Edwardsville-based R.P. Lumber acquires family-owned business in southeast Illinois

Edwardsville-based R.P. Lumber officially acquired Kieffer Lumber in Mount Carmel, making the store R.P. Lumber’s 59th Illinois location, its 85th overall, according to a press release.

“For 50 years, Kieffer Lumber has served the citizens of Wabash County and the greater Illinois/Indiana bi-state area, and we are thrilled to have their team join the R.P. Lumber family,” Robert Plummer, President & CEO of R.P. Lumber, stated in the release.

“Recently, we have added locations in other states, but our roots are in Illinois, and we are excited to grow our footprint in the Land of Lincoln,” Plummer continued.

Duane Kieffer, manager of Kieffer Lumber, stated: “My family has been in the hardware, lumber, and construction businesses for many years.

“We’ve been blessed with a good business and good customers, and now we’ve decided to hand the reins to a peer of the highest caliber as our family made decisions regarding the next steps for our business,” Kieffer added.

Kieffer Lumber was opened by Kieffer’s parents, Marge and Al Kieffer, in 1972.

The transaction closes Friday. As of Saturday, Sept. 24, the Mount Carmel store will operate as R.P. Lumber with the original Kieffer staff. Plans to increase staff may come as additional products and services are added to the location.

“Some of my family will continue on with the business,” stated Kieffer.

“As we explored this process with professional advisers it was very important that we selected a buyer my parents and I would be comfortable with, and the team at R.P. Lumber checked the boxes that were important to us,” Kieffer continued.

“Our community is important to us; our customers are important to us; our vendors are important to us; and our family is, of course, important to us. We’ve worked adjacent to R.P. Lumber in this area for many years. We know them, and we could not be more excited about this transition. It’s a true win-win.”

The newest R.P. Lumber is located at 703 W. 9th St. in Mount Carmel.

R.P. Lumber was founded by Robert and Donna Plummer in Staunton in 1977. Today, the company is based in Edwardsville.

For more information about R.P. Lumber, visit rplumber.com.

This story was originally published September 23, 2022 at 9:00 AM.