About BlueLinx Holdings

BlueLinx Holdings Inc. (BlueLinx) operates as a wholesale distributor of residential and commercial building products in the United States. The company is a ‘two-step’ distributor. Two-step distributors purchase products from manufacturers and distribute those products to dealers and other suppliers in local markets, who then sell those products to end users. The company carries a broad portfolio of both branded and private-label stock keeping units (‘SKUs’) across two principal product categories: specialty products and structural products. Specialty products include items, such as engineered wood, siding, millwork, outdoor living, specialty lumber and panels, and industrial products. Structural products include items, such as lumber, plywood, oriented strand board, rebar, and remesh. The company also provides a wide range of value-added services and solutions aimed at relieving distribution and logistics challenges for the company’s customers and suppliers, while enhancing their marketing and inventory management capabilities. The company has a strong market position and a broad geographic coverage footprint servicing all 50 states. The company operates its business from 66 warehouse and office facilities, allowing the company to serve 75 percent of the highest growth metropolitan statistical areas as it relates to forecasted housing starts and repair and remodel spend. With the strength of a locally focused sales force, the company distributes a comprehensive range of products from over 750 suppliers. The company’s suppliers include some of the leading manufacturers in the industry, such as Allura, Arauco, Fiberon, Georgia-Pacific, Huber Engineered Woods, Louisiana-Pacific, Oldcastle APG, Ply Gem, Roseburg, Royal and Weyerhaeuser. The company supplies products to a broad base of customers, including national home centers, pro dealers, cooperatives, specialty distributors, regional and local dealers and industrial manufacturers. Many of the company’s customers serve residential and commercial builders, contractors and remodelers in their respective geographic areas and local markets. Strategy The company remains committed to driving a culture of profitable growth within new and existing product lines and geographies, while positioning the company for long-term value creation. The key elements of the company’s strategy are to migrate sales mix toward higher-margin specialty product categories; foster a performance-driven culture committed to business excellence and profitable growth to be the provider of choice for suppliers and customers; and pursue strategic investments that increase the value of the company. During 2022, the company consummated the acquisition of Vandermeer Forest Products, Inc. (‘Vandermeer’), which aligns to the company’s specialty products strategy, established a meaningful growth platform in the Pacific Northwest, increased market penetration in key specialty product categories, and strengthened strategic supplier relationships. A distribution facility and real estate located in Spokane, Washington were acquired in this transaction. The company distributes products in two principal categories: specialty products and structural products. Specialty products include primarily engineered wood, siding, millwork, outdoor living, specialty lumber and panels, and industrial products. In some cases, these products are branded by the company. Structural products include lumber, plywood, oriented strand board, rebar, and remesh and other wood products primarily used for structural support in construction projects. The company’s structural products are commodity products. The company also provides a wide range of value-added services and solutions to its customers and suppliers, including providing ‘less-than-truckload’ delivery services; pre-negotiated program pricing plans; inventory stocking; automated order processing through an electronic data interchange, or ‘EDI,’ that provides a direct link between the company and its customers; intermodal distribution services, including railcar unloading and cargo reloading onto customers’ trucks; milling and fabrication services; and backhaul services, when otherwise empty trucks are returning from customer deliveries. Distribution Channels The company sells products through three main distribution channels, consisting of warehouse sales, reload sales, and direct sales. Warehouse sales, which generate the majority of the company’s sales, are delivered from its warehouses to the company’s customers. Reload sales are similar to warehouse sales but are shipped from non-warehouse locations, most of which are operated by third parties, where the company stores owned products to enhance operating efficiencies. Seasonality The company is exposed to fluctuations in quarterly sales volumes and expenses due to seasonal factors common in the building products distribution industry, such as weather conditions and other seasonal factors. The first and fourth quarters (year ended December 2023) are typically the company’s lower volume quarters due to the impact of unfavorable weather on the residential repair and remodel and residential new home construction markets. The company’s second and third quarters are typically its higher volume quarters, reflecting an increase in repair and remodel and residential new home construction, due to more favorable weather conditions. Governmental Regulations The company is subject to the requirements of the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (‘OSHA’). The U.S. Department of Transportation (‘DOT’) regulates the company’s operations in domestic interstate commerce. The company is subject to safety requirements governing interstate operations prescribed by DOT. The company is also subject to the oversight of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (‘FMCSA’). Competition Three of the company’s largest competitors are Boise Cascade Company, Weyerhaeuser Company, and Specialty Building Products. History BlueLinx Holdings Inc. was founded in 2004. The company was incorporated in 2004.