verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . august 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message 84 lumber company type private industry building materials and retail founded january 31 1958 ; 58 years ago 1958 01 31 1 headquarters eighty four pennsylvania key people joe hardy founder maggie hardy magerko president and owner products building materials and supplies revenue 2.5 billion 2015 number of employees approx . 5 000 homepage www.84lumber.com website www.84lumber.com typical 84 lumber sign 84 lumber is an american building materials supply company . 84 lumber company is the largest privately held building materials supplier to professional contractors and build it yourselfers in the united states citation needed . it was founded in 1956 2 by joseph hardy . headquarters are 20 miles 32 km south of pittsburgh in eighty four pennsylvania . 84 lumber owns and operates over 250 stores 3 and the company has grown to operate components plants door shops installation centers and wood products shops in 30 states . as of 2016 they reportedly employ 5 000 employees . 4 contents 1 history 2 philanthropy 3 awards 4 references 5 external links history edit located 20 mi 32 km south of pittsburgh 84 lumber established its roots in eighty four pennsylvania a rural community that has endured as a farmland community . 84 lumber flourished with the funds and determination of ed ryan and jack kunkle joe hardy and his two brothers norman and bob hardy . together these men collected 84 000 dollars for land and buildings to grow their business . 5 as the business expanded hardy and his brothers became sole owners of the company . 84 lumber established a cash and carry system ; customers paid by cash or check if merchandise was unable to be carried out an additional charge was implemented to have the item personally delivered . throughout the 1960 s 84 lumber continued to expand locations . this was accomplished largely by keeping overhead low and adopting a no frills warehouse style approach to most of its stores many of which are unheated even in cold climate locations as most of its clients were commercial customers not overly concerned with aesthetics or the like . but during the 1970 s 84 lumber s business grew and the company opened 229 stores . in 1984 the company undertook an expansion plan to open at least 30 new stores . along with grand openings stores were remodeled and renovated from no frills lumber yards to new and improved building materials stores . in 1987 as the improvement plan generated success the business opened their strict policy of cash and carry to options of using credit . 2 5 in 1991 84 lumber topped pro sales magazine s dealer 100 list . 5 after 34 years of running the company joe hardy appointed his daughter maggie hardy magerko president and owner in 1992 . 6 joe hardy passed 40 percent of the company stock to maggie that year as well and added another 40 percent the following year . 5 with a new leader 84 lumber continued to expand opening its 400th store in 1997 in ephrata pennsylvania . 5 in 1999 84 lumber opened its first 84 plus retail store in graysville tennessee . the store designed by maggie hardy magerko carried about 12 000 products and was meant to increase the company s profits by selling products at a higher profit margin . 5 soon enough over a hundred 84 plus stores opened . on december 7 2002 the company exceeded 2 billion in annual sales for the first time in history . 5 in 2004 the company opened another 18 new stores most of which located in metropolitan areas that had once been unprofitable . 5 84 lumber suffered great losses in sales when the housing market crashed in 2009 . limitless spending on a family owned resort poor store site selection and a massive debt in account receivables also contributed to difficult financial conditions for the company . 7 on the brink of bankruptcy hardy magerko leveraged her own personal finances closed stores and laid off thousands to prevent the company from going bankrupt . with the help of the market magerko s efforts ultimately proved to be successful . in 2013 84 lumber increased sales 27 percent over the prior year generating 2.1 billion in revenue . in 2016 the company continues to expand and has recently announced plans to open at least a dozen new stores and manufacturing facilities in the west . 8 most recently 84 lumber introduced tiny living by 84 lumber its new line of portable homes . with competitively priced customizable homes under 200 square feet tiny living strives to appeal to the environmentally and economically friendly do it yourselfer . 9 philanthropy edit 84 lumber serves the communities in which they are located by participating in local events and fundraisers . dedicated to helping those in need the company has created a campaign building hope which fulfills this commitment . the boy scouts justin jennings foundation habitat for humanity musicians village red cross and united way are among the organizations and individuals 84 lumber has supported over the years . 5 awards edit 2015 nahb builders mutual insurance company safety award for excellence first place 2015 high country home builders association member awards prosales professional building product 100 list 5th largest forbes 2016 list of america s 250 best mid size employers references edit https www.corporations.state.pa.us corp soskb corp.asp 100900 a b mendelson robert . building a business . pitt magazine . retrieved august 16 2012 . 84 lumber . retrieved 1 september 2014 . 84 lumber sales drop by 1 billion . pittsburgh post gazette . march 15 2012 . retrieved august 16 2012 . a b c d e f g h i rodengen j.l. 2005 . nothing is impossible . write stuff enterprises inc. recovering from the housing slump . leaders magazine . retrieved august 16 2012 . daughter knows best inside the 84 lumber saga . forbes . retrieved january 21 2015 . 84 lumber expanding in western states . lumber building material distribution pros . retrieved april 1 2016 . 84 lumber begins offering custom tiny homes . pr newswire . retrieved march 1 2016 . pittsburgh portal external links edit media related to 84 lumber at wikimedia commons 84 lumber official website 84 lumber facebook page home channel news top 500 retail scoreboard of u.s. home improvement dealers dead link v t e pittsburgh history timeline culture dialect media neighborhoods notable people skyscrapers government airport conventions city hall courthouse mayor council events intergov police d.a. sheriff fire libraries transit education port regional economy allegheny conference duquesne club chamber of commerce economic club hyp club stock exchange fortune 500 headquarters us steel pnc ppg heinz mylan wesco consol dick s allegheny technologies forbes largest 84 lumber giant eagle other headquarters american bridge american eagle ampco ansys armstrong black box 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