Lumbermens Association of Texas. The acquisition of Oldham Lumber is US LBM’s third acquisition in Texas this year, having previously added Higginbotham Brothers, which
OCTOBER 2021 HARDWARE + BUILDING SUPPLY DEALER
operates 38 locations across the state, and J.P. Hart Lumber, a building products distributor and manufacturer with operations in the Austin, Houston, DallasFort Worth, and San Antonio metro areas. Based in Buffalo Grove, Ill. US LBM operates more than 400 locations nationwide. In the same month, Nation’s Best continued its run of lumberyard and home center acquisitions, bringing Ron’s Lumber & Home Center in Howe, Okla. and Gilmer Lumber in Gilmer, Texas, into its fold. Both locations will plan to maintain operations under their existing names with their management teams overseeing company operations alongside Nation’s Best, which will provide the strategic and financial support necessary to achieve optimal growth and profitability, according to the announcement. Nation’s Best is a member-owner of Do it Best Corp. Prior to its acquisition of Ron’s and Gilmer Lumber, Nation’s Best most recent acquisitions were of Hipp Modern Builders Supply in Arkansas; Panhandle Lumber & Supply in Florida and Caron Building Center of New Hampshire. All occurred in the last three months. Nation’s Best CEO Chris Miller said the moves expand the footprint with high-quality family businesses. “These partnerships align perfectly with our strategic vision of ‘honoring the past, while energized for the future,’” he added.
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