LBM groups merge in the Midwest

The Indiana Lumber & Builders’ Supply Association and the Michigan Lumber & Building Materials Association have voted to merge the two groups into one.

The newly formed association will be known as the Midwest Building Suppliers Association, Inc. (“MBSA”), and should be operational as such by Dec. 30, 2015.

In a press release announcing the merger, the associations said the idea had been discussed for about a year. Issues of staffing and management remain unclear. "We have concluded that the benefits to all segments of the membership would be greatly enhanced, and our ability to fulfill our service and advocacy mission is magnified," according to the announcement.

At first both groups considered the economic benefits of a merger, but other benefits emerged during the meetings. Among them: a more powerful voice for advocacy, a greater impact on the services marketplace and savings to members -- "as only one headquarters operation is required to run the association's daily affairs," reads the press release.

Both groups also considered the national trend of state associations joining forces. Most recently, the Mid South Building Material Dealers Association merged with the Construction Suppliers Association, bringing Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi under one association.

The full text of the announcement is here:

It is with great excitement that the boards of directors and memberships of the Indiana Lumber & Builders’ Supply Association and the Michigan Lumber & Building Materials Association have voted to merge the two associations together into one association. The leadership of both associations has come together over the last year to discuss the benefits, as well as the features and improvements that our coming together would bring about. We have concluded that the benefits to all segments of the membership would be greatly enhanced, and our ability to fulfill our service and advocacy mission is magnified.

The motivation to join forces was initially an economic one. With fewer dealers in business than in years past, each state is finding it increasingly difficult to achieve the critical mass necessary to run the association with the resources required to provide the benefits demanded by our members. Interestingly, by meeting together to discuss these possibilities, other exciting benefits became clear as well, including a more powerful voice for advocacy and greater impact in the services marketplace. The savings to the members under this scenario is also significant, as only one headquarters operation is required to run the association’s daily affairs. The economies of scale created enhance our ability to impact our members’ businesses and their staffs in a most positive way.

In our industry, nearly all of the single-state associations have merged with their neighboring states (and some not neighboring at all) to form regional or multi-state associations. In fact, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois are the last four still in existence as single-state associations. That’s why it seemed so natural for Michigan and Indiana to pair up and be an even stronger service provider to the members, their firms, employees, and families. 

The newly formed association will be known as the Midwest Building Suppliers Association, Inc. (“MBSA”), and should be operational as such by December 30, 2015. The board of directors will be working diligently during this period to explore options for management and staffing of the new organization. 

We hope you are as excited about this possibility as we are, and look forward to creating an association that can serve the building materials industry for the next generations of members.