Submitted by TAL Holding LLC

TAL Holdings, a seven-store chain of retail building material centers in Oregon and Washington, has reached an agreement to acquire Browne Lumber Inc. in Friday Harbor.

A meet and greet for local contractors will be at 5 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 15 at the San Juan Island Grange. The new owner will be present.

“We are very excited to join forces with Browne Lumber Inc. They are the top supplier of building materials and hardware in the San Juan Islands. Because of their very strong brand recognition, they will continue to operate under the name of Browne’s Home Center, a division of TAL Holdings, LLC. Browne’s is a great fit for our organization,” said M. David Dittmer, CEO of TAL Holdings, LLC.

Browne’s has a full-line lumberyard and home center as well as a lawn and garden center – including live goods.

“We are anxious to expand our footprint into this growing market,” Dittmer said.

Jim and Inez Browne founded Browne Lumber Inc. in 1947 in Friday Harbor. Their business grew and in 1965, the Browne’s moved to a larger facility. Outgrowing their location again, the Browne’s relocated to their current five-acre site with a 16,000 square foot show room in 2000.

“Browne’s was founded on the same basic business values as all seven of our locations — building honest, fair and ethical relationships with our customers,” Dittmer said. “Browne’s Home Center has a strong, experienced employee group. Their years of experience in our industry make their location the place to go for building solutions.”

Celebrating 111 years in business, TAL Holdings LLC dba Tum-A-Lum Lumber was founded in 1906 by J.M. Crawford and is a fourth generation family-owned building material supply company. TAL operates seven locations: Hood River, The Dalles and Pendleton, Oregon and Leavenworth, Wenatchee, Chelan and Cle Elum, Washington.