Leaders of Lumber: Sean Tighe, LMC
“Yes, we have taken a hit, and our resolve is being tested, but the LMC network is defined by hope, pride and determination,” Sean Tighe, senior vice president of purchasing at LMC, said as the COVID-19 crisis was at its height.
Now in its 85th year, LMC is made up of more than 390 independent forest products and building material dealers with over 1,400 locations in 50 states and the Bahamas. The largest forest products and building materials co-op in the nation, the company had more than $4.5 billion in purchases last year.
Tighe took over the role of SVP purchasing after the retirement of 39-year veteran Andy Toombs this past April. A 21-year veteran of LMC, Tighe previously held the position of vice president of the Lumber Division. He began his career at LMC in 1994 as a lumber buyer, and has subsequently traded every lumber species in the North American wood basket.
Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, LMC and its dealer members were off and running.
“First quarter numbers were record-setting,” Tighe told HBSDealer. “We had a great start to the year. The first quarter was ahead of previous year by 13%, with March finishing 16% ahead of the same month last year.”
“Housing starts were far outpacing 2019,” he adds. “By all indications, 2020 was to be a very strong year for all of us.”
But despite the arrival of the crisis, LMC and its membership marches on.
“As an organization, we have taken all necessary steps to continue to provide our dealers with the exceptional service they are accustomed to even while working remotely,” Tighe explains. “They can count on us to provide support, guidance, and solutions to all the challenges they are facing during this pandemic. We are all survivors. We have a solid history of adapting. Regardless of how long this will last, the challenges we are facing today, will make us much stronger tomorrow.”
Tighe says that the Independent retail lumberyard is “resilient.”
“And as they often do, they have lead the way in their communities to assist the local hospitals and medical professionals to fight this enemy. They led the way, immediately implementing safety standards in their organizations, for the safety of their employees and their customers.”
From a supplier perspective, LMC has taken a proactive approach communicating with suppliers to gather any supply chain disruptions and then shared the updates in daily emails to members. These daily emails also broke down the ever-changing federal government opportunities available for members to keep their businesses moving.
For the supplier community, LMC began monitoring dealer location hours that could affect deliveries, so critical shipments would arrive at the right time.
LMC employees quickly rose to the challenge of working remotely and embraced tech to get the job done. “This technology will provide us some new opportunities to be even more connected with our dealers and each other, even when we return to the office,” Tighe says.
Looking ahead, LMC wants its members to continue keeping their employees safe and to remain leaders in their communities.
“Whether the recovery will be, a V, U, L or W is the question,” Tighe says. “Similar to the Great Recession, our dealers will continue to pick up share as they have for the last 10 years.”
(This article originally appeared in the September 2020 Digital Edition of HBSDealer.)