A Bond Of Ownership – After 94 years, HPM Building Supply continues to evolve and innovate.
Hawaii-based HPM Building Supply has provided the comprehensive building blocks of development to customers for more than 90 years. Even with 2,500 miles of Pacific Ocean separating it from the rest of the U.S., the company has never allowed distance to hamper its expansion and innovation.
“Although we are 94 years old, we are a progressive organization,” says Jason Fujimoto, senior vice president and COO of HPM Building Supply. “We are about continuous improvement and taking advantage of technology, including all the power and tools it can provide in helping us evolve as a business and in helping us support our employees and customers.”
Like most dealers throughout the U.S., adjustments, compromise and a unique way of thinking have carried HPM Building Supply over hurdles caused by a wavering economy. “Just like other businesses, we experienced a very severe recession and retraction in our construction industry,” Jason says.
Home building plummeted throughout Hawaii, changing the former success of the business, explains Mike Fujimoto, president and CEO of HPM Building Supply. “Building permits on the Big Island [Hawaii Island] were at about $80 million a month in residential single family homes in 2006. That number dropped to approximately $15 million in 2010.”
In 2011, HPM Building Supply made the decision to invest in strategic growth, including a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. “We spent significant dollars at the bottom of the recession to invest in our technology infrastructure,” Jason adds. “We are now on BisTrack by Epicor; we really feel it’s the leading system in our industry.”
With heavy investment in all aspects of the company—including its employees and the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)—HPM Building Supply has seen consecutive double-digit growth throughout the past three years.