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$200,000 per month to approximately $500,000 per month.
During 1973, Lone Star Industries (Lone Star), which was
then the largest producer of cement in the Western Hemisphere and
which was looking to diversify itself, acquired Cooper Lumber and
retained Mr. Ruf to manage that business. Upon joining Lone
Star, Mr. Ruf held the title "sales manager" and eventually
became president of its home center operations. After acquiring
Cooper Lumber, Lone Star purchased a number of distressed com-
panies in the lumberyard and home center businesses that achieved
economic success under its management. Generally, the companies
that Lone Star purchased were similarly situated to Cooper
Lumber; that is to say, they were companies that were having
difficulty changing from boom-market lumberyards to retail home
centers. During 1979, Lone Star decided to sell its home center
business to four different companies.
Instead of working for one of the companies that purchased
Lone Star's home center business, during 1979, Mr. Ruf decided to
acquire another distressed home center company, Sunset Builders
Supply (Sunset). At that time, Sunset was operating three
stores, one of which was located in Los Angeles and the other two
of which were located in San Diego, California, and in Arizona.
When Mr. Ruf became the owner of Sunset, he sold the two stores
not located in Los Angeles and took over all responsibilities for
the remaining store, including merchandising, day-to-day opera-
tions, and finances.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011