Family Affair

Fabric of the Community That team and community spirit also helped Jackson rebound from a warehouse fire in September 1992 that caused more than $400,000 worth of damage. When a short circuit in a truck engine ignited a door and flames spread to the roof, more than 40 local firemen responded and were able to put out the blaze in 20 minutes. Immediately afterward, local businesses, including a general contractor and Jackson Lumber’s insurance company, rallied to help rebuild and completely restock the entire warehouse in a mere six weeks.

That year also marked the beginning of Jackson Lumber’s economic rebound, and since that time, the company has grown back to its former size, now with 172 employees and three locations, and a refocused customer mix of 90 percent pro sales, 6 percent retail business, and 4 percent commercial accounts. The headquarters on Market Street now includes a 5,000-square-foot kitchen and bath design center, 40,000 square feet of under-cover warehouse space, a 30,000-square-foot interior millwork operation, and a four-year-old DuPont Corian fabrication shop.

In 2000, the company added its second location by purchasing Harvey Lumber Co., a two-acre yard in nearby Haverhill, Mass. Two years later, Jackson Lumber purchased a 22-acre site north of Lawrence in Raymond, N.H., and began construction on its third location, which is comprised of a 36,000-square-foot rack-supported structure from Sunbelt Material Handling and a 26,000-square-foot building that houses exterior door and window production and distribution. Al Torrisi’s nephew Joe Torrisi, who is vice president in charge of mill-work and manufacturing for the entire company, oversees millwork production at the new yard.

Founded in 1946, Jackson Lumber has grown from a single 15,000-square-foot location with five employees to $60 million in annual sales from three locations, including a drive-through yard in Lawrence (top). With his goal on target to catapult Jackson Lumber from $48.2 million in sales in 2003 to $60 million this year, Al Torrisi says this business expansion never would have been possible without a supportive staff, a culture that ingrains him and the company’s employees in the fabric of the community and the industry, and the tenacity to fight for not just the company but also the people who make it great in the first place. “I gained my strength from my father,” he says. “He was still coming into the office in the late ’80s and early ’90s, and I made up my mind then, when the world seemed like it was crashing around us, that I was not going to give anybody the opportunity to close down this business.

“If you don’t have the strength to fight, it’s easy to get beaten down in life,” Torrisi continues. “If you fight with all the fortitude that you possibly have within you, you can survive and prosper.”

Vital Statistics Company: Jackson Lumber & Millwork

Year founded: 1946

Headquarters: Lawrence, Mass.

Number of locations: 3

Number of employees: 172

2004 gross sales: Approx. $60 million

Pro sales percentage: 90 percent

Public Service Report Card A+ Al Torrisi