There are family-owned businesses and there are businesses that feel like family. For Morsches Builders Mart, it’s a little bit of both. The Columbia City, IN-based dealer has built a culture of collaboration and trust that’s helped foster a dedicated team of fulfilled, long-tenured employees committed to providing the best service to customers. And with more than 150 successful years under the company’s belt, those approaches have clearly paid off.
Deep roots, ever-evolving
Morsches Builders Mart started in 1871 as a mom-and-pop sawmill, eventually operating under the name Morsches-Nowels Lumber Company. In the 1960s, third-generation owner Paul Morsches Jr. moved the company in the direction of cash-and-carry, renaming it Morsches Builders Mart and coining the phrase, “The Supermarket of Building Materials.”
“It’s [fitting] as we’ve evolved because now we specialize in providing all products from foundation to finish,” says current owner and CEO Franz Morsches. “We’re not just a lumberyard—we supply everything.”
Now with five locations serving northeast Indiana and into Michigan and Ohio, Morsches Builders Mart primarily works with pros building custom homes; a quarter of their customer base is consumers. In some markets, they also work with large commercial contractors for projects like college dorms, football stadiums, and hospitals. “We specialize in getting them materials that other places can’t source,” Franz says, including all sizes of framing and plywood, fire-rated materials, and engineered wood.
Franz started his career at the company in 1984 and took over as the fourth-generation owner 10 years later. “Now I’m the longest-tenured employee, and we’re preparing for the next leadership change. We’re blessed that we have a stable of bright, young employees— we are sitting well for the future.”
Hands-off management nurtures employee loyalty
Franz credits his employees for the company’s continued endurance and accomplishments.
“The key to our success is our exceptional staff,” he says. “We have a proven track record of providing exceptional service because the longevity of our employees is incredible. It’s not uncommon for people to come work for Builders Mart out of high school and stay here through retirement.”
The company is connected to local schools and contractors, and many employees begin as part-timers in their teens and then follow career paths upward through the company based on their interests.
Jeremy Hammel is one such example. He started in the Columbia City headquarters yard as a sales clerk, and 33 years later is corporate operations manager. His son recently began training in the engineered wood department after graduating high school. At first, the variety and dynamics of the job were what held Hammel’s interest. “There’s always a new thing, a new challenge, a new customer,” he says. “And then when you get a few years in a family business like this, you develop relationships and learn what the family and the company are all about, and it makes it easier to stay. They promote from within and treat all of our employees really well. It was a fit from the word go.”
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