BY MIKE BOYER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Western Building Products Inc., which has supplied lumber and millwork for thousands of Cincinnati-area homes since 1947, has agreed to be acquired by a unit of Stonegate Resources LLC, a Dallas-based consolidator in the building products industry. Terms of the deal, expected to close on Aug. 31, weren't disclosed.
But Tim Hausfeld, Western's president, said the acquisition wouldn't mean a change in the company's name or existing management. Western employs 475 people and has sales of more than $70 million. "We believe it will be a seamless transition for us, that brings long-term benefits to the builders who buy from us, and strengthens the resources available to help us continue to grow," Mr. Hausfeld said.
Western, owned by the Hausfeld and Friesz families, has operations on Colerain Avenue, in Mason and in Florence, and operates showrooms in Centerville and Florence. About 95 percent of its business is with professional builders.
Besides lumber and millwork, cabinets, windows and doors, the company produces roof and floor trusses, wall panels, stairs and laminated counter tops.
Western will be the second acquisition this year by BSL Holdings, a unit of Stonegate Resources.
In March, BSL acquired Builders' Supply & Lumber Co. of Frederick, Md., from Pulte Corp. Builders' Supply, one of the largest distributors to the home-building industry on the East Coast, has operations in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore area; Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C.; Atlanta; and Orlando, Fla.
Kevin P. O'Meara, Stonegate's chief financial officer, said the company plans to assemble a national network of builder supply companies with revenue of $1 billion by 2000.
Stonegate was formed a year ago by a management team headed by John D. Roach, former chairman of Fibreboard Corp., and Joseph Littlejohn & Levy, the New York equity investment firm.
