Even before they co-founded
Truitt & White in 1946, George Truitt and Robert White had forged a
partnership as buddies in the U.S. Navy just after World War II.
Berkeley, CA, October 12,
2021 — Even before they co-founded Truitt & White in 1946, George
Truitt and Robert White had forged a partnership as buddies in the U.S. Navy
just after World War II.
White called his long partnership
with Truitt, who was his commanding officer at the Oakland Naval Supply Center,
as "one of the finest partnership arrangements you could ever imagine.”
Now the company the two men
founded is not only celebrating its 75th anniversary in October 2021, but it
has become the foremost supplier of building materials, hardware and doors and
windows in Northern California.
Truitt & White boasts more than
70,000 square feet of lumberyard, hardware store, warehouse, and showroom
areas, but also something Truitt and White wanted to establish from day one:
unmatched customer service.
The two veterans carefully
developed a customer service standard, added staff and quickly established a
reputation for quality products, friendly, helpful service, and a professional
approach in serving the building professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In fact, to help its customers get
better service, Truitt & White has been well ahead of the retail-technology
curve for many years, developing a computer system that would help customers
access stock levels and pricing levels in 1988, well before the Internet made
it quick and easy for businesses to provide access to information.
Truitt & White was also early to
recognize the potential of a computerized point-of-sale system, which it
installed in 1982, well before most bigger retailers. Rather than buying
packaged software, Truitt & White hired a developer and created its own
from scratch to handle everything from checkout to inventory tracking to
handling payroll and billing.
From its earliest days, Truitt and
White showed an unusual resourcefulness when it came to serving its customers.
The first inventory they gathered
for their fledgling lumberyard was military-surplus fencing and tools that
White bought at an auction in Stockton. He wasn’t quite sure what they were
going to do with two boxcars full of snow fencing, but as luck would have it,
there was a huge demand for building supplies after the war and the fencing and
other goods they gathered sold quickly in Berkeley.
Meanwhile Truitt, who had owned
three lumberyards in Texas before the war, was able to use his connections in
the lumber industry to secure more supplies for the duo’s lumberyard.
Truitt was also able to obtain a
truck, saws, desks and file cabinets, and along with White’s wife Rose, who was
an accountant, was able to set up a rudimentary office in a prefabricated
fishing cabin they built at Second and Hearst.
The site is now the location for
Truitt & White Window & Door Showroom, although the cabin is long gone!
From those humble beginnings the
company continued to grow and prosper with a combination of innovation and
customer service. For example, even before anyone recognized the value of
double-pane insulated windows, Truitt & White was already stocking them.
Over the years, this steady quality of being one step ahead of the competition
allowed its customers to rely on the company to provide the latest and
highest-quality products.
Staying true to its roots, Truitt
& White is now a third-generation family-run business with a fourth
generation pitching in. Customer families have been coming to Truitt &
White for three generations, and nothing means more to the Truitt & White
family than loyalty like that.
Continuing the legacy the two Navy
buddies first established 75 years ago is paramount to the Truitt & White
family.
“As a third generation
family-owned and operated business, our strong desire to continually improve
while retaining the tried and true elements that make us Truitt & White, is
still alive today and a source of pride for all of us,” said Warren White.
“Just like in our first days as a company, our staff is committed to providing
the best quality products and customer service for today’s professional
builders.”
About Truitt & White
Since 1946, Truitt & White has
been the Bay Area’s go-to source for high quality building materials, valuable
information, and unmatched customer service. With over 70,000 square feet of
lumberyard, hardware store, warehouse, and showroom areas, our knowledgeable
staff specializes in serving the needs of professional builders and homeowners
alike.
Truitt & White Lumber &
Hardware
642 Hearst Ave., Berkeley, CA
94710
Phone: (510) 841-0511
Website: truittandwhite.com
Hours:
Monday-Friday, 6:00 a.m. – 5:00
p.m.
Saturday, 7:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Truitt & White Window and Door
Showroom
1831 Second St., Berkeley, CA
94710
Phone: (510) 649-4400
Website: truittandwhite.com
Hours:
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00
p.m.
Saturday, 8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Contact:
Marci Bracco Cain
The Buzz PR LLC
Salinas, CA
831-747-7455
marci@thebuzzpr.net
http://www.truittandwhite.com
