MEMBER PROFILE – ASSOCIATE
American Pole and Timber
American Pole and Timber is a Houston-based manufacturer
and supplier of treated poles, pilings, timbers
and industrial and commercial structural wood products.
“Extended-life building materials” was a favorite phrase of the
late William Plant, one of the co-founders of the business. To him,
it summed up the company’s products and the company’s focus on
helping to build structures that last.
The roots of American Pole and Timber’s product lines and
manufacturing capabilities began in the marine and shoreline
construction industry. Before brothers-in-law Plant and
Dorian Benn, president, started their first company, Building
Products Plus, in 1993, both had been working for a wood treating
plant. While working there, it didn’t take long for Plant to
realize the market opportunity for specialty treated wood products
in the region. Living on the Texas Gulf Coast, marine and
shoreline construction was – and still is – a bustling industry.
Building Products Plus was born from that recognition. The
name American Pole and Timber was added shortly after to
reach a broader national and international market and they still
operate under both names. Plant and Benn founded the business
on the model: Consult, Inform and Supply.
Plant said in 2015, “I was frustrated with the lack of knowledge
about treated wood and its specifications by builders. They would
come to the suppliers with questions and if those suppliers didn’t
ask the right questions in return, they wouldn’t suggest the right
product and the projects weren’t completed as they should be.”
He said that asking questions and truly listening to the builders
to understand their needs ensures that the company can properly
meet their needs, with the correct materials for the application,
to adhere to the superior standards to which he was accustomed.
Focusing primarily on supplying treated wood materials
for bulkheads, docks, piers, beach home foundations, marinas
and other marine construction helped Building Products Plus
quickly become a well-known and quickly growing company in
the Texas Gulf Coast market. As time went on, they added new
product lines and services such as vinyl bulkhead materials (they
were the first distributors of vinyl sheet piling in Texas) and custom
cutting and milling. The addition of vinyl sheet piling for
By Chris Denny, American Pole and Timber
Gun Barrel Pilings® at the Columbus Zoo
Consult, inform and supply
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