Forest products company Hancock Lumber announced this week that it will acquire Aroostook County-based Tiny Homes of Maine.

The two family businesses have already signed a letter of intent prior to an anticipated closing of the deal at the end of the month.

“Tiny Homes of Maine is a natural extension of our component manufacturing and value-added construction initiatives,” said Hancock Lumber President and CEO Paul Wainman in a Tuesday statement. “We are confident the companies will complement one another and together we’ll be able to scale and grow the tiny home business.”

The nearly 200-year-old, seventh generation family lumber company based in Casco owns 7,500 acres of timberlands and operates four sawmills and 11 lumberyards in Maine and New Hampshire.

Hancock Lumber has 700 employees and also operates component manufacturing facilities and full-service kitchen design showrooms Wainman said, adding that the two company cultures blend well together.

Tiny Homes of Maine got off the ground in 2016 after co-founders Corinne Watson and Tom Small spent 18 months building a tiny home as a fun project while still juggling life demands, like holding down full-time jobs and getting their three children to school and field trips.

The couple will continue to manage the daily operations of the Dyer Brook manufacturing facility after the sale is complete, according to the Hancock Lumber statement.

Watson and Small were unable to be reached for comment on Wednesday afternoon.

“We’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on our vision for Tiny Homes of Maine’s future and we believe that Hancock Lumber is the ideal partner to help us realize our long-term goals,” Small said in the Tuesday release about the sale. “Their commitment to quality and innovation mirrors our own—with their resources and support, we can focus on implementing innovative ideas and streamline our operations.”

Watson, the company’s current president and chief executive officer, is an engineer and has worked at major corporations including Smith & Wesson and IDEXX. Small, the company’s current design engineer, brings construction and housing design experience to the company.

In September 2023, Tiny Homes of Maine, then based in an old World War II hangar at the Houlton International Airport was one of three businesses nearly destroyed by a raging late night fire. Several months later, with the help of employees, friends and the community, the company resettled in an 11,000-square foot building in Dyer Brook, about 22 miles from its previous Houlton location.

In a previous BDN interview Small said some of the demand for tiny homes comes from homeowners changing perspectives after the pandemic. People are selling their houses and buying tiny homes because they want a simpler life and it’s getting harder to find contractors and supplies to build new, full-sized homes, he said.

The acquisition of Tiny Homes of Maine will accelerate the building cycle and provide more affordable and flexible housing options, according to Hancock Lumber.

The company will be able to leverage Hancock Lumber’s buying power, network of lumberyards, customers, and manufacturing expertise to scale and grow the business while honoring Tiny Homes of Maine’s mission to make more homes available, according to Hancock Lumber officials.

Source: thecounty.me