Alexander Lumber Co. acquired by competitor

A competing chain announced it will acquire Alexander Lumber Co., a 130-year-old company with a store in Joliet.

R.P. Lumber said it was acquiring the rival chain last week and that the transaction will close on Dec. 3, but the terms of the deal were not disclosed, according to a news release.

Alexander Lumber operates a store at 100 Barney Drive in Joliet.

The future of the Joliet store was unclear as representatives from both companies and from the Alexander Lumber location in Joliet failed to respond to calls for comment Monday.

Alexander Lumber Co. specializes in building materials and hardware. The company had grown to operate locations in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa, and is headquartered in Aurora.

“As our family has grown and spread across the country, we’ve lost the cohesiveness and focus that previously enabled us to transition leadership from one generation to the next,” Watt Alexander, board chair of Alexander Lumber Co., said in a statement. “Once we decided it was time to make this change, our goal was to find another family-owned company – rather than a private-equity backed competitor – where business decisions affecting our people and our customers would be made for long-term goals, instead of cashing out every few years to redeem investors.”

R.P. Lumber is headquartered in Edwardsville and opened its first store in 1977. It has since grown throughout Illinois and into Missouri, Wyoming and Iowa.

“Alexander Lumber has always led by example,” Robert L. Plummer, president and CEO of R.P. Lumber said in a statement. “They are an industry giant with deep roots and a sterling reputation that has remained intact for decades.”

Alexander Lumber opened a store in Manhattan in the early 1900s next to the Wabash Railroad lines, according to The Herald-News archives. The company eventually moved its store to a property at Wabash and State streets in the village.

The store provided jobs for many locals and was an important business for area contractors. The property was sold to Manhattan Township in 2013 and is now where the township offices operate.