Boston Cedar Celebrates a Quarter Century in Business

Holbrook, MA, March 01, 2010 --(PR.com)-- During the month of March 2010, Boston Cedar is celebrating its 25th year as a premier distributor of quality lumber and building material products. Based in Holbrook, Massachusetts, the company serves a large base of independent retail lumber dealers throughout the Northeastern United States. Boston Cedar established its name in the industry by bulk purchasing carloads of high quality Cedar, Douglas Fir and millwork products from West Coast suppliers located primarily in California and Vancouver, British Columbia.

Boston Cedar has built on that traditional base by offering dealer partners high-end products such as True Gold, Cowichan Gold and Abaco Decking. The company has also expanded on its reputation of offering category leaders through the addition of such innovative products as Latitudes composite decking, Trademark Railing, AZEK Building Products and the Typar Weather Protection System.

The Bevel Boys
Boston Cedar’s commitment to customer service has remained a constant over the past quarter century but its product lines have changed with the times.

"When we started out, we were purely a distributor of cedar products - clapboards, boards, decking, and vertical siding," explained Bobby Vasquezi who is one of the three original founders. "But over the years, the line has changed. Now, there are a lot of alternative products to wood."

That said, the level of success Boston Cedar has experienced over the years through its insight into new products was by no means assured when they launched the company 25 years ago. Back then, company co-founder Rob Ankner was serving as branch manager for MacMillan Bloedell, where he met his future business partners Bobby Vasquezi and Tony Morgan. “Robbie was the branch manager. Bobby was the warehouse manager, and I was the sales guy," explained Tony Morgan. "We were like a NFL ‘special team."

Out In Front
Throughout its 25 year history, Boston Cedar has always been committed to excellence in bringing products to market. "Boston Cedar has clearly established themselves as one of the premier distributors in our industry." said Eric Jungbluth, President and CEO of CPG International, the parent company of AZEK Building Products. "Our partner since 2003, Boston Cedar has exemplified what we expect from a distributor and they have added real and significant value to the AZEK Brand."

As a premier source of coastal western red cedar for North America and beyond, Terminal Forest Products was one of the first suppliers to sign-on with Boston Cedar. "We have been doing business with Boston Cedar for the better part of 25 years," recalls Brad Ivens, the General Manager for Sales and Marketing at Terminal. “And even as their lines have changed and grown beyond cedar, they remain our biggest customer."

As Boston Cedar’s reputation has expanded, so have its product offerings. Bill Currie, Chairman of the Board at Universal Forest Products, remembers when Boston Cedar first inquired about a composite decking product, years ago. Bill recalled, "and I tell you, to a person, we were just so impressed by their vision for how to take our products to market. Just first-class. They brought to that effort the same sophistication and marketing prowess – including partnering with NHL Hall of Famer Bobby Orr as the product spokesman."

Boston Cedar is known for putting the same level of commitment into the marketing and distribution of every line they carry. "When Fiberweb looked to add strategic distribution partners to our network, Boston Cedar stood above the rest due to their deep understanding of products, the importance of customer relationships and their unwavering commitment to deliver value everyday" said Bob Dahl, Vice President of Fiberweb. “Boston Cedar has delivered the brand promise for Typar since our first day together."

Building the Future
Today, Boston Cedar continues to search for new products that will provide their retail partner yards a unique and competitive edge. "We will also continue to develop sales, training and marketing programs that will meet or exceed our customers needs" explained Joe Cusack, Vice President of Sales. "The present management team understands the complexities that the independent LBM dealer of today faces and is determined to exceed the precedent established by the ‘Founding Father's’ of Boston Cedar."

"After the Company became FSC Certified and a Certified Green Dealer in July of 2008, Boston Cedar launched The Green Road Show" said Paul Colliton, Boston Cedar’s Sales Manager. "At no cost to the participating retail yards, we had a green expert present the latest about the green building movement. It’s these types of dealer service programs that help keep both our customers and Boston Cedar out in front of the competition."

Yes indeed, "The Bevel Boys" have certainly come a long way since 1985.

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