BINKOWSKY-DOUGHERTY DISTRIBUTION - IV

BUILDERS EXCHANGE MAGAZINE

DOUGHERTY LUMBER

A TRADITION OF SERVICE AND INTEGRITY

THIS COMPANY IS GOING INTO THE FOURTH GENERATION WITH ITS VALUES INTACT

THOMAS DOUGHERTY FOUNDED DOUGHERTY LUMBER CO. IN 1931 AFTER BEING THE LAST EMPLOYEE LET GO FROM HIS PREVIOUS EMPLOYER.  AGAINST THE ADVICE OF MORE EXPERIENCED ADVISORS, HE DECIDED TO START HIS OWN LUMBER BUSINESS.  HE KNEW THAT HIS DRIVE, ABILITY, AND EXPERIENCE WOULD SERVE HIM WELL, EVEN THEN, IN THE DEPTHS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION.  HE HAD RETURNED TO HIS HOMETOWN CLEVELAND FOLLOWING HIS MARRIAGE TO MILDRED.  HE WORKED FOR A SMALL LUMBER COMPANY AS A FOREMAN AND A TEAMSTER.  A TEAMSTER, "IN THE GENUINE SENSE OF THE WORD, A NURSEMAID FOR HORSES," HE USED TO SAY.  HE RENTED OFFICE SPACE AND A SMALL PART OF THE YARD AT THE STREETCAR BARNS AT E. 121ST STREET AND EUCLID AVENUE.  THE SCRIMPED AND SAVED AND WERE SOON ABLE TO PURCHASE A DELIVERY TRUCK, AND RETIRED THE TEAM OF HORSES.  THEY SAVED ON HEAT, TOO, BY LEAVING THE STAIRWELL DOORS OPEN ON THEIR WAY UP TO THEIR THIRD FLOOR OFFICE.  COAL WAS A LUXURY.  PERSISTENCE, HARD WORK, AND AN EXPANDING NETWORK OF CUSTOMERS AND SUPPLIERS PULLED THEM THROUGH.  MR. DOUGHERTY WOULD LATER BUY THE PROPERTY AT 12100 EUCLID AVENUE FOR DOUGHERTY'S THEN MAIN OFFICES AND RETAIL STORE.

AS BUSINESS BEGAN TO IMPROVE BEFORE THE WAR, DOUGHERTY'S MAIN YARD WAS LOCATED ON EAST 68TH STREET IN CLEVELAND.  A TREMENDOUS FIRE, IN 1956, COMPLETELY DESTROYED THE FACILITY.  IT WAS THE SECOND WORST FIRE IN THE HISTORY OF CLEVELAND, AT THAT TIME, ECLIPSED ONLY BY THE TRAGIC EAST OHIO GAS FIRE.  DOUGHERTY HAD ASSEMBLED A PARCEL OF LAND OFF LLOYD ROAD IN WICKLIFFE, PRIOR TO THE FIRE, THAT HAD A RAIL SIDING AND SOME COVERED STORAGE.  HE BOUNCED BACK AND HAD RAILCARS OF LUMBER MOVING TO WICKLIFFE, BEFORE THE ASHES OF EAST 68TH STREET HAD COOLED.  THE WICKLIFFE YARD WOULD BECOME ONE OF THE LARGEST LUMBER CONCENTRATION YARDS IN THE WORLD, EVENTUALLY TOTALING OVER 1 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF WAREHOUSE AND TIMBER DECK.  THE YARD WAS RUN FOR YEARS BY LEGENDARY LOCAL LUMBERMAN, "ROCKY" SVOBODA, BEFORE HE JOINED THE DOUGHERTY OUTSIDE SALES TEAM.

