National Industrial Lumber Company (NILCO) began in 1909. Robert D. Hoag purchased the assets of the company in 1936. The company remains family owned.

Today, NILCO has eight locations with addition of Weyerhaeser in Louisville, Kentucky. NILCO has been fortunate to have a diverse customer mix in two areas of focus:

1.Customers that need Industrial lumber products.
2.Contractors and Lumber Dealers that buy and sell specialty wholesale building products that are green, beautiful, durable and maintenance free like Bluwood and James Hardie.

Our Mission:
People are the strength of NILCO. Success remains dependent upon our ability to learn from experiences with relationships to build confidence in products and services our customers need most, resulting in our relentless pursuit of measurable profit opportunities for our customers.

Highlights of Our History:

1936: Robert Hoag purchases the assets of West Elizabeth Lumber Company, a retail lumber company located in Pittsburgh, PA. This location is now a division of NILCO.

1947: William Hoag, Robert Hoag’s son, becomes President of NILCO. The company focus shifts to exclusively industrial wood products used in steel plants and manufactures in the Pittsburgh area.

1957: Sylvania Wood Preserving division was established as one of Koppers Co. first Wolmanized treating facilities in the US. This established the company as a wholesale lumber company with lumber dealers in the tri-state area surrounding Pittsburgh.

1963: The NILCO North Jackson, Ohio location is opened to service industrial and wholesale customers in Northeast Ohio

1965: NILCO acquires The Erie Lumber Company in Erie, PA increasing the service area in Pennsylvania.

1967: Two additional treating facilities are opened: North Carolina, a captive treating facility and a company owned plant in Columbus, Ohio which served wholesale and industrial customers in central Ohio.

1973: Dale Sharett becomes the President and COO of the Company

1989: NILCO sells Sylvania Wood Preserving to Quality Wood Preserving in Columbus, Oh. NILCO retains its lumber distribution in Columbus, OH to continue servicing industrial and wholesale customers in Central Ohio.

1993: NILCO opens a distribution in Lorain Ohio to serve Western Ohio and Cleveland with specialty building and industrial products

1994: Dale Sharett passes away.

1995: Mike Hoag becomes President and COO of the Company.

1995: State-of-the-art remanufacturing plant is built at the NILCO North Jackson, Ohio location to serve industrial customers.

1996: NILCO opens a location in Gary, Indiana, to serve industrial customer in the Chicago area.

2000: The NILCO Columbus location is moved to a newly built site in Heath, Ohio. The move allows NILCO to better serve the Central and Southern Ohio regions.

2001: The assets of Stainwood Products, a factory pre-finsihing company in Lake City, PA is purchased and moved to Lorain. The ability to now offer custom factory applied finishing services along with the product offerings, NILCO is now able to offer Custom Exterior Solutions to its customers in Ohio and surrounding states.

2002: NILCO opens a location in Amma, West Virginia, to serve wholesale customers in West Virginia.

2005: Tom Hoag establishes Hardwood Emporium selling exotic and domestic hardwoods via the Internet.

2006: James Smith becomes President of the NILCO Wholesale Building Products Divisions

2007: NILCO purchases Bluwood Licenses for Kentucky, Western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. Bluwood is a treatment designed to prevent mold, rot and insect infestation in wood frame construction. NILCO is the first to open a Bluwood treating facility in Central Ohio.

2008: Weyerhaeuser Louisville, Kentucky location is acquired and becomes NILCO Louisville, KY.