Maui firm buys
MidPac Lumber Co.
The slow isle economy
By Peter Wagner
helped prompt the move
Star-BulletinLongtime Honolulu wholesaler MidPac Lumber Co. is to be absorbed by a Maui building supply company, a move prompted by Hawaii's slow economy and competition from large mainland operators.
Newly formed CGBN Inc., an offshoot of CG Investments, is to acquire majority interest in MidPac privately held stock in a transaction scheduled to close today.
CG Investments owns Maui Home Supply, a wholesale/retail company with stores in Kahului and Lahaina since 1995.
Kurt Glassman, chairman of CGBN, said the deal will allow the two companies to join forces to adjust to Hawaii's changing economic landscape.
"We're local businessmen that believe what we're experiencing in Hawaii is just part of the natural business cycle," Glassman said. "The consolidation is part of that business evolution."
Officials at MidPac would not comment on the pending deal.
Glassman said MidPac is to keep its name and continue to operate at Mapunapuna, with a new emphasis on retail sales. Founded in 1956, MidPac long ago abandoned its retail roots to concentrate on wholesaling to contractors. The company in 1963 sold MidPac Hawaii, a subsidiary that operated six retail outlets.
The company then cited a need to specialize rather than divide efforts between retail and wholesale.
Under the pending consolidation, MidPac is to open a store in Kahului, on the 10-acre site occupied by Maui Home Supply.
The Maui company, which competes with Eagle Hardware, has a 150,000-square-foot store in Kahului. The largest Whirlpool distributor in the state, the company plans to add appliances to MidPac's inventory.
Glassman would not say how the consolidation would affect MidPac's 108 employees, saying only "there will be changes."
He noted existing labor agreements will be honored.
Glassman said the pending consolidation is a positive sign for Hawaii's struggling economy.
"In every industry in the state you're seeing consolidations, whether its banking or wholesale or retail," he said. "We believe that by combining forces we'll be in a better position to compete and to offer better services to our customers."