THE WORLD WAR II YEARS BROUGHT WITH THEM CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH, AND FOR SUPPORTING THE WAR EFFORT, IF INVENTORY AND PRODUCTS COULD BE SECURED.  DOUGHERTY, ALWAYS RESOURCEFUL, HAD ASSEMBLED A PILE OF GASOLINE RATION BOOKS AND SPARE TIRES, AND DISPATCHED HIS DAUGHTER, MARY LOUISE, TO THE WEST COAST IN A BEAT UP FORD TO BUY AS MUCH LUMBER AS SHE COULD.  SHE WAS FRESH OUT OF LAKE ERIE COLLEGE, AND DESPITE HAVING GROWN UP IN THE BUSINESS AND HAVING MANAGED THE NEWLY ACQUIRED KEYSTONE LUMBER CO IN PITTSBURGH, SHE FOUND HERSELF IN THE HIGH TIMBER WITH THE LUMBERJACKS.  SHE HAD TO SHATTER THE WOOD CEILING, TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY BY THE ALL-MALE CLUB IN THE SAWMILL INDUSTRY, BUT SHE KNEW THE LANGUAGE OF LUMBER AND HAD HER FATHER'S PERSISTENCE AND ABILITY TO NEGOTIATE AND MAKE DEALS.  SOON REDWOOD, DOUGLAS FIR, CEDAR, PONDEROSA AND SUGAR PINE WERE FLOWING BY THE BOXCAR TO CLEVELAND.  IT WAS ON THAT TRIP THAT SHE FOUND A SMALL, OLD FASHIONED SAWMILL IN WILLOW RANCH, CALIFORNIA THAT PRODUCED THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, SOFT TEXTURED PONDEROSA PINE THAT ANYONE HAD SEEN.

IN 1946 MR. DOUGHERTY PURCHASED THE MILL AND ASSIGNED MARY LOUISE TO RUN IT.  SHE BECAME THE FIRST WOMAN TO RUN A SAWMILL IN THE UNITED STATES.  SHE WAS STILL THE ONLY WOMAN RUNNING A SAWMILL, IN 1959, WHEN THE COMPANY PURCHASED A MILL IN ALTURAS, CALIFORNIA THAT MET THEIR NEEDS FOR MODERN MANUFACTURING AND DISTRIBUTION.  THROUGH THE YEARS, THE COMPANY HAD ACQUIRED TIMBERLAND IN CALIFORNIA AND SOUTHEASTERN OREGON TO SUPPLY THE MILL.  THE COMPANY OPERATED CALANDOR PINE CORP IN ALUTRAS, UNTIL 1989, WHEN IT SAW THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL THAT THE DAYS OF THE SMALL, INDEPENDENT SAWMILL WERE COMING TO A CLOSE AND SOLD THE PLANT TO A LARGE FIRM IN PORTLAND, OREGON. 

GOOSE LAKE TIMBER COMPANY STILL MAINTAINS THE TIMBERLAND, AND NOW SELLS THE MATURE TREES ON THE OPEN MARKET.  "WE'RE GROWING THE WOOD FOR THE FUTURE, AND FOR THE COMING GENERATIONS OF THE DOUGHERTY FAMILY AND CUSTOMERS." SAYS MARC HANNA, THIRD GENERATION PRESIDENT.  THE NEXT GENERATION IS ALREADY LEARNING THE BUSINESS.  MARC'S DAUGHTER TIFFANY BINKOWSKY IS WORKING AS OFFICE MANAGER AT THE CLEVELAND PLYWOOD CO., NEXT DOOR TO THE DOUGHERTY YARD AT 5900 HARVARD AVENUE. 

DOUGHERTY LUMBER'S MAIN OFFICE AND YARD AT 6000 HARVARD AVENUE WERE ACQUIRED IN 1967.  IRONICALLY, THIS WAS THE SITE OF THE OLD LUMBERYARD, FROM WHICH MR. DOUGHERTY WAS LET GO IN 1931.  HE DEMOLISHED THE OLD BUILDINGS THAT HE HAD HELPED BUILD, AND ERECTED A MODERN DISTRIBUTION YARD TO ACCOMODATE THE DOUGHERTY LUMBER AND CLEVELAND PLYWOOD OPERATIONS.  THE FACILITY HAS A GOOD RAIL SERVICE, A CUSTOM MILL, AND STANDS A HALF MILE FROM I-77, AFFORDING RAPID DISTRIBUTION OF MATERIALS.  BXM

THE FIRM HAS DIVERSIFIED ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO INCLUDE A MULTITUDE OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

DOUGHERTY'S DIVERSIFICATION IS A NATURAL OUTGROWTH OF CUSTOMER DEMAND.  "WE FOUND OUR CUSTOMERS CALLING US FOR ITEMS, AND WE WANTED TO BE A ONE-STOP SHOP FOR WOOD PRODUCTS," SAYS DON BERAN, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND COO.  "WE STARTED OUT IN LUMBER, AND PLYWOOD AND WAS A NATURAL PROGRESSION," BERAN SAYS.

