NORTHVILLE TWP. – After more than a century in its downtown Northville location, Northville Lumber Co. is moving to a brand new facility in Northville Township.
The new 72,000-square-foot store is scheduled to open Thursday, Jan. 2, at 51300 Five Mile Road.
The move was driven by the company's growth and the need for more efficient, larger spaces to meet increasing customer demand.
“The old place was a muddy little shoebox,” said Stewart Oldford, Jr., owner of Northville Lumber Co. “We were doing a volume of business there that no one foresaw, and there was a lot of trash in there.” Model. We were actually operating from four different locations, and now we’re bringing three of them together under one roof.”
The new facility covers an area of 22 hectares and is more than twice the size of the previous location of 9 hectares. The additional space will allow Northville Lumber to better serve its customers, particularly contractors, who make up a significant portion of its clientele.
“Our goal was to be able to do our job better,” Oldford said. “The community supports us and we just needed a bigger shoebox.”
A long story
Northville Lumber's heritage dates back to its founding as a grist mill in 1827. The company moved to its former downtown location in 1918 when Henry Ford purchased the original site to build a valve factory.
The company has been in the family for generations, with Oldford now in its fifth generation of ownership.
Although it was time for a move, the old location has significant sentimental value for Oldford, who said he has no immediate plans for the property but plans to get involved in future projects.
“It’s the last 12 acres of my family’s 320-acre farm,” he said. “In some ways it’s bittersweet, but I owe it to the people of Cabbagetown to do more than just sell it to a developer and then walk away.”
For now, his focus is on getting the new facility fully operational, he said.
Improved efficiency
The new facility consolidates Northville Lumber's operations into one location, streamlining logistics and improving customer service.
“We had three locations,” said Norm Fankell, marketing director for Northville Lumber, noting that Novi Home Design Center will continue to operate at its current location. “For example, maybe a small contractor came and in the meantime there were five semi-trucks backed up waiting. Now we have a huge facility where contractors with trailers can park, unload and load efficiently.”
The new warehouse and automated systems allow for faster and easier access to materials.
“For example, someone orders a pallet of Trex decking and we can roll it out immediately,” Fankell said. “It used to be one board at a time. The new efficiency is really huge for us.”
In addition to improved logistics, the new facility offers an expanded display of decking, siding and other building materials, allowing customers to “kick the tires” and take samples home.
The store also offers workshops and courses for contractors.
Both Oldford and Fankell emphasized that the company's success and ability to expand is due to the continued support of the community.
“None of this would have been possible without generations of residents of Northville and the surrounding area,” Oldford said. “We’re an independent lumberyard, and that’s a dying model. We’re lucky there’s a place for us here.”
Contact reporter Laura Colvin at lcolvin@hometownlife.com