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Lumber Scion Draws Deep Lessons From Long Career & Triathlons
By Tina Traster
Much of Michael Beckerle’s life involves collaboration, from being one of three brothers who runs the third-generation Beckerle Lumber Company to most recently being named Chair of Rockland Business Association’s Board of Directors.
But real insight about what makes the man tick comes from the description of how he singularly powers through the mental and physical endurance of triathlons. First, though, let’s touch on his modesty. When this reporter asked about this feat, Beckerle, 64, a tall, lanky man with tousled salt-and-pepper hair, said, “It’s not like an Iron Man.”
What he did say about swimming a half mile in a 70-degree lake in Camp Buckner is that he gets into a rhythm even though swimmers get bounced around. He tries to relax by keeping his eye on the buoys, so he doesn’t drift away. He paces himself. Because this is just the first leg. Biking the 15-mile route comes next, with its up and down hills. Beckerle says he tries not to think about the pain and draws inspiration from fans and friends on the sideline cheering him on. And when it comes to running the 5K, the last leg, the athlete says he needs to siphon the energy to see the race to the finish line.
Every bit of this description can be applied to what it takes for Beckerle, along with his brothers Larry and Stephen, to run the legacy Beckerle Lumber Supply Co., which was founded in 1940 by Laurence Beckerle Sr. with the family’s first store in Spring Valley. Today, the building materials supplier operates four locations, with the Congers and West Nyack branches dating to the 1970s, and the Orangeburg and Haverstraw locations opening in the 1990s.
Michael’s late father Laurence “Pete” Beckerle Jr cut his teeth from age 12 at the Spring Valley lumber yard stacking bricks. His father paid him 35 cents per one thousand bricks stacked. Working Saturdays, holidays and summer vacations, Pete served a brief stint in the Navy, married aspiring actress Denise Duross in 1954, and returned from his Rhode Island naval post in Newport, RI to Rockland County in 1955, settling in Pearl River. He became the head of the business in 1965, a year before his father, who founded the business at 50, died at age 78.
The Beckerle clan grew and repeated the pattern of an earlier generation. At different points, all four brothers were involved in the business. Michael Beckerle recalls working there through summers, his college years and holidays. “I went straight into the business,” he said, quipping, “I was trying not to go into the business. I didn’t try hard enough. Life is what happens when…didn’t John Lennon say that?”
Beckerle is scientifically minded. He was interested in meteorology and computer science, and completed a Masters in Science from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken. He returned to the Congers’ location after graduating where, as the boss’s son, he had to prove himself. He said he had to sink or swim (we know swimming is not a problem), but Beckerle’s even-tempered, methodical nature helped him integrate and claim a leadership role. Today he is the Chief Financial Officer overseeing the four locations, while his older brother Larry is President and his brother Stephen runs the Haverstraw location. The youngest brother Matt is not involved in the business.
The Beckerles are one of Rockland County’s legacy families, German immigrants who came to America from Bavaria in 1859 to escape civil unrest and economic hardship. Michael’s grandfather Philip bought a sawmill, establishing the family’s first lumber business. The Beckerles became wealthy landowners, prominent public figures, and intermarried with other dynasty families.
While there are several long-time Rockland families in the county, the Beckerles story is one of longevity and overcoming obstacles, from destructive fires to competition created by big boxes like Home Depot and Lowes. For a decade, Beckerle tried to fight off the Pyramid Companies of Syracuse, which wanted the piece of land where the lumber yard was operating for its megamall. Despite public resistance to the mall, Pyramid got a zoning change from Clarkstown that forced out the Beckerles. Within a year, the company opened an Orangeburg location on Route 303 and another in Haverstraw on Route 9W. Beckerle later had to contend with the Lowes opening in 2003.
Through fires, changing buying habits, and development pressure, Beckerle prevails because business is personal. It’s all about taking care of customers and their 85 employees. Beckerle recalls a dinner he had with his dad, who was 93 at the time. Talking about Beckerle’s long run, his father told him “There’s so much mistrust in the world. If people can believe what they hear from you, and they can depend on you, it goes a long way.”
Beckerle said the company has 300,000 transactions a year, and there are going to be hiccups. “You have to make sure customers know you are going to resolve this, that you’re here for the long term.” This kind of service strikes a deep contrast to the way big boxes generally conduct business.
Most of the company’s revenue stream is derived from remodelers and do-it-yourselfers, rather than larger builders. The company sells other building supplies, including Benjamin Moore paint. The past five years have been a rollercoaster, with the unexpected surge of homebuilding during the pandemic, fluctuating lumber prices, tariffs, and the crackdown on immigrants, which has affected the building trades.
“The economy is still a question mark,” said Beckerle. “We are fiscally conservative. We take pride in playing for the long term, but we definitely have to tighten our belt.”
These days, Beckerle is spending more time as the newly elected RBA board chair, though he said, “I’m not looking for the spotlight.” He replaced long-term board president Michael Shilale. The new chair, who has served on the executive board for a decade, says he’s feeling upbeat about the organization’s new leadership and what the RBA calls 2.0 to describe its stewardship under former Assemblyman and now President Ken Zebrowski and CEO Jeffrey Greenberg.
“For Rockland’s future, we need a good, sustainable business community,” he said. “We need to work together with businesses, nonprofits and communities. In this tiny county, we need to work together to improve Rockland.”
Michael said he wants to focus on stronger advocacy between business and government, to grow and diversify the organization, and to be part of the engine that builds workforce development, including affordable housing. He said development projects sit too long, adding “Why has the Sain building sat for 10 years?”
While he slowly shifts focus, this third-generation scion on the Beckerle dynasty said he does not believe there will be a fourth generation of Beckerles involved in the business. None of the four brothers’ seven children have chosen to follow in their parents’ footsteps. But he said the family is planning for succession to keep the business going, whatever that takes.
Like lessons from a triathlete, it will require keeping an eye on the buoys, navigating the ups and downs, and pacing themselves to prepare for a future that draws from the past but relies upon new blood to define the way forward.
Feature photo provided by Michael Beckerle
