In the first year after its inception, LMC doubled its membership by expanding into New York and New England. Lumber dealers realized the tremendous value and the number of LMC stockholders continued to increase. The 70’s and 80’s brought further expansion into the Southeast and Midwest, and parts of Texas and Minnesota – shifting LMC’s service area across the Mississippi.
In 1985, LMC celebrated the half century mark, and in 50 years the company experienced significant growth in both membership and dealer purchases. A milestone happened in 1988 when LMC reached its first billion dollars with 262 stockholder companies. In the 90’s LMC expanded into the western states and today operates in all 50 states as well as the Bahamas.
Forging long lasting and genuine relationships has been a large part of LMC's success since its inception. It is also a big part of LMC's philosophy of Building Business Together. The photo above shows Lewis Ham (LMC), Victor Olson (President of Bellingham Plywood Corp), Charles B. Wolf (LMC Stockholder), and Jesse Snavely, Jr. (LMC Stockholder) on a plant tour in Bellingham, WA in 1947. Today, eight regional managers led by Joel Gelb, VP of Stockholder Relations, are in charge of strengthening relationships thoughout the LMC network.
