Tal Sexton, a veteran of 35 years in the building materials field, has been named manager of the New River Valley Building Supply, scheduled to open in May at US Hwy 460 and Roanoke Road in Christiansburg.
Sexton joins The Lester Group, owner of the store, from Smith Mt. Lake Building Supply in Moneta, Va., where he was the store manager. A native of Cumming, Ga., Sexton is a graduate of the University of Georgia.
“To open New River Valley Building Supply is a great opportunity,” Sexton said. “I’m building my own team and developing a unique culture. We’ll make the store a great success in meeting the needs of contractors and do-it-yourselfers.”
Sexton has previously opened two other building supply stores.
The new Christiansburg store will create 15 new jobs, including sales and yard/warehouse specialists, said Sexton.
“Our goal is to make the store the supplier of choice in the valley, providing quality building materials for houses, apartments and commercial buildings,” Sexton said. ““We also want to grow to be a valuable part of The Lester Group.”
In its building supply division, The Lester Group operates retail stores in Virginia in Martinsville, Lynchburg, Fredericksburg and Manassas. “We are a Virginia-based company with a 100+-year history of providing a high level of service at competitive prices,” said company CEO Jim O’Brien.
The store will have a 6,000-square-foot showroom to display new construction and remodeling projects. The renovated store will have new walls, lighting, heating/cooling, siding, paint, displays and a new racking and fixtures. In addition, two new buildings are under construction to ensure the entire inventory is covered and protected. More than 41,000 square feet of warehouse and store buildings will be spread over five acres.
“Our store will stock almost all materials needed to build a house,” said O’Brien.
Products include lumber, plywood, engineered flooring, windows, doors, columns, decking, kitchen cabinets, molding, millwork, roofing, insulation, siding, tools and hardware. The new Christiansburg store will offer delivery, special orders, turnkey installation services for licensed contractors and blueprint takeoffs.
The Lester Group prides itself in giving back to the communities it serves. For example, the company owns the Lyric Theater in downtown Blacksburg and donates the use of it to a local foundation that operates it.
In addition to its building supply division, The Lester Group is involved in manufacturing of treated lumber and doors and the management of forest land and real estate development in West Virginia, North Carolina and Virginia. Based in Martinsville, The Lester Group was founded in 1896 and is privately held.
