Busy Beaver goes high-tech in Delmont

Retailer’s newest location shows off some flashy technology; grand opening is April 30.

Tim Burke

4/15/2022

In Busy Beaver’s Delmont store sits the Badger Technologies robot shown here before it does a scan of the store for out-of-stock and misplaced products.

Busy Beaver Building Centers recently opened its 25th neighborhood home improvement center in Delmont, Pennsylvania.

The new store features an array of state-of-the-art technologies – and a robot.

Automation comes in the form of Badger Technologies’ autonomous robot equipped with Badger® Retail InSight software, which scans the entire store every day and alerts management to out-of-stock and misplaced products.

Further, it’s the first home improvement center in the U.S. to fully use Pricer electronic shelf labels (ESL), a system that provides greater pricing accuracy by electronically maintaining the price signage, said the company.

Storefront of the newest Busy Beaver location in Delmont, Pennsylvania.

“Technology is a key imperative in our mission to be the favorite home improvement center in the communities we serve,” says Adam Gunnett, Busy Beaver’s director of IT and marketing. “We relentlessly look for innovative ways to increase efficiencies and empower our associates to provide legendary customer service.”

Both technologies relieve the staff of time-consuming tasks and give them more time to service customers. In addition, the ESL system and robot significantly speed up the handling of online orders, a popular shopping option at all Busy Beaver locations, said the retailer.

Folks in Delmont, Salem Township, Murrysville and other local communities will be welcomed to the new store with a family-friendly grand opening on Saturday, April 30, 2022, said Busy Beaver.

ESLs, or electronic shelf labels, are the way of the future, said Adam Gunnett at a recent NHS panel focusing on technology at hardware stores.

“We’re really excited to be a part of the Delmont community,” said Joe Kallen, CEO. “We have an amazing, knowledgeable and friendly staff with an extensive product offering that will satisfy the needs of the do-it-yourselfer as well as the professional remodeler.”

The festivities will begin with a board-cutting ceremony at 9 a.m. There will be prize giveaways, family-friendly activities, and a live broadcast with WHJB 107.1 FM.

Door Buster specials for in-store customers only will include two-for-one Glidden Paint, Miracle-Gro Potting Mix, and Scotts Turf Builder Weed & Feed.

The new store banner incorporates a film motif, as the retail space was a former movie theater.

During the celebration, Busy Beaver will be accepting donations to Make-A-Wish and will reward one lucky donor with a brand-new Char-Broil Performance Series 4-Burner Gas Grill.

Formerly a movie theater, the location measures 44,000 square feet and includes a spacious outdoor garden center.

Pittsburgh-based Busy Beaver was founded in 1962 with lumber yards in Clairton, Verona and Carnegie, Pa. The company quickly expanded, opening full-line home improvement centers. Today it operates 20 full-line home center stores and five True Value hardware stores and employs more than 550 people.

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