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Hammond Lumber acquires Dexter Supply

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Dexter Supply, located on the Wilton Road, has been acquired by Hammond Lumber Company.
Dexter Supply, located on the Wilton Road, has been acquired by Hammond Lumber Company.

WILTON – A local lumber and hardware store has been purchased by Hammond Lumber, with the company announcing it intends to continue to operate out of the Wilton Road location.

Dexter Supply, which originally opened in the basement of the health center in Strong before moving to its location on Wilton Road/Routes 2 & 4 in Wilton, ceased operations effective on Monday. The 20-year-old company’s orders and quotes would be honored by Hammond Lumber, co-owner Kelly Dexter said, adding the decision to sell the company was a tough one.

“This was an extremely difficult decision for us but, as I’m sure everyone knows, the last several years have been very trying in the building supply business,” Kelly Dexter said in a letter released on Monday.

Hammond Lumber Company, with its headquarters in Belgrade, currently operates locally out of its location in Farmington on the Farmington Falls Road. The Dexter Supply location represents the 13th store for Hammond, which began in 1953 as a three-man sawmill and entered the retail building supply business in 1967.

Most of the employees of Dexter Supply, owned by Kelly and Jennifer Dexter, had worked for the business all of their working lives. Hammond is currently interviewing those Dexter Supply employees who would like to transition to Hammond Lumber.

“These are very knowledgeable people,” noted Mike Hammond, vice president at Hammond Lumber, “and we’re looking forward to welcoming them into our company.”

Hammond added that the former Dexter facility will run in tandem with Hammond Lumber’s Farmington location, and its manager, Al Feather, will oversee both operations.

Hammond’s other stores are located in Auburn, Bangor, Belgrade, Boothbay Harbor, Brunswick, Damariscotta, Fairfield, Greenville, Pemaquid, Portland and Skowhegan. More information about Hammond Lumber can be found at www.hammondlumber.com.

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12 Comments

  1. Kelly, it was a pleasure doing business with you. There is something to be said about store owners who never forget that customer service is priority one. You always went the extra mile for those who remained loyal customers even when times were tough. Good luck with your next endeavor as I’m sure you will find something to keep you busy.

  2. This one caught me a bit off guard. I have purchased building materials from Kelly for every one of those 20 years and have always been more than satisfied with his excellent customer service. He was particularly generous with his favorable “deals” on quantities of materials when I was managing the housing rehab program for Mission at the Eastward. I am happy to read that Hammond will keep the Wilton operation going and sincerely hope this new arrangement works out for everyone involved.

  3. Good luck and you will be missed! I agree with Drew that there is something to be said about store owners who never forget that customer service is priority one!!

  4. Dexter Supply was a huge help to me when I built my house!!! They were a small store at that point in Strong, and everything was supplied by Kelly and his employees.. Thanks very much Kelly for all the times you went above and beyond what you needed to. You will missed greatly!!

  5. its great to here that they can expand .. but we really need competition here bad enough grocery are getting higher and gas prices as well now we will be paying higher in building supply’s.. so we need a lowel’s or a home depot .. wake up farmington go to your town meetings bring some good here we cant get any poorer mainers cant even afford to skii here , we have to count on outter staters to come !!!!!!! really..

    (just sayings)

  6. Welcome to East Wilton! Great to see a local business invest in our community and workforce. Kelly, Melinda, Rick, Scott and Jen its been a pleasure doing business with you for the past 20 yrs. Dexter Building Supply was top notch because of you. Wish you all the best

  7. @Tax Payer

    Bringing in a big box store like Home Depot or Lowes would certainly drive down prices, for about two years. Then when they run out all the small business owners (Farmers Union, Hammond, Robins Flower Pot etc.) the prices will skyrocket.

    Big box stores are not the answer.

  8. Curious:
    you’re wrong. Big box home and building supply stores are national. Their prices are therefore set to be competitive nationally. There may be some minor local differences in the price of some items, usually based on shipping costs, but those prices are still competitive with the local suppliers.
    They also have the advantage of being open longer hours and more days. Better selection and larger quantities.

    When the big box stores came to Maine they made a huge dent in the inflated building supply prices that were being charged.

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