Cluss Lumber buys Fox Glass
O.C. Cluss Lumber Co. has announced it has purchased Fox Glass Co. of Uniontown. The sale took effect June 1. The price was not disclosed.
“It’s a nice thing for us, a good, multi-trade deal. It will help us do a lot of things for our contractors, which we want to do,’ said Chris Cluss, O.C. Cluss Lumber Co. president and chief executive officer.
“Along with the purchase of Gallatin Plumbing Supply in 2005, (the addition of) Fox Glass enables O.C. Cluss to become a total multi-trade supplier to our professional customers,’ Cluss said.
“We are pleased that Jim Fox Jr. will remain as president of Fox and will be in charge of its day-to-day operations,’ he added.
Cluss said there are plans to expand Fox Glass, taking it from a western Pennsylvania company to a multi-state firm.
“Fox is a very good company but we have the territory. Right now, they (Fox Glass) are not selling in West Virginia or Maryland. Merging our customer list with theirs should afford us a larger opportunity. We are hoping to increase their business pretty quickly. A lot of that will come through our (Cluss Lumber) customer base,’ Cluss said.”
Cluss employs more than 400 people in the tri-state area.
O.C. Cluss Lumber expects to do about $125 million in sales this year and has its corporate offices and headquarters in Uniontown, where Otto Charles Cluss founded the company in 1918.
William M. Fox founded Fox Glass in 1922 and it has remained a family-run business through its history. Fox Glass specializes in commercial contract glazing and architectural aluminum in the tri-state area and has annual revenues in excess of $3 million. Fox Glass is one of the region’s largest architectural aluminum and glazing contractors, Cluss said.
“We are proud to join the O.C. Cluss Lumber family,’ Jim Fox Jr. said. “The corporate strength that Cluss provides gives us the ability to grow our core business.’
Fox added his firm “looks forward to the opportunity to offer commercial glazing to the entire list of O.C. Cluss customers throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland.
“With the combined capabilities of Cluss and Fox, we will be able to offer general contractors and professional builders a complete commercial package,’ Fox added.
Fox and Cluss said the entire 15-person crew at Fox Glass will remain with the company. Fox Glass also will continue to operate its current facility at 1205 Connellsville Road, Lemont Furnace.
O.C. Cluss is a privately held company owned by Chris Cluss, president and CEO; Charles B. Cluss, board chairman; and Michael Cluss, vice president.
The company incorporated in 1919 and O.C. Cluss was elected president and general manager, a position he held for 40 years.
In December 2005, Cluss Lumber announced its purchase of Gallatin Plumbing Supply of Uniontown and Bowlings Inc. of White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
Today, the Cluss company has locations in Greensburg and Center Township; Fairmont, Buckhannon, Beckley and Canaan Valley, W.Va.; and in Oakland, Md.
“Pro Sales’ magazine recently ranked O.C. Cluss Lumber 64th in the nation in sales volume. The company also has a co-op affiliation with Lumbermens Merchandising Corp.
In the 1960s, O.C. Cluss’ sons, John and Charles, and their brother-in-law, C.J. Barnes, established O.C. Cluss Lumber as a major supplier of construction and building materials in western Pennsylvania. In 1972, they opened a home center across from their old lumberyard in Uniontown.
In 1970, Charles’ sons began to join the company.
A second yard was opened in Greensburg in 1986, followed by a third facility in Aliquippa in 1990. In 1997, Cluss purchased Brown Lumber Yards in West Virginia with locations in Fairmont, Buckhannon and Summersville, W.Va. In late 1997, a modern $3 million pro-yard and distribution center was built in Pleasant Valley, W.Va., replacing the old Brown’s yard in Fairmont.
In November 2000, the Summersville operation was replaced with a new pro-yard distribution center in Beckley.
Cluss Lumber expanded into Maryland in June 2001 with the purchase of Fred E. Beachy Lumber. This acquisition added two more locations to the Cluss chain in Oakland, Md., and Canaan Valley, W.Va.
In 2002, Cluss opened its Cluss Professional Installed (CPI), an installed contractor service for their professional contractors. CPI installs framing, roofing, siding, insulation, gutter, millwork and other building materials for Cluss professional customers.
In September, Cluss built a $3.5 million pro-yard and door shop facility in Oakland, replacing the original facility.