About | Custom Builder Supply

Our History

HISTORY

Established in 1988, by a group of local investors including several employees and customers. We invest heavily in our community by donating substantial time, materials, and money to assist many worthwhile charities. School programs and children’s sports also receive generous support.
We separate ourselves from the other suppliers by making high quality and first-rate customer service our priority. Our sales staff “grew-up” in the area supply business and has many years experience.

The Lester Group was established in 1896 by G.T. Lester in Martinsville, Virginia. At the time, The Lester Group was known as the Lester Lumber Company. It originally consisted of a small sawmill and planning mill, with a small tract of timber land. Over the course of its first 100 years, the company has grown into a multi-faceted operation with the strength to survive two major fires and numerous economic highs and lows.

Today, The Lester Group, Inc. includes five building supply dealers, in addition to Custom Builder Supply

MISSION STATEMENT

Custom Builder Supply is a leader in building customer loyalty and successes by combining teamwork, exceptional service, innovation, and professionalism balanced with quality, trust and integrity.

CORPORATE VALUES

We operate with honesty, integrity and respect.
We believe in earning a fair and reasonable profit.
We share time, service and resources within each community we serve.
We provide training and development to ensure the
growth and success of our company.
We offer service driven response to our customers by exceeding expectations.
We embrace the importance of employee ownership (ESOP) and accountability.
Quality provided—Setting the standard by which all others are measured.
We encourage a fun and innovative workplace that recognize and reward our customers and employees.
We empower our employees to make decisions that continue improvement critical to our growth.
We believe in Christian values guiding our decisions.

LESTER GROUP FAMILY OF COMPANIES

Lester Building Supply began operations in Martinsville, VA early in the company history.

Jim Carpenter Company began operations in 1955. The facility is now located in Fredericksburg, VA. It became part of the Lester Group in 1974 when Mr. Carpenter retired.

Building Supply of Manassas opened in Manassas, VA in the fall of 2015.

T aylor Brothers began operations in Lynchburg, VA in 1952. This store became part of the Lester Group soon after Mr. Taylor retired in 2006.

New River Valley Building Supply opened in Christiansburg, VA in May 2020

Lester Forestlands manages over 21,000 acres of timberland from planting, to thinning, to harvesting while maintaining hunt club leases on all tracts.

Lester Properties & Lester Development Corporation manage and develop commercial, retail, residential, and subdivision properties.

The Lester Group

The Lester Group is a diversified company founded in 1896 in Martinsville. Lester’s primary interests are in lumber products and real estate development in Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia. The Lester Group has owned the Jim Carpenter Co., also in Fredericksburg, VA., since 1974. In addition to the Jim Carpenter Co., Lester has building materials operations in Manassas, Lynchburg, and Martinsville in Virginia and in High Point, Henderson and Elizabeth City in North Carolina.

The Lester Group, Inc. started Fortress Door Company in 2016 in Fredricksburg, VA. Lester Group hired a team of very experienced door manufacturers. The employees of Fortress Door have over 100 years of experience in the industry

The photo to the right shows founder G.T. “Cap’n Til” Lester with his son, the current CEO, George W. Lester, II, in the lumberyard.