It’s a common refrain from LBM employees that they found their way to the industry by accident, but Jason Trimpe pursued his first job in LBM with purpose. Now, he says, “15 years have flown by.”
One of Trimpe’s titles is branch safety coordinator, but he describes his specialty as the guy who keeps things running. “I really found a niche in LBM, in that there’s always a guy that’s necessary to keep things running smoothly to take care of the finer details. Taking care of things behind the scenes—I’m good at that stuff.”
Working multiple jobs at different locations has given Trimpe a broad view of the industry and its evolution. With older owners and managers retiring or selling their businesses, new blood is in high demand. Millennials are a key way to fill those positions, but Trimpe has one word of advice for those eager young employees: patience. “There’s definitely an older section of guys that are starting to move on and I think there’s a lot of opportunity,” he says. “The industry is changing rapidly. A lot of it is going to be on the ground floor and having the aptitude or the desire to move up.”
As for the old guard that remains, Trimpe thinks it’s time to look beyond just having a website. There’s potential for growth online, and if an executive doesn’t want to engage on those platforms, it’s time to hire someone who will. “It’s [about] coming to terms and admitting finally, ‘I don’t have the knowledge,’” he says. “Bring on a computer system operator. I think there are some that are bringing that new crowd in. It just needs to happen quicker to maximize the potential.”
