Mohler Lumber & Building Materials Adapts and Grows

After more than a century of business, Mohler Lumber & Building Materials is continuing its legacy of providing quality service and materials to Northeastern Ohio.

The company was founded in 1911 by the Mohler brothers, who first operated the business by delivering lumber via horse-drawn wagon and ultimately helping build the foundation of Stark County, Ohio. For generations, the company remained with the Mohler family, until the early 2000s when Jeff and Jenn Peck became owners.

While the operators of the business may have changed, the Pecks said they are committed to keeping the spirit and the history of the Mohler family alive by keeping the name of the company intact. The couple has even hired their children, Meghan and Carter, to the team, adding to the family aspect of the business. “We feel like we are the stewards of the Mohler family and it’s important for us to appreciate their legacy,” Jenn said.

Now with two locations—one in North Canton and another in Brunswick—the company has long been partnered with True Value and has worked to make Mohler Lumber a one-stop shop for builders and homeowners in the area by creating not only a well-stocked inventory, but a welcoming atmosphere.

“We’ve worked really hard to evolve the business from kind of an old school lumberyard to more of a modern lumber and building materials dealer, as well as establishing ourselves as a full-blown residential hardware store,” Jeff said.

Adapting through diversification

One major change the Pecks have made over the years has been differentiating themselves from the local competition by going the extra mile, the couple said. “We’re a full-service lumberyard as well as a full-service hardware store, and that’s rather a bit of a rarity in the business,” Jeff said, pointing out that there isn’t much crossover from lumberyard to hardware store in his market. “We really bring the whole package to the table, and that makes us different.”

The company sells a wide range of building materials from flooring, windows, and doors to roofing and custom trusses. Additionally, the business also has an on-site mill shop, specializing in hardwood, cedar, and other hard-to-find products, the Pecks said.

“Special orders are something we excel at; if a customer needs something, we will find it,” Jeff said. “And for other things specific to the lumber side of the business, we’re not about low-quality products at a cheap price. The legs that we stand on are quality and service. We have quality lumber at a good price and the best service around.”

After the Pecks became owners of the business, it wasn’t always smooth sailing. From issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, to later supply chain challenges, keeping the stores stocked was difficult to navigate, the couple said. However, the Pecks took those challenges as opportunities not only to create a stronger business during those times, but for the future as well.

“We have, over the years, built a huge network of auxiliary suppliers, so we were able to keep ourselves better stocked compared to a lot of our peers,” Jeff said. “COVID forced us to develop a much larger network of suppliers, and we’ve stuck with that. We have backup after backup, and alternative suppliers for products that the others don’t stock. We’ve broadened our product offerings, and on the lumber side of the business we’ve really expanded our network of LBM suppliers.”

“I think that because we were flexible and quick to react, we saved our business from potential missed sales and lost revenue, because we were able to quickly fill the gap and keep our inventory levels, both in the store and in the lumberyard, at the levels we needed,” Jenn said.

In addition to diversifying suppliers, the Pecks have also worked hard to broaden and deepen their customer relationships. “We cater to everyone—home builders, industrial, commercial, as well as residential folks in the lumberyard—but we’re really focusing much more on our commercial and industrial business. A homebuilder builds a house one time, whereas our industrial business is continuous business, 52 weeks a year, regardless of weather and other environmental issues.”

Forging ahead with Do it Best

In the near future, the company plans to remodel its North Canton store and is looking to continue growing, especially as a new member of Do it Best.

When news broke in 2024 that Do it Best would acquire True Value, saving the brand from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Pecks began the transition process with dozens of other businesses across the U.S. and quickly found a number of advantages to Do it Best’s expanded team and services.

“We’ve always been very happy with the relationship with True Value; [however] they weren’t as strong in the lumber and building materials aspect of the business we’d built through some of our lumber vendors,” Jeff said. “And now transitioning to Do it Best, we’re still a True Value branded hardware store, and we’re getting to know the ins and outs of Do it Best’s LBM team, the lumber traders and such. I was just blown away by the depth and experience of that side of their operation, and it’s been nothing but a good experience for us. It’s almost like we were missing support for half our business and now we’re complete.”

Get to know Mohler Lumber & Building Materials

Year founded: 1911
Ownership: Family
Number of employees: 40
Locations: 2
Co-op/buying group: Do it Best / True Value
ERP software: ECI Spruce