National - Miller Publishing Corporation

Holt & Bugbee Expands Sales Force,Targets High-End ProductsBY M.A. WALLACETewksbury, Mass.– Lumber industry entrepreneur John Cutter knew a thing or two aboutinternational networking in 1825 when he supplied a New England ship captain with blocks of ice inexchange for transporting South American Mahogany logs back for rough cutting at Cutter’sCharlestown, Mass., sawmill. Soon after, the company Cutter founded was renamed for his son-in-law,Stephen Holt, and business associate John Bugbee.Company headquarters shifted toTewksbury in 1967 to better serve a growingcustomer base. Holt & Bugbee Co.added a second location in Mt. Braddock,Pa., in 1994 and a third operation inBoyertown, Pa., in 1999.Holt & Bugbee Co. hasconvenient access toNorthern Appalachian Hardwoodsand an ideal location(less than an hour fromPhiladelphia) for serving customersin the mid-Atlanticregion.Fast forward five generationsand many industrychanges and today Holt &Bugbee Co. does businesscoast-to-coast and around theworld. The company keeps 195 employeesbusy through 40-hour weeks at allthree locations, with 135 of the staff locatedin the home office.“Operating as distribution yards withhigh-end millwork services is the bestway for us to fulfill orders from our primarycustomer base,” said Phillip Pierce,Holt & Bugbee’s president. “Timely supplyand delivery of smaller specialtyorders defines the future for us as a distributioncompany in the lumber industry.”Doing business by phone and the❝ Timely supply and deliveryof smaller specialty ordersdefines the future for us as adistribution companyin the lumber industry. ❞Internet is a growing necessity for viablebusinesses. Nevertheless, company presidentPhillip Pierce also maintains face-tofacetransactions continue to be an importantfeature of Holt & Bugbee’s workingoperation. More than half of the company’s22 sales persons conduct businesson-the-road. The company’s domestictrading area includes the New York/NewEngland and Mid-Atlantic areas intoOhio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and WestVirginia. Two of the company’s six lumberbuyers are on the road purchasingrough green timber from sawmillsthroughout the mid-Atlantic. Holt &Bugbee’s web site boasts that the companyoffers some of the finest Cherry lumberin the world.In addition to Cherry, Holt & BugbeePhillip Pierce, President of Holt & Bugbeeoffers a broad array of domesticHardwood species, which include Alder,Ash, Aspen, Basswood, Birch, Butternut,Hickory, Hard and Soft Maple, Red andWhite Oak, Poplar and Walnut.Additionally, the firm offers softwoodspecies that includecypress, eastern whitepine, fir and aromaticcedars.“We purchase fromNew England andAppalachian producers -some of them we havebeen dealing with formany years,” said Pierce.Holt & Bugbee offersthe imported Hardwoodspecies of Spanish Cedar,European Beech, Baltic Birch, Jatoba,African Mahogany, Genuine Mahogany,Sapele, Teak and Utile. “We offer gradesof No. 1 Common and Better in widths of4/4 through 12/4,” said Pierce, who notedconsiderable demand for domesticHardwoods, including White Oak inEurope, Near East and Far East.Approximately 25 million board feet oflumber passes through Holt & Bugbee’sfacilities and distribution yards in a year’stime. Truckload lots are brought to theTewksbury or Mt. Braddock facilities26 Hardwoods...A Renewable Resource