ABOUT US
Our Humble Beginning...
Erminio & Anna Ricci (and their son, Bud) founded Ricci Lumber in 1957 at its present location along the railroad tracks and the North Mill Pond. The site was ideal in that it had access to the railroad which was how most of the freight was shipped in those days.
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In 1960, Don Hayes, recently married to Erminio’s and Anna’s youngest daughter, Chickie, joined the company and began to introduce lumber and plywood to the product mix. Under Don Hayes, the company expanded into windows, doors and kitchen cabinets, hardware, and paint. Don also instituted many financial controls so that the company persevered even during down markets and bad economies. Don Hayes enjoyed a career lasting 40 years with the firm.
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Don hired Pat Moretti in 1977, shorty after Pat graduated from Portsmouth High. Pat became the manager and continues to this day, 46 years later!
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Eddie Hayes joined the company fulltime in 1996. Although a lawyer with membership in the NH & ME bars, Eddie preferred the dynamic nature of the business and the opportunities that the company presented. Eddie and his wife Jeanne became majority owners of Ricci Lumber in 1999. Under Eddie’s leadership, the company’s sales soon grew to over 3X what they were previously. He also spearheaded the 2014 construction of a 20,000 SF new design center, showroom and warehouse.
In 2021, the company merged its operations with Kodiak Building Partners, a group of well-run building materials businesses which enjoy a nation-wide footprint. Kodiak provides much of our back-office support (payroll, insurance, benefits, etc.) so that we can do what we do best: provide world-class customer service to our world-class customers, by selling the highest quality building materials at competitive prices to some of the best construction professionals in the world.
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Today, Ricci Lumber, with its dedicated staff of 45 fulltime building materials professionals, collectively representing over 420 years of tenure with the company, is stronger than ever and readily prepared to be the premier supplier for greater Portsmouth, NH for future generations.
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