Look no further than Aloha Lumber & Truss, Inc. in Ramona for wood supplies.
You won't find bundles of lumber for sale at 1339 Walnut St., but you can get help with all things truss-related from the new owners, husband and wife team Paul and Andrea Stykel.
The Steichel family bought the business from former owners Scott Eskridge and John Lazarus and operated it for nearly 20 years. The sale was completed on April 30th, and Steikels took over on May 1st.
“We thought there might be a chance we could go into wood, but it turned out that wasn't the case,” Lazarus said, explaining the company's name.
Aloha Lumber & Truss' new owners, Andrea and Paul Stykel, plan to keep the business as is.
(Courtesy of Andrea Stickel)
Mr Eskridge says their specialty is the design, manufacture and delivery of trusses – described as giant triangles that form the structure of a building's roof.
Mr. Eskridge has been working in the building industry since 1975 and Mr. Lazarus has been working in the building industry since 1981. Early in their careers, they specialized in on-site frame fabrication throughout Southern California.
“We were interested in building roof trusses and started pursuing that and just pivoted away from framing,” Eskridge said. “Once we started doing it, we realized it was fun and there was a market for it. We can't be a framing contractor and a roof truss manufacturer at the same time. We have to choose one or the other. So I chose truss.”
Lazarus and Eskridge have grown their business over the years. They attribute their success to quality products, a solid business reputation, and customer satisfaction.
“We started very small, but we pride ourselves on keeping our customers happy,” Eskridge said.
The company delivers trusses throughout San Diego and southern Riverside County. Most of our customers are homeowners, remodelers, framing contractors, and general contractors. One of the larger customers is a building materials supplier in Mexico, former owners said.
Recently, Lazarus and Eskridge have expanded their business into constructing and supplying trusses for accessory dwelling units, known as ADUs, which Lazarus and Eskridge believe is contributing to the housing shortage, especially in the San Diego area. ing.
The two leave the business in good order. Eskridge, 70, of Fallbrook, is retired and plans to travel with his wife after a 52-year career. And Lazarus, 63, will have more time to build his own one-story custom home in Ramona's Four Corners neighborhood.
“That house has been on my mind for 30 years,” said Lazarus, who lives in the Lemon Grove neighborhood. “Trusses are installed on the site. The entire roof is made of trusses, there are no rafters.”
Eskridge and Lazarus will stay on for a while to help Stykels transition into the new business. Paul is on site while Andrea works as a real estate agent at his Re/Max Direct in Ramona.
Paul Stykel has been working in the construction industry since 1976.
“At first it was all frame construction,” he said. “Andrea and I built a lot of houses together in Ramona.”
In 1991, Steichel said he landed his first job at a large company, where he built large projects, some for military and utility customers. As a construction manager, his projects included building libraries, senior living facilities, and airplane hangars. His last major project was a 1.8 million square foot distribution center.
Many of these projects were in different areas of California and Nevada, which meant he was often away from home, he said. At 65, he said he and his wife would like to remain in Ramona and spend more time in community service, including serving as part of the Ramona Community Planning Group.
Andrea Stickel is a board member of the Ramona Chamber of Commerce.
“I didn't want to travel anymore,” said Paul Steichel, a member of the planning group for 18 years. “And I get to stay in the planning group. I missed some meetings because I was out of town. I was always traveling for my construction job. I stayed in Ramona. was the motivation for acquiring this business.”
Eskridge and Lazarus said the couple's ties to the community will help attract local customers. There are currently no plans to increase the number of employees or change the company name.
Some may wonder about the company name, which seems out of place in Ramona. Aloha Lumber & Truss ties in with Eskridge's hobbies of carving tiki from palm tree logs and making chainsaw sculptures. When it came time to choose a name for the business, someone suggested his Tiki Truss.
“Other people said, 'How about aloha?' And we loved it,” Eskridge said. “Back in the days when people used phone books, this company was one of the first companies listed in the phone book, and it's easy to remember. You can't say 'Aloha' without a smile.” ”
