A longtime Palmerton business has been sold.

Your Building Centers has acquired Palmerton Lumber Company, at 380 Sand Quarry Road.

The sale came as a shock, according to store manager Brian Billig.

“It was a surprise; we had no idea that we were up for sale, so when they announced a couple weeks ago that we were purchased by YBC, it was a surprise to all the employees here,” Billig said. “The current employees from Palmerton Lumber Company were given positions with YBC.”

Other than that, Billig said “nothing has changed.”

“The only thing that changed right now is the ownership; Palmerton Lumber is still going to be out in front of the store, still going to be known as Palmerton Lumber Company,” he said. “Nothing is going to change; the service that we had in the past is going to be the same, if not better; our ability to purchase materials is going to be much better, more inventory, different inventory. The door is wide open for possibilities right now.”

Billig said the business currently has 17 employees.

“I’m very excited by the acquisition, and am looking forward to working with YBC, and lot of the employees are on board and looking forward to it,” he said. “Everybody’s here today that was here on Friday.”

Palmerton Lumber was founded in 1995 by Andy Pisulak, who passed away unexpectedly on Jan. 20.

Billig explained what it was like working for Pisulak.

“He was more of a friend; it didn’t seem like you were working for a boss. He was working in the trenches with you every day,” he said. “I still come to work, and as soon as that front door opens up I’m still waiting for him to walk through the door.”

The acquisition is the third in four years for Your Building Centers, which now operates 17 locations throughout central Pennsylvania.

“We are excited to have Palmerton Lumber Company and the Palmerton Lumber staff join the YBC team,” said Rich Lender, President/CEO of Your Building Centers. “We are just as excited to grow our footprint into eastern Pennsylvania to service contractors and homeowners alike in Palmerton and the surrounding communities with all of their building and remodeling needs.”

Lender said the acquisition will extend his company’s operations a little further east.

“We’ve done (many) acquisitions, and we keep the existing names because they have established a great reputation in their local communities, and obviously we want to keep that reputation as part of the acquisition strategy,” Lender said. “They are part of communities that have been developed over years.”

Lender noted it’s unfortunate Pisulak couldn’t be around to reap the benefits of his hard work.

“That’s a tough one,” he said. “(He was a) super nice guy.”

Your Building Centers serves contractors, builders, remodelers, and do-it-yourselfers with top quality brand name building products.

In addition to the 13 Your Building Centers branded locations, they operate as Berlin Lumber in Berlin, Klinger Lumber in Elizabethville, Robert G. Miller in Hanover and now adding Palmerton Lumber Company in Palmerton. Your Building Centers also owns and operates two manufacturing facilities: Keystone Truss & Manufacturing in Beech Creek & Berlin Lumber & Truss in Berlin.

Your Building Centers employs about 375 people, was the nation’s 55th largest lumber and building supply company in the country in 2019, and is the largest Pennsylvania employee-owned lumber and building material supplier.