Quality Wholesale Building Products Inc.

When Randall Wright, now president of Quality Wholesale Building Products Inc. (QBP), answered a job advertisement in the local paper in 1968 he never imagined it would land him a 45 yearlong career. “I was just looking for a job, so I responded to the ad,” he recounts. “The job was with Georgia Pacific, a pulp and paper manufacturing company based in Atlanta and I started working in distribution. From there, 14 years later I went into warehousing and then, in 1987, I started my own company.”

In 1987, Wright formed QBP and over the past 27 years the company has faithfully served lumber yards and large industrial accounts from St. Louis to Little Rock, Ark., Fort Collins, Colo., to Maryland Heights, Mo. Today, QBP has multiple locations, included two affiliate distribution centers in Little Rock and Fort Collins to allow the company to better serve the Midwest and Southeastern U.S.

Quality products baked by a quality team

“We employ approximately 50 people across all locations,” shares Wright. “We purchased the Maryland Heights facility a few years back, but it had been in business for well over 30 years. They specialize in more industrial building products.”

Wright says QBP strives to meet customers’ needs by providing a large assortment of specialty building materials in addition to many commodity items. “We’ve built our business on providing premium building materials and excellent service to our customers and our people have some of the most experience in the industry,” he assures. “Some of the people that work for us now, started with us and it’s the people that make a major difference here.”

Industry-leading products

QBP covers a range of specific building materials and commodity goods, from framing lumber all the way to the roof. The company stocks any number of hardwoods, fiberboards, paneling, particle board, plywood, siding, strips, studs, insulation and much more.

“We’re a Tamko roofing distributor and a Hardie plank supplier; we’re really known for these brands, you could say they’re synonymous with QBP,” says Wright. Vertically integrated Tamko, has been in the building materials industry since 1944. Today, Tamko stocks a full line of residential and commercial roofing and decks and railings and QBP is proud to be affiliated with Tamko.

The latest and greatest

QBP is excited to announce several new additions to its extensive product line, including Trupan Ultralight panels and energy efficient Roseburg Skyblend particleboard. Trupan Ultralight is manufactured using 100 percent fresh pine fiber, forming a lightweight, workable panel with a light, uniform color.

Trupan Ultralight panels have an average density of 32 pounds-per-cubic-foot with 220 grit sand, achieving an ultra-smooth, ultralight surface, reducing transportation costs. Available in up to two-inches thick, Trupan Ultralight is ideal for a wide variety of furniture and decorative applications, including mouldings, picture frames, doors, lamination substrate, display fixtures and CNC spoilboards.

QBP is also launching SkyBlend particle board, Roseburg’s renowned ECC Certified 100 percent recycled or recovered wood fiber particleboard engineered to meet today’s green building requirements. “It is produced with an Ultra-Low Emitting Formaldehyde (ULEF) resin system. SkyBlend is FSC Certified and can contribute to achieving credit in both the LEED 2009 and LEED version 4 standards. SkyBlend is listed in the USDA’s BioPreferred catalog and has Federal Procurement Preference status,” reads Roseburg’s website.

Aside from reaching green building standards, SkyBlend’s composite wood panels also focus on strict indoor air quality standards, complying with the LEED standards for low-emitting materials. SkyBlend is a premium-quality, mat-formed, multilayer wood particle panel and is available as raw board or can be specified as a core for Roseburg Decorative Panels.

High quality products such as Trupan Ultralight and SkyBlend particle board, along with a knowledgeable workforce to support them makes QBP a trusted supplier. “Sales, revenue and margins are obvious indicators of success, but customer satisfaction is what really drives it all,” assures Wright.

QBP’s reputation for customer satisfaction has allowed the company to pull through some of the slowest years on record. “2007 was a record high year, then 2008 and 2009 were record lows,” shares Wright. “We’re a commodity-oriented business, so as the economy goes down, so does our business, but things are building up again and I’m confident in the growth and feel really good about it.”

In the near future, Wright says he aims to increase the company’s market share, product line and customers, keeping to the same quality standards as years past. For Quality Wholesale Building Products Inc., quality is more than just a name, it’s the standard.