Christensen Lumber, Inc. has been serving the construction industry for more than 80 years. Purchased in 1923 by Alfred Christensen and his partner, Robert Luehrs, the business was originally known as Luehrs-Christensen Lumber & Coal Company. In 1943, Alfred bought out his partner and the company was eventually renamed Christensen Lumber Company.
Alfred’s son, David, took over as CEO when his father retired. David held the position for many years until his own son, Tom, took over as CEO. His daughter, Diane, is also involved in the family business – working in marketing and human resources.
Since Christensen Lumber opened its doors for business it has grown and gone through many changes. Today, all departments of the business are housed in one location in Fremont, Nebraska. However, a showroom in Omaha was also opened since a majority of their work is done in that area. The showroom features interactive window and door displays along with many other materials used in building a home.
Providing Industry-Leading Technology
The newest addition to their building materials line-up is a components manufacturing plant. This 40,500 square foot plant has been open since the beginning of the year and produces high quality floor and roof trusses and wall panels for residential, commercial and agricultural buildings. These engineered components bring Christensen Lumber into the age of automation and are manufactured from top quality lum-ber in a controlled environment to precise industry standards. Computer-controlled saws ensure the building components meet specific design and building needs. In addition, a computer-controlled jigging system guarantees trusses are built to exact specifications. What does this mean for Christensen Lumber customers? This state-of-the-art technology allows Christensen Building Components to competitively build any job – saving their customers time and money.
The Right Equipment for the Job
Christensen Lumber has been turning to NMC for material handling equipment since 2003. After researching other competitive brands, the lumber company found they received better performance and overall savings with CAT and Princeton equipment. The service through NMC was also what they were looking for. “NMC will go out in the field to do the repair work – that’s a big plus for us,” said Shannon Morrissey of Christensen Lumber.
With two CAT forklifts and five Princeton machines, the lumber com-pany feels the material handling equipment gives them an edge over their competition. According to Shannon, “The equipment makes a big difference. We don’t have damaged products and materials going out and they provide efficient delivery. We can put the products exactly where the customers want them.”
Materials used to be delivered by truck to the job site. The customer then had to move the products to where the work was being done. By using the truck-mounted forklifts from NMC, the drivers are able to deliver the materials wherever the customer wants them – quickly and safely even over the roughest ground.
With positive buying experiences and great service, Shannon would recommend NMC to other businesses. “I feel I need to be treated fairly in business and that’s what I get with NMC. It’s a partnership between NMC and Christensen Lumber – and it works well,” said Shannon.
Now in its third generation, Christensen Lumber is looking forward to serving the construction industry for years to come. The company truly does do it all – from providing customers with high quality lumber and windows to building materials, building components, mill work and unmatched delivery services. They strive to be the best customer service driven supplier of building materials.
Published in The Connection volume 2 Issue 2
