Buena Park Lumber Acquired by Ganahl
By CHRIS CZIBORR
Anaheim lumber and building products retailer Ganahl Lumber Co. has acquired Buena Park Lumber, bringing the company’s lumberyards to eight.
The deal, the terms of which weren’t disclosed, will add about $20 million in yearly sales to Ganahl, according to President Peter Ganahl. The family-owned company doesn’t disclose total revenue.
The Ganahls and the Nelsons, Buena Park Lumber’s owners, have been rivals as well as friends since 1905, according to Ganahl officials.
“We believe the combined company will be a stronger company because of cost savings,” Ganahl said.
The Buena Park Lumber buy stands to give the company better access to contractors who build throughout Orange County, Ganahl said. About 90% of Ganahl’s sales are to contractors and industrial users, he said. The Disneyland Resort is a big customer.
The Buena Park buy brings Ganahl’s lumberyard acreage to about 50 and its OC headcount count to 660. Ganahal’s Anaheim yard and headquarters spans 18 acres and counts 240 workers.
Ganahl said he doesn’t expect any new net hiring in the next year because of slower economic growth in OC.
“If the economy stays like it is, we’ll be keeping our employment numbers stable where we just replace workers who leave,” he said.
Company officials said the Nelson family decided to sell Buena Park Lumber because lumber companies have had to gain economies of scale to reduce operating costs. As a result, small lumber dealers largely have disappeared, Ganahl officials said.
Ganahl itself has absorbed many smaller yards locally. In the 1990s, the company bought South County’s Capistrano Lumber and four stores from Barr Lumber in Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos and Lake Forest. Last year, it bought Laguna Beach Lumber.
The company has plans for more buying, Ganahl said, “but nothing at the moment.”
The company also has a yard in Corona.
