Abenaki was started in the early 80's by Bob and Steve French with a $50,000.00 line of credit from an optimistic banker. Although the father and son team didn’t always agree, they agreed on the big things – improving the hardwood lumber buying experience and improving lumber quality and consistency.
With Bob’s 40 years of experience and lots of ideas on how to improve what had been the family business for four generations, they were off and running and have never looked back. After a brief stint in the sawmill end of the business and some other experimentation, a divestiture and reorganization in 1996 resulted in a new focus on our core business and the emergence of a team of employee stockholders including Steve French, Jon Mahoney and Eric Porter.
The Epping, New Hampshire yard was built and the Belington, West Virginia yard was completely upgraded. Newman, Sanborn, SII equipment have been a considerable part of our success and we are proud to offer lumber from each location.
With Bob’s 40 years of experience and lots of ideas on how to improve what had been the family business for four generations, they were off and running and have never looked back. After a brief stint in the sawmill end of the business and some other experimentation, a divestiture and reorganization in 1996 resulted in a new focus on our core business and the emergence of a team of employee stockholders including Steve French, Jon Mahoney and Eric Porter.
The Epping, New Hampshire yard was built and the Belington, West Virginia yard was completely upgraded. Newman, Sanborn, SII equipment have been a considerable part of our success and we are proud to offer lumber from each location.