Top 100 Legend Award: After 75 years, Teague still building Fort Worth

Teague Lumber

Teague Lumber Co.

2501 White Settlement Road

Fort Worth 76107

817-332-8393

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http://teaguelumber.net/

Jim Teague, owner

Many family-owned businesses have struggled to hang on through the many changes and challenges in the retail industry.

But Teague Lumber Co.’s tenacity has kept the company thriving for 75 years, despite challenges that include competition from Big Box retailers, Mother Nature and lingering construction detours.

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“We’re still a real lumberyard,” said owner Jim Teague. “We pride ourselves on good service, quality products and materials and attention to customer loyalty.”

Teague, 85, was 10 years old when his father, R.J. Teague, opened the business in 1944 at 2501 White Settlement Road. The elder Teague had worked at a lumberyard when he was a teen but then went to work for Sinclair Oil Refinery.

Eventually, R.J. Teague decided he wanted to own his own business, so he went back to what he already knew.

Growing up on Fort Worth’s Northside, Jim Teague spent a lot of youth hanging around the lumberyard.

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“I grew up in the business and learned everything by doing all the jobs,” Teague said.

Five years after Teague Lumber opened, the devastating flood of 1949 nearly destroyed it.

“There was 16 feet of flood water that inundated the business and destroyed all the inventory,” Teague said. Nevertheless, his father decided to start over in the same location.

Teague began working full-time in the family business after finishing high school. He worked during the day and attended classes at Texas Christian University in the evening.

In time, he took over running the company. Yet, R.J. Teague continued to come by until shortly before his death in 2011 at nearly 100 years old.

Although retailers like Home Depot and Lowe’s sell similar products, Teague Lumber takes pride in offering hard-to-find products and providing design assistance and other services.

Besides lumber, Teague sells a variety of building products, including doors, windows, siding and trim.

Although other businesses on White Settlement Road have been hampered by the ongoing construction of one of the three Panther Island bridges, Teague said his business has not been as affected since the customers, mainly custom homebuilders, will make the effort to get there.

“I’ve trusted Teague Lumber Co. as a supplier for 35 years,” according to a testimonial on Teague’s website from homebuilder David Lewis. “I could buy my building materials anywhere but they deliver seasoned expertise and client service that’s unparalleled.”

Teague, who is now semi-retired, his nephews and other family members, including Paul Teague, Randy Stogsdill and Stephanie Gilley, continue to lead the company.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Teague continues to stop by the business regularly to greet customers, take deposits to the bank and confer with estimators and salespeople on architectural plans and estimates.

– Marice Richter

When was your company founded?

September 1944

Type of business?

Lumber and building materials supplier

Number of employees?

21

What differentiates your company from others?

We pride ourselves in being able to locate hard-to-find items that most of our competitors rarely attempt to find. We also offer complete material takeoffs at no charge, as well as providing design assistance. Our knowledgeable team has a combined total of 350-plus years of experience in the lumber industry. Our service is well-known throughout the industry.

The business climate is changing rapidly. What do you foresee as challenges?

Taxes, including state, local and federal: zoning regulations and access to labor.

If you could make one and only change in the present business climate, what would it be and why?

Education and training for the workforce in order to maintain quality craftsmen and skilled workers required to face the challenges now and in the future.

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