Those familiar with the North American river systems may recognize Red River as a major waterway running through Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Over its nearly 40- year history, Red River Lumber has grown much like that river, stretching from its roots in Texas to serve those same four states.
CEO Mike Craven, who took ownership of the company in 1997, has seen the company’s growth firsthand.
“[When] I got started in ‘97, we had one location and six employees,” Craven said. “I’m really, really fortunate that in the second year, we started adding some really good people. And that we’ve had people that have stayed—we still have two employees that we hired within the first 12 months of me coming on board.”
Fast-forward to 2026 and Red River Lumber has become a 135-employee, multi-yard company serving markets with its own design center and distribution partnerships that give it an edge in the region, Craven said.
CEO Mike Craven and Angela Stephens, recipient of 25 years of service award.CEO Mike Craven and Angela Stephens, recipient of 25 years of service award.Adam Pettit, marketing director for the Red River Lumber family of companies, said the company has flourished under Craven’s leadership. Pettit is a second-generation employee; his father was one of Craven’s early hires in the late 90’s.
“Mike has a lot of strength in being able to attract and retain the right people, and making this a great place to work,” Pettit said. “So the way that our people take care of our customers is our primary strength.”
However, Craven was quick to point out that the company’s strong foundation goes beyond just who’s at the top.
Matthew Cox serves as general manager of the Davis Truss location.Matthew Cox serves as general manager of the Davis Truss location.“It’s got to be the culture. I’m down the list in establishing the culture, we’ve got so many key people. It could be one of our yard guys, one of our drivers, it could be an admin person. We have a lot of people that take it to heart and really work with their teams to create a sense that the customer knows they’re in a different business when they walk in one of our locations.”
