For Arnold Lumber Company, headquartered in West Kingston, RI, success has been built over the past 110-plus years by not being afraid to embrace change. With three other locations in Wakefield, Bristol, and Westerly, RI, the fourth generation family-owned lumber dealer had humble beginnings. “We originally started off as a sawmill way back in the day,” Matt Semonik, COO of Arnold Lumber Company reminisces. “We were taking rough cut lumber, or taking trees and then cutting them into rough cut lumber. It wasn’t until the early 70s, when Art Arnold Jr. took over the business from his father, that we really became a building materials company. Nine years ago, he shifted and got out of the day-to-day operations and handed it over to his daughters, Kate and Allison. So it’s Allison Arnold and Kate Arnold Carret, who are the two managing owners in the business and their sister, Liz Arnold Siddle. And so the three women actually own the business now, and Kate and Allison are co-CEOs.”
Today, the company has its eyes on growth, as it has since its founding. It’s biggest percentage of annual sales—just shy of $90 million—now comes from special orders that include windows, doors, and special decking orders. And that financial success Semonik credits to an aggressive embracing of technology. “In the past nine years, we have gotten really, really aggressive at leveraging technology to help us run our business on a day-to-day basis. We haven’t been afraid of it. We’ve embraced it around every corner,” he says.
“We are actively involved with BisTrack with Epicor, and we leverage Epicor Warehouse Management Software pretty heavily. We haven’t been afraid to try different things from a technology standpoint, and I think that’s given us an edge.”
Semonik is quick to add, however, that technology is only part of what differentiates Arnold Lumber from the competition. “We’ve embraced technology, but the focus was, how do we become everlasting? How do we ensure our viability into the future?” he says. “Part of that was embracing technology. The other part was attracting talent that’s going to take us into the future. When I got into this industry nine years ago, I heard so much about how this is an industry that’s graying out, how this is an industry that doesn’t necessarily have that next generation to be able to take it into the future, and didn’t necessarily have the means to be able to develop and grow those people.”
“So as we went down this technology shift, knowing technology was going to give us some efficiencies, we also knew technology was going to give us the ability to be able to attract talent that didn’t necessarily have the background in the industry, and allow them to become successful quicker.”
Attitude first
Arnold Lumber has a true culture of hiring first for attitude, Semonik points out, constantly looking for the traits that it wants in people. “I feel we have a great culture, but a culture can also grow and become better over time. And so I challenge the leadership of the organization when they’re looking to hire people that they put culture first,” he recommends. “Does the person have the right attitude? Does the person have the right drive? Does the person want to be successful? Does the person fit in with who we have? Are they going to make us better, or is it going to be a challenge to bring them up to speed? And that has allowed us to really excel in the marketplace with people that didn’t necessarily have 30 years of lumber experience and allow them to be successful.”
Part of enabling success comes from putting a heavy emphasis on training, Semonik stresses. “We have opened up avenues for people to train. So we put a heavy emphasis on ensuring that the people have the access, whether it’s to spend time with our suppliers’ and manufacturers’ training on the products that they sell us, whether it’s to spend time in different departments within our organization, or say, ‘Hey, I found this class that I would like to take,’ or ‘I found this seminar that I think would be beneficial.’ We look at that and we invest in our people’s education in the industry, and from a leadership standpoint. We feel that’s extremely important. And for us to step into the fifth generation, it allows that fifth generation to come into the organization. We need to be bigger and better and more profitable, and have the reputation in the state and in the region, and for that matter, in the industry, of being a great place for people to come and have a career.”
All of this doesn’t mean that Arnold Lumber doesn’t have challenges it needs to face. “Growing the way that we grew this year,” Semonik explains, “knowing what we have on the horizon in the upcoming years, we know that we have to continue to build our employee base and build the culture we still have. We’ve got a good proportion of very, very successful and dedicated employees that are probably within that three to seven year retirement range, and ensuring that we balance being aggressive and getting the right talent in with maintaining a profitable business becomes tricky.”
An eye on the future
Arnold Lumber has growth in mind that they need to be strategically planning for. Along with expanding existing properties in 2023 and 2024, Arnold Lumber will soon be starting up a new division focused on multifamily and commercial construction. Additionally, it is in an active search for property in the northern part of Rhode Island to continue expansion northward towards Boston. “And so the challenge continues to become, how do we ensure that that pipeline continually gets filled? How do we position ourselves in the marketplace so our customers know what we’re doing, our vendors know what we’re doing, and the people that we’re trying to attract know what we’re doing.”
With the adaptation of technology, Arnold Lumber has taken a similar forward-thinking approach towards staying top of mind with its customers to support its growth plan. Historically, the company had relied heavily on print advertising, but it realized that approach was getting very stale, says Semonik. “A lot of our competitors do a ton of radio commercial ads. They do some TV ads. We’ve toyed with that in the past, and we really found that we weren’t getting the traction that we needed.”
Instead of those traditional methods, this year, the company’s push has been social media. It launched a YouTube series entitled, “Breaking Ground,” where the company partners with local contractors to show the best products and practices in construction. It also utilizes Instagram with short 15-45 second clips along with Facebook and LinkedIn posts to help push its messaging.
