About

Ryan Wholesale, Inc

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"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" -  2 Cor 9:15 Although this scripture refers specifically to God's grace given to His people through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, it also applies to the many gifts and mercies I have received in my life.  First and foremost my salvation, of which I am an undeserving recipient; the gift of my wife, children, grandchildren and the provision He has given us through Ryan Wholesale, Inc.  God has been so good to us, although we have faced many difficulties and heartbreaking events in our life from loss of loved ones to chronic health issues, from poverty to plenty, we agree with Job "though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him". Ryan Wholesale began in 1995 out of desperation and what I now know to be God's provision. I spent 10 years as Lumber Sales Manager for Georgia-Pacific's Distribution Division in Austin, Texas.  In 1994 I joined Parrot Forest Products (a lumber brokerage firm) which fell on financial hard times and lost their financial backing in August 1995, closing their doors on August 28, 1995.  Being out of work and needing a steady place of employment, I approached a longtime business acquaintance (from my years at GP) as a financial backer for a wholesale lumber company on August 29, 1995. Through this man's confidence and generosity, the company was incorporated the first day of September 1995, and showed a profit (although sometimes small) from the very first month.  The financial support he provided was double the amount I estimated necessary to begin operation.  The only stipulation was that the business contain the name of his brother-in-law and business partner (that's where we got the name Ryan Wholesale). In 1997, Universal Forest Products tendered a generous cash offer for the three Texas truss plants which my backer owned.  When I was informed of the sale, he also told me that he didn't want to have any more businesses, and asked if I wanted to purchase Ryan Wholesale.  Immediately I began putting together the package requested by the SBA (Small Business Administration).  It's a funny thing about the SBA, if you have cash or assets equal to the amount you need, they are more than willing to make the loan.  After only 13 months of operation, we had neither. After three weeks of fruitless pursuit of financing, I became discouraged.  About this time my employer returned from an extended trip abroad, and informed me that he had changed his mind.  At first I thought that he simply wanted to liquidate and close the business, leaving me in a desperate position for employment.  However, his change of mind included an offer to not only sell the business, but to sell it at book value, and finance it personally at a very  low rate for 20 years.  Not only this, but he provided an additional amount of cash to help with the transition.  At the closing his attorneys commented that they had never been to a business sale closing where the buyer left the table with cash. Over the next year and a half, my wife Kathy and I put in long hours to establish and care for what had been entrusted to us.  The business has grown and flourished and now provides full time employment for 15 to 20 people and continues to grow. In may 1997, we were blessed with a beautiful baby girl to add to the other two beautiful girls God had given us - Jill and Leesa.  Jill works for Ryan Wholesale as our Corporate Secretary and controller, and is invaluable to our operation.  Leesa plays for the Army Concert band in D.C., which plays for Presidential Inaugurations and other important government functions.  My youngest is a Senior in high school this year, and we’re all wrapping our mind around her leaving for college soon. We operate our business with  a gratefulness for all that we have been blessed with.  Our emphasis on honesty, integrity, genuine care for our employees, and meeting our customers needs drives the direction of our company.  We strive to provide our customers with products that are of the finest quality and craftsmanship, as well as with customer service that is above and beyond our competition, all at prices that our customers find to be a value - fair and competitive.