In 1955, George Edward Frisco founded Frisco Woodline, a hardwood supplier catering to commercial and industrial construction products. From that point forward, Frisco Woodline would continue to grow and establish themselves in the community. In 1985, Neil’s father bought the company with the goal of “becoming his own boss”, even though his field of expertise was in engineering. Buying the company with no previous knowledge of the LBM industry, Neil’s father learned the business and ushered in a new era of success and diversification. When starting his own career after college, Neil worked in various roles and industries before returning to Frisco Woodline in 2014. Over the last 10 years while working for Frisco Woodline and eventually succeeding his father (Neil now co-owns the business with his sister), Neil has forged a new path and found passion in the industry.When asked about the market today for the company, Neil noted how Frisco is dealing with the inconsistent nature of commodity pricing and competition in the lumber industry which has posed certain challenges. In typical Frisco Woodline fashion, the team took the challenges in stride and with the help of LMC, decided to expand their offerings into services.
“So, we now paint, prime, and do finished coats on wood, PVC, and composite products, including exterior trim. That is a new direction for us. We've changed from being more of a lumber supplier and distributor to now also being a manufacturer and value add service provider.”
Neil credits Frisco’s malleability to being a non-traditional lumber yard. Most of their daily business focuses on commercial clients who know exactly what they want. Frisco is a niche player in that their goal is not to sell every product, but rather deliver quality, specialty products that are unique to their customer base. This strategy in addition to expansion of the services division continues to make Frisco standout in the industry.
“In the last three years, our business has shifted from 20% special order and services to now 40%”.
Evolution and Growth of Frisco Woodline
Neil, reflecting on the company’s evolution, stated, “We’ve mostly been commercial, but I wanted to get more exposure to residential.” This insight led them to identify the organic growth potential within the moulding sector, specifically for multifamily and luxury homes. What started out as just a primer machine blossomed into an advanced operation.”
This new custom Trim and Moulding pre-finishing feature can allow consumers to customize any amount of trim
and moulding to their exact specifications and get it painted and finished in their store before it goes out to the job site. They also specialize in finishes for their wood and PVC products, achieving colors that are normally not able to be achieved because of the tint systems that they have access to. “We are able to paint PVC based products and we can achieve black which has historically been a challenge to do.”Frisco onboarded a team of paint experts that helped them to run and operate this machinery. “It’s been great having them on board because we can get a really good consistent finish despite ambient changes. Literally a 5-degree temperature changes or five percent change in humidity makes a different in how you have to apply the paint.” Neil exclaimed.
Since these machines can paint the products in-house before they get to the job site, it allows for a more efficient way for business not only for them but for their customers as well. “Not only do you save on paint labor costs, but you can also save on timing.” Neil states, “In a rainy environment, our products are already painted and so they can get installed on the job site as soon as they’re shipped there.”
LMC Makes an Impact
“Working with LMC has been great.” Neil states, “We joined in 2022, and I would go as far as to say it’s been one of the best decisions we’ve made in the past few years.” He revealed that initially it sounded almost too good to be true. Frisco Woodline historically has done all their own purchasing and was looking at LMC more as an additional supplier. However, it has worked out tremendously well for their business.
“What’s really been great has been just getting to know other dealers in the market.” Neil explained. Through LMC, Neil has formed a good relationship with some of the owners of the other lumber yards near and far to Frisco Woodline. “It’s been great to share our experiences and what we’re seeing as an industry.”