Cameron Ashley displays growth and success in Orlando

"Buy More, Save More" was the theme of Cameron Ashley's 2024 Dealer Show in Orlando.

ORLANDO, Fla. - About 330 dealer companies were on hand at the 2024 Cameron Ashley Dealer Show.

Held here at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando, the event provided a demonstration of how the building products distributor continues to succeed and grow.

The show featured 50 vendor companies representing over 80% of Cameron Ashley’s annual sales.

And the customers in attendance, including numerous high-profile prodealers, represented over 1,000 “ship-to” locations.

Sam Collins, president and owner of Caribou, Maine-based S.W. Collins, celebrating 180 years in 2024, told HBSDealer that working with Cameron Ashley has numerous benefits.

Over 1,000 "ship-to" locations were represented at the 2024 Dealer Show.

“Cameron Ashley has been great at bringing new products to the table,” Collins said. “And they have strong relationships with many vendors.”

Those relationships result in better deals on materials for dealers. Collins also noted that Cameron Ashley has been “beneficial” to dealer-members of the LBM Advantage lumber and building materials cooperative.

The overall package results in a win-win situation for Cameron Ashley’s dealer customers.

In the past five years, the company doubled the size of its distribution network growing from 25 locations to 50. This includes entering new markets in 2023 and the opening of 6 distribution centers in Sacramento, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; Chicago; Little Rock, Arkansas; Covington; Louisiana; and Manchester, New Hampshire.

In 2025, Cameron Ashley already has plans for new center openings in Visalia, California; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; New Haven, Connecticut; and its hometown of Greenville, South Carolina.

Craig Edington, director of procurement at Builders Warehouse, said the distributor has been a strong partner for the Nebraska-based prodealer.

Tommy Shaw and STYX rocked a full-house of dealers at Cameron Ashley's latest event.

“We view Cameron Ashley as a top-line supplier. We love them,” Edington said. “The service and the products they offer are top-notch.”

“Buy More, Save More” is the theme of this year’s show as Cameron Ashley provided “attendee only” discounts and rebates on materials.

At the TAMKO Building Products booth, the manufacturer was spreading the word about its new StormFighter Flex polymer modified shingles.

Jack Watanabe, national account manager at TAMKO, said Cameron Ashley’s latest dealer show as a must-attend event.

“We get the chance to meet all of these dealers while promoting Cameron Ashley and Tamko,” Watanabe said.

With plenty of "show only" discounts and rebates, buying activity was hot at the dealer market.

Dealers who made the rounds while visiting vendor booths also had the opportunity to be entered into a drawing featuring super prizes. The give-aways ranged from truckloads of materials to iPads, Nintendo and Playstation game systems, remote control drones, shingles, and safety equipment, among other products.

Another benefit of attending this year’s show was a private performance from legendary rock band STYX, held at the Hard Rock Live. The band stormed through a deep catalog of hits including Lady, Renegade, Lorelei, Mr. Roboto, and Crystal Ball, among others, while having no problem electrifying a packed house.

The 2024 Dealer Show wraps up on Feb. 9 following an evening outing at the Universal Studios theme park.

Next year’s show is slated for March 9 through March 13 at the Swan and Dolphin Hotel at Walt Disney World.