Looking back at a wild year

For many people in the hardware and building product business, 2009 was a roller-coaster year. For Hal Look, the ride was turbo-charged.

The 23-year industry veteran began the year as a senior executive with Orco Construction Supply. He watched the California distributor get swallowed whole by HD Supply, then was in the position of unaffiliated president of the Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association (STAFDA).

But shortly before the group’s annual convention, Look landed with ProBuild Holdings in the newly created position of VP specialty building products.

“There is no getting around how brutal the last three years have really been,” Look told his STAFDA colleagues last month during the event. “The bottom line for everyone here is we are all still here. Still battling. And we’re doing whatever it takes to survive, adapt and move forward.”

STAFDA executive director Georgia Foley said the group did the right thing to keep Look as head of the organization. “What happened at Orco and HD Supply was no reflection on his leadership skills,” she said. Unfortunately, she added, it happened to quite a few other industry veterans, as well.

Next year’s STAFDA president is Robert Devers, of A-Jax Co. of Jacksonville, Fla. For sheer excitement, he has a hard act to follow.