Building a Legacy
Tindell’s roots trace back to 1907, when Carl’s grandfather, Fate Tindell, began producing lumber via a steam-powered sawmill. The father of 16 children, Fate established his business by buying and cutting timber in Knox, Union, and Anderson counties, moving his sawmill from one timber tract to another. A ledger that Fate kept, which recorded the hours of his employees along with business transactions, remains in Carl’s office today.
By 1960, a second sales and supply center opened in nearby Maynardville as the company transitioned from a milling operation to a pro dealer. Carl Tindell joined the company at 21, following his father Francis’ death in 1964. It was under Carl’s watch that expansion began.
Tindell’s opened its Oak Ridge unit in 1972, and Carl bought out his brother Paul’s share of the business, becoming sole owner and president. By 1979, Tindell’s opened another location in LaFollette. The Maynardville facility and a Halls facility merged in the 1980s, an act that also marked the company’s initiation into installing garage doors.
Looking back, Carl views the early expansions as some of the most difficult decisions he made at that time. “Your first expansion is the toughest. You’ve got to let go some,” he says. Today, Carl limits his day-to-day oversight work. A retirement date is not set in stone, however, and there’s no grand countdown going on at the company.
Sponsoring local sports teams, including regional high school, Little League, and pee-wee squads, is a tradition at Tindell’s. Unlike Chico’s Bail Bonds in the Bad New Bears movie, you won’t spot a Tindell’s logo across a jersey. “Everyone sees that, and instead of being able to donate to several teams, you have 100 teams calling every year for sponsorships,” van Tilburg says.
Giving back to the communities that your business serves is a cornerstone of Tindell’s, a foundation that must be built and nurtured over time, according to Carl. “Being known in your community as a good corporate citizen is pretty valuable,” he says. “It’s a matter of what you want your company to be recognized as.”
Along with donations to causes and charities in each of the communities in which a Tindell’s branch sits, the company contributes to the United Way, and Carl sits on the boards of directors of St. Mary’s Hospital in Knoxville and the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, which provides low income housing to families in need. He also sits on the Knox County Public Building Authority board. Tindell’s donated materials to the St. Jude’s Dream Home Giveaway last year.
Across the industry, the Tindell name carries weight. Carl served as president of the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association in 1996, and is chairman of the LBM Institute. He also is a past board member the Southern Building Materials Association.
Van Tilburg served last year on the SBMA board, while McKinney serves as a liaison to the national association, in addition to serving on the board of the Independent Builders Supply Association and as chair of its forestry commission. “We contribute in more ways than one,” van Tilburg says. The SBMA named Tindell’s its 2007 Dealer of the Year.
In 2005, Tindell’s opened its latest location in Maryville, about 16 miles south of Knoxville. Although Maryville had been previously served by Tindell’s Oak Ridge location, it was a 45-minute trip each way.
The newest location gives Tindell’s a complete radius 80 miles around Knoxville. The facility also features a beefed-up, 5,000 square-foot millwork display–the best cabinet, door, and window display that the company has ever had, van Tilburg notes, essentially becoming Tindell’s first true showplace. Tindell’s continued to expand in 2006 with the acquisition of Robinson Building Center in Cleveland, Tenn., giving Tindell’s nearly a 100-mile reach in the state.
In the last 2-1/2; years, installed sales at Tindell’s have grown from $4.9 million to projections of $5.2 million for 2007 as of press time, accounting for approximately 8% of total sales. Steven Moore, general manager of Tindell’s installed sales division, is pushing for installed sales to account for 10% of Tindell’s overall sales in 2008. Although there are some retro renovation projects involved, 98% of the division’s sales are to new-home construction.
Nearly three years ago, the company brought Moore on board to run its installed sales arm. A 10-year veteran of Lowe’s as a corporate installed sales manager, Moore helped jump-start segments of Lowe’s national program. While challenged by the Mooresville, N.C.,-based big box chain’s leadership, that has not been the case at Tindell’s, Moore says.
“One of the biggest hurdles to overcome is getting upper management to buy into the concept of installed sales,” Moore said. “From Carl to Johan to Ed, everyone has bought into the concept here.”
Tindell’s employs 21 full-time personnel specifically for installed sales. The dealer offers insulation, exterior doors and windows, garage doors, fireplaces, and punch-out jobs–shelving, mirrors, locksets, bath hardware, and shower doors put into place at the end of a new home’s completion. While each installer specializes in a particular job, they all have been cross-trained at punch-out jobs. Tindell’s has offered garage door installation for 15 years, while last year it added doors and windows to the menu.
Moore says that installed sales not only adds value to the customer, “it helps us tie in tighter with our builders when we’re on the job.”
Don’t Miss the Fun
Carl has been catching up with van Tilburg when it comes to being a jet-setter. Each spring, Carl takes his best customers on a one-week vacation to a different global retreat. What started as incentive trip in the mid-1980s with 26 people on a cruise to the Bahamas has grown into a 215-person trip, including the company’s senior management, best customers, sales personnel, and spouses. With the help of a travel agent, Carl usually stakes out the destination in advance, scouting hotels, accommodations, and restaurants. Last year’s trip featured stops in Switzerland and Italy, and a cruise to the Caribbean is planned for this year.
A collection of rocks on display in Carl’s office includes a piece of the Berlin Wall, a rock from Pompeii, and ancient Roman cement. There is a story behind each piece. Joining the artifacts in the case is a large, blue jar of genuine Tennessee moonshine.
Fruits of the voyages are apparent in photos, taken by Carl, framed, and lining the walls of just about every Tindell’s location. Carl says he picked up the idea on a trip to Maine, deciding he could do the same to spruce up his buildings.
“This is quality time with your best customers,” Carl says. “You usually know more about your bad customers than you do about your good customers.”
And in Carl’s estimation, it’s not all sales and profits and acquisitions. “You ought to have fun when you are building a business,” he says. “If you keep running to see how much money you can make, you’re going to miss out on the fun.”
