Building Business on Relationships, Innovation
Koopman Lumber
Beacon Award for Best New Store
From humble beginnings in 1939, Koopman Lumber has grown into a 12-location company. The third-generation family business continues to blend customer-centric design with deep-rooted community ties.
Click Below to Watch Koopman Lumber’s Beacon Award Presentation Video:
Koopman Lumber’s story began with a simple act of neighborly kindness. In 1939, New England builder Peter Koopman offered surplus building supplies from his garage in Whitinsville, Mass., just steps from what would become the company’s first store. From these humble beginnings, Koopman Lumber has grown into a family-run enterprise with 12 locations and more than 400 employees, serving professional contractors and homeowners across the central and eastern region of Massachusetts.
Today, the third generation of the Koopman family—Dirk Koopman, his sister Denise Brookhouse, and her husband Tony Brookhouse—leads the company with the same community-driven ethos that Peter Koopman established decades ago. Their success, particularly at the Beacon Award-winning Dennis, Mass., location, highlights Koopman Lumber’s commitment to customer service, innovation, and local involvement. With a focus on professional contractors and a deep connection to the community, Koopman Lumber continues to grow and thrive.
Builder Background Connects to Pros Today
Koopman Lumber’s deep roots in the construction industry are evident in the way it serves its customers. Although the company no longer builds homes, nearly 90 percent of its customer base consists of professional contractors. The third-generation leadership team continues to prioritize building lasting relationships with these customers, a value passed down from their grandfather.
“Although we no longer build houses ourselves, we started as builders by trade,” says Dirk Koopman, owner and CEO. “The most important building we do is building relationships with our customers to be a dependable resource for a lifetime.”
Managing pro accounts across 12 locations, Koopman Lumber relies on Epicor’s BisTrack system to keep operations running smoothly. This contractor-focused approach has been instrumental in maintaining the company’s close ties with the professional building community.
Creative Solutions to New Store Challenges
The Dennis, Mass., location represents a new chapter for Koopman Lumber. Located near the center of Cape Cod, this store was a greenfield project—a completely new venture in a previously untapped market. The company repurposed an antique dealership property to create a hardware store and lumberyard that would meet the needs of both contractors and homeowners.
Building a new store in Cape Cod came with its own set of challenges, particularly the need to adhere to strict historical community directives. Koopman Lumber worked closely with representatives of Cape Cod’s planning board to design a store that blends seamlessly into the area’s architectural landscape while still offering modern conveniences.
Koopman credits Orgill, the company’s wholesale partner, with helping navigate the intricacies of opening a new location. “Orgill’s support in merchandising and demographic insights has been crucial in optimizing store layouts and product selections,” Koopman says. “They’re a good partner and walked us through merchandising the new location. We’d tell them what we’re looking for, and they’d get it done.”
Design, Assortment Tailored to Customers
At the Dennis location, Koopman Lumber’s focus on professional contractors is clear, but the store also caters to homeowners and tourists. By carefully balancing the needs of both groups, the store has quickly gained traction in the market, exceeding initial sales expectations.
One of the key elements of the Dennis store’s design is its focus on kitchen and bath services. The state-of-the-art millwork and kitchen and bath displays draw both contractors and homeowners alike, providing a space where remodeling projects come to life. The displays have been instrumental in driving foot traffic and boosting return on investment (ROI) for remodeling products.
In addition to kitchen and bath services, the Dennis store features outdoor living and decking displays that make the most of the available space. These displays, along with a strong presence for grills and power tools, appeal to the area’s seasonal and year-round customers alike. Orgill played a key role in advising Koopman Lumber on the store’s product assortment, helping to ensure the location meets the diverse needs of its customers.
Another popular niche at the Dennis location is key cutting, which has proven to be a highly profitable service. Balancing seasonal products with year-round essentials, Koopman Lumber has created a store that serves as a hub for the local community, offering everything from home improvement supplies to specialty services.
Despite being a relatively new location, the Dennis store has already exceeded sales projections, particularly in lumber and hardware. Koopman credits the store’s success to its strategic planning and community focus, noting that these efforts have helped the store become a trusted resource for contractors and homeowners alike.
Looking Ahead: Expanding on Success
The success of the Dennis location serves as a model for Koopman Lumber’s future growth. With plans to explore new locations and product lines, the company is poised to continue expanding its reach while staying true to the values that have defined it for more than 80 years.
“The Beacon Award for Best New Store is a feather in the cap for our employees and is a thank you to them,” Koopman says. “This award confirms that they’re getting it done and doing the right thing. It’s also good for our customers to see we’re being recognized nationally.”
Koopman Lumber’s commitment to community involvement remains true to Peter Koopman’s legacy. The company donates to local sports teams, supports area schools, and even created an advisory board in 2009 to guide financial decisions and evaluate acquisitions. This advisory board, composed of local business leaders, has been instrumental in the company’s steady growth.
Koopman Lumber’s blend of innovative store design, customer-centric services, and deep community ties is a recipe for continued success. As the company looks to the future, it will continue to build on the strong foundation laid by Peter Koopman, ensuring that the values of neighborliness, quality service, and professional expertise remain at the heart of everything they do.
“This award is a testament to what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit,” said Koopman, who acknowledged the four Koopman Lumber employees attending the Beacon Awards. “Ever since we’ve been with Orgill, it has been a great relationship from top to bottom.”
Koopman concluded his remarks saying that both he and his sister have three children who are poised to continue the family retail hardware tradition and that the company will be in good hands for years to come.