AT ONE TIME, PLYWOOD WAS A NEW TECHNOLOGY, FOLLOWED BY COMPOSITE PANELS, OSB, FIBERBOARD, AND PARTICLEBOARD.  BUT THE FIRM HAS ALWAYS KEPT UP WITH THE RAPIDLY CHANGING LUMBER INDUSTRY AND LEARNED TO BRING ONMORE EFFECTIVE NEW PRODUCTS AND TO TEACH CUSTOMERS ABOUT THEIR ADVANTAGES AND BEST USES.  "WE ARE CONSTANTLY LOOKING FOR NEW PRODUCTS TO BETTER SERVE OUR EXPANDING CUSTOMER BASE," SAYS DON BERAN.  "WE ARE IN THE GAME FROM 2X4'S ON UP.  WE SCOUR THE TRADE SHOWS AND INDUSTRY TO LEARN ABOUT NEW PRODUCTS TO ADD TO OUR MIX," HE SAYS. 

BECAUSE OF THE DIVERSIFICATION AND GROWTH OF SPECIALTY PRODUCTS IN THE DOUGHERTY OFFERINGS, THE COMPANY FORMED A MANAGEMENT COMPANY, DOUGHERTY-HANNA RESOURCES IN 1982.  "THIS ALLOWS OUR SEPARATE LOCATIONS TO CONCENTRATE ON THEIR PRODUCTS AND MARKETS, WHILE WE ARE ABLE TO RESEARCH AND DEVELOP NEW PRODUCTS AND NEW MARKETS," SAYS COMPANY PRESIDENT MARC HANNA.

"WE HAVE BEEN A PROUD DISTRIBUTOR OF FORMICA BRAND PRODUCTS SINCE THE FIFTIES," SAYS HANNA ABOUT THE OHIO BASED DECORATIVE SURFACING PRODUCER.  THE COMPANY DISTRIBUTES FORMICA PRODUCTS FROM CLEVELAND PLYWOOD, BUCKEYE SURFACES, INDEPENDENT WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTORS, AND ARROW LAMINATES.  HIGH PRESSURE DECORATIVE LAMINATE IS AVAILABLE IN OVER 300 COLORS, PATTERNS, AND FINISHES.  BERAN IS ALSO ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT ONE OF THE NEW DOUGHERTY LUMBER PRODUCTS, CEMENT SIDING BY JAMES HARDIE, BECAUSE IT OFFERS "LESS MAINTENANCE, COMBUSTIBILITY, AND DECAY WORRIES."

WHILE DOUGHERTY LUMBER IS POISED FOR THE FUTURE, IT IS PROUD OF ITS PAST.  PARTIALLY BECAUSE OF THE LOYALTY (IT HAS GROWN WITH SOME OF MR. DOUGHERTY'S ORIGINAL CUSTOMERS AND VENDORS) AND THANKS TO A VERY STABLE WORK FORCE, IT STILL EMPLOYS SOME WORKERS ORIGINALLY HIRED BY TOM DOUGHERTY.

DOUGHERTY LUMBER CO. AND IT'S FAMILY OF COMPANIES AND PEOPLE ARE PROUD TO BE A PART OF THE BUILDING INDUSTRY IN CLEVELAND AND SURROUNDING AREAS.  "THE BUILDERS EXCHANGE IS UNIQUE AND IMPORTANT ORGANIZATION THAT HAS BEEN A KEY FACTOR IN THE GROWTH OF CLEVELAND AND DOUGHERTY LUMBER CO.," SAYS HANNA.  DOUGHERTY LUMBER HAS BEEN A B/X MEMBER SINCE THE THIRTIES, WITH TOM DOUGHERTY SERVING AS PRESIDENT OF THE EXCHANGE IN 1947-1948.  IT IS UNIQULEY POSITIONED TO FACE THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF BUILDNG FOR THE 21ST CENTURY.  BXM

**  BINKOWSKY-DOUGHERTY DISTRIBUTION'S EVOLUTION IS JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF.  THE SAME LUMBER YARD MR. THOMAS DOUGHERTY  WAS LET GO FROM IN 1931 IN THE STORY ABOVE AND ENDED UP PURCHASING TO CREATE THE DOUGHERTY LUMBER COMPANY, IRONICALLY HAPPENS TO BE THE SAME YARD HIS GREAT-GRANDDAUGHTER TIFFANY WAS LET GO FROM 80 YEARS LATER.  SHE ENDED UP PURCHASING THE YARD THRU PUBLIC AUTION TO CREATE WHAT IS NOW BINKOWSKY-DOUGHERTY DISTRIBUTION, THE NEXT GENERATION IN BUILDING MATERIAL DISTRIBUTION.