Birth of a co-op trade show

Just six weeks after the culmination of a merger, LBM Advantage -- the industry’s newest co-operative and the combination of what was PAL and ENAP -- completed its first Stockholder Meeting and Trade Show in Orlando, Florida.

“The business written on the show floor will provide a solid base for exceeding sales goals for the first year and will set the bar high for continued operational success” noted Steve Sallah, Advantage CEO. “It’s obvious that the effort to bring this new co-operative to fruition were well worth the effort given all of the positive feedback we’ve received.”

The company pointed to sold-out exhibitor space and hotel rooms at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Florida. The keynote speaker and author, Jeffrey Blackman, set the tone by charging all attendees to “Change: Capsize or Capitalize” by being willing to make adjustments in their businesses while maintaining a value-driven, integrity-based operation.

LBM Advantage is a member-owned forest products and building materials cooperative comprised of 450 independent lumber retailers operating 820 locations across 33 states.

According to Paul Dean, LBM Advantage executive VP and former CEO of PAL, it took a lot of cooperation to put together the even so soon after the merger. “It exemplifies the “Better.Stronger.Together” theme of the joined co-ops “ he said. “We can’t be any more proud of our employees who worked tirelessly together pre-merger and many of whom had only met each other face-to-face in Orlando.”

Sallah and Dean also pointed to year-end statistics from both ENAP and PAL, “both showing increased sales, rebate earnings and profit sharing,” according to the co-op’s press release.