“It has been ultra-successful for us, and our suppliers and manufacturers have truly embraced it. They see the value in it, of being able to get directly to the consumer in a market, which I think they’ve struggled with in the past. So when you do things like ‘Breaking Ground,’ it ties everything together. It helps educate the homeowner. It helps educate those contractors out there that may not necessarily know what product X or product Y actually does or how to install it. And it gives that manufacturer the ability to be in front of a local audience, which they absolutely adore. Then to top it all off, it just really helps paint and reinforce our culture, and allows us to continue to expand our sphere of influence in the marketplace.”
Community first
That visibility comes from more than a strong social media presence, Semonik is quick to point out. Giving back to the community is also a vital part of the company’s philosophy. And while it supports local sports teams and the like, Arnold Lumber likes to think outside the box.
“First off, we really like to support the Eagle Scout program,” Semonik explains. “Any Eagle Scout candidate that comes to Arnold lumber gets a set amount of free materials for their Eagle Scout service project. And if they come in and they do a really good presentation, and it’s something that we stand behind, we will sometimes do more.”
In addition, every month Arnold Lumber hosts a “dress for a cause” event, where for a $5 donation an employee can wear a shirt or ribbon to show support for a cause (such as Wounded Warrior Project, for example).
“On top of that, there are a couple of really big things that we try and stay involved with every year,” Semonik points out. “There is the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource, a foundation with which we do a big wing eating contest in late summer to help raise money for breast cancer awareness. We raised over $12,000 this year—more than double the previous year, and we hope to double it again.”
As well, Arnold Lumber works with the Johnnycake Center for Hope, a local community center that helps underserved families. “We do a massive toy drive every single year in our Wakefield store. We’ve got a sleigh that we put in the front of the window. Contractors, employees, and members of the community alike can donate toys and gift cards. And then on donation day, we take one of our Arnold lumber trucks, we put the sleigh on top of the flatbed. Our employees dress up as Santa Claus, the Grinch, Mrs. Claus, Rudolph. We pile the toys onto the back of the truck on our way to the Johnnycake Center for Hope. We always stop at the local school and let the kids run out around the truck and see Santa Claus, and see all the toys, and Santa tells them that he’s taking those toys to get them loaded up in bags to deliver in a couple weeks to all of them.”
By putting company culture first, Arnold Lumber Company has succeeded in steering a path of growth through uncertain times. It’s a strategy Semonik is proud of. “With culture being the key focus, especially over the past few years, making sure that prospective employees have the culture that we want is imperative for them joining the team. The Arnold family has always felt that if we do what we can to make the employees, the customers, and our suppliers successful, the company will be successful as well!” Semonik explains.
Get to know Arnold Lumber Company
Founded: 1911
Ownership: Family
Locations: 4
Employees: 155
ERP Software: Epicor BisTrack
Leading Product Category: Special orders
Business Breakdown: Pro 85-90%, Homeowner 10-15%
Allison Arnold, President & CEO
“In our industry, independent lumber yards work hard to differentiate themselves as we are all selling the same products to contractors and homeowners. Arnold Lumber Company has the words “Build Trust” in our brand, and we strive to do that within every aspect of our company. For the past 50 years, it has been an important part of our business to make all of our partners—vendors, customers, employees and the company—successful.
Over the past few years, our investment in the culture of the company, the technology we are implementing, and the focus on making sure that we are servicing every partner in the business is what helps us stand out in our market and grow as a team. While we are growing, we find it important to remain a family business at heart. The values of service and relationship are what lead our company to recognition within the industry such as this LBM Journal’s Dealer of the Year Award, and the Arnold Family is grateful to our team for standing out and achieving this award in our name.”
Kate Carret, President & CEO
“Being named LBM Journal’s Dealer of the Year Award ($50MM–$100MM) is both an honor and a celebration of our entire team’s commitment to pushing boundaries, embracing change, and working together to innovate.
This recognition is not only about today’s achievements but is deeply rooted in the entrepreneurship, dedication to service, and vision of the leaders who laid the foundation for our success. It reflects the incredible journey that our family, company, partners, and communities have undertaken together.
When Allison and I assumed fourth-generation leadership, we knew we had some big “boots” to fill. The prior generations of Arnold men in our family brought relentless passion and drive, always striving to elevate the company to new heights. Their legacy inspired us to carry forward that same determination and commitment to excellence.
Our father, Art Arnold, Jr., was ahead of his time—and ahead of the competition—in many ways. While there was no Art Arnold III, this never gave him pause. His belief in our ability to lead as women in an industry historically dominated by men gave us the confidence to step into operating the family business with pride and purpose. Of course, this confidence didn’t come without some great coaching and life lessons along the way.
Our commitment to building strong connections and embracing change has always been at the core of what makes our company truly special. This foundation continues to fuel our growth and success. I am curious to see what lies ahead for the next generation, but I am also learning to pause and appreciate the successes that Allison and I can celebrate together with our family and team.
We are incredibly grateful to the people who nominated and selected our company for this recognition. Our next goal? To be recognized in the $100MM+ category in the near future!
Cheers to Team Arnold and the incredible LBM industry—a community full of amazing people we are proud to be a part of.”
