Southeast South Dakota Rough Sawn Lumber has been a hallmark spot for local woodworking aficionados, home-renovation teams and construction companies for the past several years. As of this July, though, the location looks a bit different.
SE SD Rough Sawn Lumber, now doing business as Lennox Lumber Co., has expanded in several ways this year, from moving to bigger facilities on one property to adding more services.
On July 10, the business opened its new 9,000-square-foot warehouse and 4,600-square-foot showroom, which is more than three times the size of the former warehouse and about double the size of the previous showroom.
“Landwise, we didn’t really change much,” owner Chris DeHaan said. “We just have a better design, and we just have more room because of the design, but it’s allowing us to go through and really capitalize on what we’re able to do now.”
Prior to the move, the showroom was on DeHaan’s property, and the warehouse was a mile away on a few acres of land that he rented. But the operation started in DeHaan’s garage in 2016 before he and his wife built a new facility on the property in 2018.
“That was never planned to be the final resting spot for the business,” DeHaan said. “We’ve always wanted to have everything in one location, so basically we had to use it as a stepping stone in order to allow the business to become more well known and be able to do the growth.”
When it came time to choose a new location, DeHaan said it was never a question that he would stay in Lennox. He and his wife moved to the area in 2013 from northwest Iowa and fell in love with the community.
“It reminds me of home, of where I was originally from, just with a different vibe,” DeHaan said. “I’m very, very pleased to be here. I’m very pleased to be part of the community, and I’m glad to be invested into the community as well.”
After seven years of serving customers from the Lennox community, the business has grown in more ways than its location.
“We’ve really branched more into the lumber yard division,” DeHaan said. “That’s really where we’re setting a lot of our focus right now, mainly just because there just wasn’t a lumber yard in the area.”
With more and more houses being built in the area, such as the Countryside Addition in north Lennox, and many people seeking lumber in surrounding towns, DeHaan said Lennox Lumber Co. saw an opportunity to bring a lumber yard back to the area.
Outside of the lumber yard, Lennox Lumber Co. offers custom milling, in which a customer can bring a log to the new location, and the company will mill it to lumber. The business also sells more than 25 species of exotic woods — and is one of the only places in the surrounding area to do so — in addition to materials such as fencing and composite decking.
Customers can visit the business on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. or on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon.
With new businesses steadily joining the community, DeHaan said he is happy to be a part of Lennox’s growth.
“Any resources that can be sourced locally will at least help to bring in tax dollars for growth,” DeHaan said. “Any growth that we have will hopefully lighten the tax burden on the community.”
Another way in which DeHaan hopes to facilitate that growth is through moving trucks. As announced this August, Lennox Lumber Co. is now a registered U-Haul dealer, allowing the business to offer services to communities outside of Lennox, such as Sioux Falls, Parker and Viborg.
As Lennox Lumber Co. prepares for the future, DeHaan said it is still in the “very early stages.”
“We have a ton to learn. I’m not denying that,” DeHaan said. “But we’re gonna give it our all, and we’re gonna do what we can in order to be the best in the area.”
Part of that goal includes helping his community in any way DeHaan can, a value he said he has held since the beginning of the business.
“If you called me up today and said, ‘Hey, Chris, can you get this?’ If I can get it, I’ll get it,” DeHaan said. “And I’m going to do what I can to provide you with the best quality and service that I can in order to prove that I am one of the best in the area.”
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