History of Allen & Allen Co

MIXING KNOBS AND PULLS?

1931 - Mr. Howard B. Allen (otherwise known as Mr. H.B) and his son, Mr. Lynn A. Allen (otherwise known as Mr. L.A.) opened the business as a second-hand lumber yard in 1931. It was operated somewhat like a salvage yard. Old lumber/hardwoods used in previous jobs were taken apart, cleaned up, organized and then resold through Allen & Allen Co. It remained a second hard/salvage yard until the late 40’s when it began specializing in quality hardwood sales used in new home building.

Early 1950s - Residential building started, and Allen & Allen began selling lumber to builders for use on their jobs. During this time we were known primarily for Lumber related products – specifically Hardwood and Yellow Pine. In addition to homebuilders, we served a large number of schools/industrial arts programs and cabinet shops.

1957 - Pat Knight (who would later become the owner of Allen & Allen) came to work for Allen & Allen as an “outside” salesperson. (Mr. Knight joined Allen & Allen after working for another lumber company part time while he played professional football for the New York Giants. His football career was cut short by a knee injury.) Mr. Knight developed strong relationships with his customers and had the same work ethic, integrity, and character that both Mr. H.B. Allen and Mr. L.A. Allen had.

1971 - Mr. Knight became General Manager of business operations when Mr. John Mauldin resigned. A couple of years later, Mr. Allen would agree to sell the company to Mr. Knight. Under the agreement, Mr. Allen would incorporate the business and then allow Mr. Knight to purchase the stock over time, until he owned 100% of the company.

March 21, 1974 - Allen & Allen Company officially incorporated. Mr. Allen held the position of President, but Mr. Knight was given control of the day-to-day operations and would be responsible for determining the long-term direction for the Company.

April 28, 1980 - Mr. L.A. Allen resigned as President of the company and Mr. Knight assumed the role of President and General Manager.

1980 - Under Mr. Knight’s direction, Allen & Allen purchased a new piece of property located across the street from the main yard on Culebra Ave. Allen & Allen built a new, expanded, mill facility and it enlarged its lumber storage capacity. The new facility was located at 327 Culebra Avenue.

March 2, 1981 - Mr. L.A. Allen finalized the sale of the company to Mr. Pat Knight and his wife Theresa W. Knight that year. At that time, Pat Knight became President and sole owner of the company. Theresa Knight was the Secretary of the Company.

1977 - Mr. Bobby Joe “Buzz” Miller came on board to sell lumber. In 1980 he moved into the position of outside salesman. (Later he would become the General Manager.) He worked hand in hand with Mr. Knight to handle customer needs and business development.

1978 - Coddy Pena returned to the Allen & Allen family to work in sales full time. (Later he would become Vice President.)

1986 - Old Building and Mill facility in original location at five-points was renovated and rebuilt in certain locations.

1989 - Allen & Allen entered into a partnership with a business operating in Mexico named Edevel. The business was owned by Jamie Velasco and family. Edevel was an exclusive distributor of Allen & Allen products to Mexico City.

December 21, 1990 - Bobby Joe “Buzz” Miller was named General Manager for the company.

June 14, 1993 - Buzz Miller and Coddy Pena were named Vice Presidents of Allen & Allen.

February 24, 1995 - Mr. Knight developed a commercial hardware division and the family purchased a large warehouse facility located at 701 San Fernando. At this point, Allen & Allen started storing additional lumber in the warehouse and selling commercial hardware including door frames, doors, cabinet hardware and door hardware.

1995 - A decorative showroom was opened on Rhapsody in San Antonio. The showroom was set up to serve as a selection center for decorative hardware and lumber products.

October 1999 - Mr. Knight passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack while on his way back to San Antonio from Laredo. He left Allen & Allen to his wife Theresa and their two daughters, Dara and Constance. They are the current owners. Bobby Joe “Buzz” Miller, former General Manager became the President and CEO in Mr. Knight’s death. Buzz is married to Constance “Connie” (Knight) Miller. Coddy Pena, husband of Dara (Knight) Pena is the Vice-President of the company and works hand in hand with Mr. Miller to handle the legacy Mr. Knight left behind.

December 2001 - Allen & Allen opened a new showroom on the north side of town on 1604 between Blanco and Stone Oak Parkway to replace the Rhapsody showroom. The new showroom is significantly larger and more accessible to the retail public. By opening this showroom, Allen & Allen started serving a much larger retail base.

Present - Allen & Allen continues to operate business out of both the original location (at Five Points in San Antonio) and the Northside Decorative Showroom. To date the family still maintains ownership of the San Fernando facility, but it serves solely as a warehouse to a large portion of our commercial hardware and window products. **Allen & Allen still hold true to the business strategy that we are not big project suppliers, but rather a company that specializes in quality, upscale, lumber, hardware and window products.