Southern Indiana-based Bender Lumber acquired by R.P. Lumber

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): R.P. Lumber Company Inc. completed its acquisition of Bender Lumber Company — a building materials supplier with eight locations in Southern Indiana — on Friday. That includes the supplier’s Bloomington location at 6002 W. State Road 46. 

R.P. Lumber is a family-owned retailer for home improvement and building materials founded in 1977 in Staunton, Illinois, by Robert and Donna Plummer. 

The company, now based in Edwardsville, Illinois, offers services including kitchen design, paint matching and full-service delivery with appliance installations.  

Bender Lumber addressed the acquisition in a Facebook post Friday. 

“We are pleased to share that Bender Lumber Company has been acquired by RP Lumber,” the post read. “By joining RP Lumber Company, we gain additional resources, expanded buying power, and new opportunities to enhance our product offerings and services.”  

In a Jan. 29 press release, R.P. Lumber wrote the acquisition would expand its total retail locations to 99 stores across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming. 

The transition of ownership will not disrupt customer service, product availability or employment status, the press release stated. The two companies already overlap in vendors and equipment, and R.P. Lumber will invest in additional resources. 

R.P. Lumber first entered Indiana by acquiring both Dye Home Improvement locations in Monticello and Monon in October 2025. 

Bender Lumber, formerly Wegmiller Lumber Company and Wegmiller-Davis Lumber, was founded in 1931 in Bloomington by Harold Wegmiller and Sylvester Davis. Harold Bender and his son John Bender purchased the company from Wegmiller in 1963, according to the company’s website. 

In 2001, John Bender and his brother Paul Bender sold parts of the company to its employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, in which a company sets up a trust fund to allocate stock shares to employees. John Bender served as chairman of Bender Lumber before its acquisition. When the employee resigns or retires, the company buys back their stock, and the employee receives payment. 

 Courtesy: www.idsnews.com