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Founder / Operator·Building Products

Glenn Hart

Founder and Chairman at OrePac Building Products

Lake Oswego, Oregon, USA

GH
Why they matter

Sold his 48-year-old family distribution platform OrePac to Specialty Building Products in 2025, giving him direct insight into PE-backed BMD roll-up economics and integration terms.

Background

Glenn Hart founded OrePac Building Products in 1977 in Lake Oswego, Oregon, growing it from a single wholesale lumber and building-materials outlet into a family-owned distributor with 13 locations across eight Western states. He has remained Chairman as the company passed operating control to his son, Brad Hart (President and CEO), and in September 2025 he agreed to sell the 48-year-old business to Duluth, Georgia-based Specialty Building Products.

Notable deals

  • 1977
    Founded OrePac Building Products in Lake Oswego, Oregon, starting the family wholesale building-materials distribution business
  • 2025
    Agreed to sell OrePac Building Products to Specialty Building Products, its sixth acquisition since 2020

Call-prep brief

Background

  • Founded OrePac Building Products in 1977 as a small wholesale lumber/building-materials outlet in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
  • Grew OrePac into a 13-location distributor of millwork, doors, decking, and specialty wood products across OR, WA, ID, MT, UT, CO, AZ, and CA.
  • Transitioned day-to-day leadership to son Brad Hart (President/CEO) years ago; Glenn retained the Chairman title as steward of the founding family's legacy.

Current focus

  • Closing the sale of OrePac to Specialty Building Products (announced September 2025, expected to close Q4 2025), OrePac's sixth acquisition since December 2020.
  • Ensuring continuity for employees and customers post-close; OrePac keeps its brand, footprint, and management team under SVPs Darin Coder and Kris Schroeder.

What he cares about

  • Legacy and employee/community welfare — his public quote on the deal centers on continuity for "employees, customers, and communities," not price.
  • Family philanthropy in the Portland area (the Hart family has been a longtime OHSU/Casey Eye Institute donor).

Sensitivities

  • His wife and OrePac co-founder, Marilyn Hart, passed away in August 2022 — approach personal/family topics carefully.
  • Deal terms were undisclosed; avoid pressing on valuation or earn-out structure directly.
  • As Chairman rather than active operator, he may defer operational questions to Brad Hart.

Questions to ask

  1. What drove the timing of selling to a national platform now versus continuing independently or pursuing another regional roll-up?
  2. What structure did the family negotiate to protect OrePac's culture, brand, and workforce post-close?
  3. How does he see consolidation (SBP's sixth deal since 2020) reshaping the Western building-products distribution landscape for founder-owners still weighing an exit?

Outreach draft

Subject
Congratulations on the OrePac-SBP Transaction
Hi Glenn, Congratulations on reaching an agreement to bring OrePac into the Specialty Building Products family — building a regional distributor from one location in 1977 to 13 across the West is a remarkable legacy, and it's clear from your comments on the deal that protecting your people and customers mattered as much as the terms. I work with a private equity team focused on building-products distribution, and we'd value hearing your perspective on where consolidation in the Western BMD market goes from here, and what you learned navigating a founder-to-platform transition. Would you have 20 minutes for a call in the coming weeks? Best, [Your Name]

Linked companies

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