Almost twenty years ago Philip Skarada, president of Your Building Centers, knew he wanted to either be the president or owner of a company.
An opportunity arose, and Skarada decided an employee-owned business would be the best route.
Twenty years and $72 million in sales later, Skarada's brainchild, Your Building Centers, is one of the building supplies power houses of the central Pennsylvania area.
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"Since 1989 we have continued to grow and have been able to give a sustainable return to our employee owners. We are a company that is structured through a format of total open book management," Skarada said.
The company is owned completely by its employees.
"One of the biggest incentives we have is that we are working for ourselves," said Fred Lorson, regional sales manager.
"We have our company valued every year because the participants get a stock statement. Everything is financially open to participants within the company," Skarada said.
YBC is well know to many contractors in the area who seek them out for the quality staff, according to Skarada.
"Our primary business is selling lumber building materials to the contractor, remodelor and do it yourself for trade. The majority of our business being to home builders and remodeling contractors and general contractors," Skarada said.
According to Skarada, the average YBC employee has been in the industry for 22 to 24 years.
The advantage of the company over the department store options is its quality product and service.
"You have to be competitive to be selling to them (contractors). We usually carry a product that tends to be a little bit better than some of the boxes because if you go to hang a door or a window you would prefer doing it one time, rather than a second time. Quality is an issue. We carry quality products at a fair price," Skarada said.
YBC also provides many installations for contractors.
"We are the dominant figures when it comes to the construction field because the other end of that is service.
"We have the delivery fleet to get product where it needs to be when it needs to be. We also provide installation on a lot of our products," Skarada said.
YBC is undergoing construction for their own expansion project.
The space is expanding by 10,000 square feet by adding a showroom.
The staff at YBC is responsible for the construction and installation of the showroom.
The project is expected to be completed by next spring, according to Skarada.
The Williamsport location is home to almost 50 employees.
The YBC teams expects that number to continually grow as they are currently hiring and are always looking for opportunities to increase their staff.
"Our greatest incentive is working for ourselves and being profitable in our own geographic area," Lorson said.
YBC is also involved with community programs such as Habitat for Humanity, the Homebuilder's Association and the Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce.
YBC will celebrate its twentieth anniversary in December.
For more information, individuals may contact the store at 326-4151. Hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mon. to Fri. and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sat.
