Worcester Business Journal

16 Worcester Business Journal | February 24, 2025 | wbjournal.com F O C U S B U S I N E S S L E A D E R S O F T H E Y E A R BY ERIC CASEY WBJ Managing Editor S ince 1939, the Koopmans have been playing an integral role in building Central Massachu- setts. Now in its third generation of family ownership, Whitinsville-based Koopman Lumber has expanded from a single retail hardware store to a network of a dozen locations spread across Mas- sachusetts, selling necessary construc- tion materials and tools of the trade to everyone from do-it-yourselfers to the biggest professional contractors in the business. Leading the firm's 480 employees are President & CEO Dirk Koopman, CFO Denise Brookhouse (Dirk's sister), and Chief Operating Officer Tony Brook- house (Denise's husband), who have cooperatively led efforts to double the Koopman Lumber's third generation reaches new heights size of the firm in the last five years. Assisted by a non-family board of advisors from around the company, the trio have figured out how to manage both the interpersonal dynamics and the firm's rapid growth, said Denise Brookhouse. "We've learned to work together," she said. "We know each other's strengths, how to play off those, so we're doing better at knowing which role everybody plays." Whether it's quick re-build of one of their most loyal customer's New Hamp- shire lakehouse or prompt removal of excess material from busy jobsites — an easy-to-overlook aspect of keeping con- struction projects on track — Koopman works hard to go the extra mile, said Tony Brookhouse. "at's something that's a big deal for us to get customers," he said of the com- pany's ability to usually get excess lum- ber off-site within 72 hours, "because a lot of lumber yards will just let the stuff sit out there, and it doesn't last that long when it's out in the elements." "We have a mantra of wanting to say yes at any cost," Dirk Koopman said. Koopman Lumber is an integral part of the business community, said Jeannie Hebert, Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce president and CEO. e business' support of the community at- large is what sets it apart. "ey support a lot of the communi- ty, and they've been very generous with their time and talent and also funding for a lot of projects," Hebert said. For example, Tony Brookehouse served as a co-chair for the capital campaign to support the construction of the Whitinsville Christian School's $18.5-million athletic center in 2017, she said. "Building that center has really Family Business Leaders of the Year Dirk Koopman, president & CEO Denise Brookhouse, CFO Tony Brookhouse, chief operating officer Koopman Lumber, in Whitinsville Employees: 480 Their birthplaces: Lansing, Michigan (Dirk); Ridgewood, New Jersey (Denise); Fremont, Michigan (Tony) Residences: Whitinsville Lasting nuptials: Tony and Denise, husband and wife, have worked together for 27 years and (as of press time) still love each other. Big man in the post: Standing at 6'8", Dirk played college basketball for the University of New Hampshire and had a stint in a German professional league in the mid-1980s. PHOTO | MATT WRIGHT

• Cover