2005 NETWORKING® MAGAZINE’S DAVID AWARD HONOREE.

RICHARD DROESCH

Chairman, Florence Building Materials

BY MAUREEN TRAXLER

Richard Droesch’s story might resemble that
of a modern day David and Goliath. After
he had helped build Florence Building
Materials, an independent wholesale building
supply company, into a successful small business,
Goliath (Home Depot) appeared, putting many hardware,
electrical and paint stores, mid-size home suppliers
and lumber yards out of business. With its
large stock and cheaper prices, Home Depot was not
like any other competitor.

But Florence Building Materials set a course to do
something the mega-store couldn’t – provide personalized
service and quick check-out, load items onto
contractors’ trucks, deliver shingles directly onto
rooftops, and make work-site repairs of Florence-purchased
products.

“The secret of small business is to be innovative,
stay nimble and be willing to take some risks,” says
Droesch. “That’s the concept we provide to our
industry.” Today, Droesch says Florence is one of only
a handful of major suppliers on Long Island.

Owning a small business wasn’t in Droesch’s plans
when he entered Lehigh University, or for that matter,
when he started dating Patricia Florence. After graduating
in 1957 with a B.A. in science and a B.S. in
industrial engineering, he accepted a temporary posi

tion at Grumman Aircraft before reporting for duty in
the U.S. Air Force to fulfill his R.O.T.C. commission.
When he was discharged, Arthur Florence, who
founded Florence Building Materials in the 1950s as a
shingles and roofing materials business in Jamaica,
Queens, offered him a $100-a-week job unloading
shingles from freight cars. But behind the offer was a
chance to move up and someday own the company.
Droesch admits his early discouragement after three
rough years.

“In some ways, my education was a drawback,”
Droesch says, adding his college career “didn’t
encourage entrepreneurship.” “I couldn’t say, ‘What
does my engineering background say I should do?’
Instead, I had to use my own judgment.” Over the
years, Droesch built the business from 19 employees
in two locations with annual sales of $7 million, into a
small business employing 175 people in four, and soon
five locations, with annual sales of over $70 million.

In the 1960s, Droesch brought the company to
Huntington, Long Island, opening a store with one
employee. That bold move became an innovative
precedent and led to an expansion into windows in
the 70s and selling wholesale to lumber contractors in
the 80s. In the 1990s, Droesch’s company opened its
first showroom in Huntington, offering consumers an

opportunity to see how products might look in their
homes. Displays feature 96 different types of roof shingles,
siding, doors, decking, railing and four different
types of windows.

“The mega store just can’t show the variety of products
we do at our showroom,” comments Droesch,
and he adds the company will soon open another
showroom in Medford in addition to a recently
opened third showroom in Southampton.

Droesch’s greatest small business hurdle turned out
to be his greatest asset. At first, hiring good employees
was difficult – people didn’t know the business, and
he had no in-house training program. “It was on-thejob
training, baptism by fire,” he says. His employees
would go through a learning curve, and he would
wonder who might stay. Droesch’s philosophy was
that there’s no better way to start than at the bottom,
and his family-style business allows people to start in
the warehouse, learn the products and get to know the
customers.

“It’s a meritorious system,” he adds “If you’re good,
it doesn’t matter if you have a college education.”
Droesch also considers himself “lucky” that his
daughter married a “great guy,” Rob Holden, who has
come into the business. He credits his son Patrick as “a
great salesman” who together with Holden opened
the company’s Amagansett lumber store. All of
Droesch’s seven children worked in the business at
one time or another.

Interested in people and community, every year the
Florence Corporation donates 5% of its pre-tax profits
to various Long Island charities. Droesch also takes
pride in offering education scholarships to sons and
daughters of his employees. At present, 14 youngsters
are participating in the Florence scholarship program.

“I love to follow their progress,” says Droesch. Each
year the young people are required to write a letter
requesting a scholarship, and they must include their
grades, a copy of their tuition bill and a description of
college life. If they raise their average, they can receive
additional funds the following year.

Droesch is active on the Sturge-Weber Foundation
Board of Directors, raising awareness and funds for
this little known nonprofit organization that serves
people born with Sturge-Weber Syndrome, Klippel
Tenaunay and capillary vascular birthmarks (port
wine stain).

A 40-year resident of Laurel Hollow, Droesch served
14 years on the Board of the Incorporated Village – six
as Mayor. He has been a member of the Huntington
Chamber of Commerce, and his company remains
active in the building supply industry through the
Independent Wholesale Group and American
Wholesale Limited. Droesch is winner of the Long
Island University, C.W. Post campus, Family Business
of the Year 2000 award and the L.I. Lumber
Association’s Lumberman of the Year 2001.

Droesch keeps his hand in the business, even from
his second home in Hobe Sound, Florida, where he
enjoys golf and expanding his interests in politics.
Always a sense of humor, Droesch says he told his
wife he’s a political “independent, only because it’s
easier. You can duck the issues, you know.” He’s
thankful to have “loyal employees,” and says, “When
I arrive at the office, I’m greeted by a wonderful staff
that is glad to see me. That’s why I keep on coming.
The day they say, ‘Stay in Florida,’ I’ll be happy to do
that, too, I guess.”

In addition to Patrick and Stephen, who are currently
working in the family business, Droesch and
Patricia have five other children, Edward, Christine,
Jacqueline, Jane, Carol and 18 grandchildren.

NETWORKING® January 2005