The ProDealer Industry Summit: It’s a wrap
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI—Major players of the lumber and building material industry—from national powerhouses to local leaders—descended on Kansas City for the 2023 Pro Dealer Industry Summit.
Suppliers and vendors, as well as experts in finance, research and technology, also participated in the three-day event that ended Friday.
HBSDealer Associate Publisher Amy Grant pointed to a strong feeling of industry togetherness in Kansas City.
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Leaders from Kodiak Building Partners celebrated their ProDealer of the Year award in Kansas City. -
Luke Reeves, in red sleeves, leads PDIS attendees on a tour through the McCray Lumber and Millwork facility in Kansas City, Kansas. -
At the podium: Hilltop Lumber's Brian Klimek, general manager and co-owner, accepted the Independent ProDealer of the Year award. -
Bob Sanford, center, of Sanford and Hawley, received a special "Chairman's Award" for his support of the industry. He is flanked by Jim Bishop, left, of Vesta Lee Lumber, and Jonathan Paine, CEO of the NLBMDA.
“The industry has challenges and uncertainties, and those were front-and-center in several presentations,” she said. “But there was a lot of confidence and success in this business, and it was great to see that represented at the event from single-unit Vesta Lee Lumber in Bonner Springs, Kansas, all the way to Builders FirstSource, the largest of the national players.”
The event produced ovations that were both expected, and unexpected. Independent ProDealer of the Year Hilltop Lumber of Minnesota, and national ProDealer of the Year Kodiak Building Partners crowded the stage with representatives to accept their respective awards.
Brian Klimek, general manager and co-owner of Hilltop Lumber, with his father and company founder Paul Klimek looking on, shared some of the highs of a successful family business.
Paul Hylbert, chairman of Kodiak Building Partners—which has grown from its inception in 2011 into a collection of 36 autonomous, locally-focused companies across 25 states—accepted the ProDealer of the Year award on behalf of the nearly 6,000 Kodiak employees. The LBM veteran delivered a rousing encouragement for the audience, and the industry in general, to support the NLBMDA and its important regulatory and legislative efforts.
Taking up that theme incoming NLBMDA Chair Mark Zemrowski of Valparaiso, Indiana based Von Tobel Co., shared via a pre-recorded video that the association “gets a lot of good things done for the industry. If you’re not a part of the NLBMDA, I think you’re missing out.”
The event produced memorable comments on a wide range of topics.
• On the cost of credit card transactions, known as swipe fees: “Walmart and Target an eat these fees, said Jacob Carter, director of government affairs for the NLBMDA.
• On the impact of regulations on the cost of a home, estimated to be 25 percent of the total. “It’s not one thing that affects housing affordability. It’s death by a thousand cuts,” said Alex Strong, a lobbyist for the National Association of Home Builders.
• On the need to embrace technology. “Innovative technology is coming whether we like it or not. We need to embrace it get ahead of it and integrate it into our companies,” said Anthony DiPrizio, operations manager at Ricci Lumber, and a. panelist on the “Future is Now” session.
• On the future of work: “Your creativity is the only thing that can’t be outsourced,” said Kaiser Yang, keynote speaker and CEO of Platypus Labs.
Next year’s ProDealer Industry Summit is set for Oct. 8-11 at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa in Savannah, Georgia.
