The history of WOLF reads like a classic American success story: single storefront in a sleepy Pennsylvania river town evolves into a $200 million enterprise that stretches from New England to the Florida border. It’s a story about adhering to timeless core values – and about making bold decisions that result in timely transformations. It’s a history that spans nearly 170 years … and it’s still being written.
A Legacy of Innovation
WOLF was founded in 1843 by Adam Wolf, who started his enterprise with one lumber store on the banks of the Susquehanna River in rural Pennsylvania. Wolf soon made the company’s first transformative decision, embracing the country’s newest transportation fad – the railroad – in favor of the tried-and-true canal-and-barge system. Wolf’s bold decision expanded his territory, accelerated delivery time and improved customer service – the first of many innovations that achieved the same goals.
Evolution and Expansion
As succeeding generations of the Wolf family purchased the business from their forefathers, each embraced Adam Wolf’s foundational values responsible for WOLF’s longevity: the vision and tenacity to make bold, transformative moves.
Over the decades, the company embraced countless new opportunities. WOLF dramatically expanded its product offerings, eventually building a full line of building materials and becoming the nation’s largest supplier of kitchen and bath cabinetry.
WOLF also took aggressive steps to adopt new technology. The company currently runs SAP, the world's leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, resulting in dramatically streamlined processes and measurable gains in productivity, efficiency and delivery speed. WOLF also carries the ISO 9000 stamp of international quality, a prestigious certification that underscores the company’s focus on efficient processes and continuous quality improvement.
These and other strategic initiatives have enabled WOLF to become a premier supplier and to pursue an aggressive growth strategy. Today, the company has expanded its geographical footprint to 18 East Coast states.
Today’s WOLF: A breed apart
Chairman and CEO Tom Wolf, a member of the sixth generation of the Wolf family, has spearheaded WOLF’s latest transformation.
The company, which operated as a tradition two-step distributor until late 2010, has adopted a new business model. WOLF has recast itself as a sourcing company – focused solely on serving independent dealers. WOLF’s new model, which has no predecessor in our industry, will provide products and services that enable dealers to leverage their unique strengths to grow their business.
In his “New Declaration for Independents,” Wolf writes: “Revolutionary decisions are never made lightly. But WOLF firmly believes the timing is right for independent dealers to reclaim their territory.”
The latest transformation at WOLF echoes the bold moves of the company’s rich history while maintaining its bedrock principles of superior customer service. From its storybook past to its innovative present, WOLF remains strong and optimistic about the people, products and the strength of the American building industry.
