American Pole and Timber is a Houston-based manufacturer and supplier of treated poles, pilings, timbers and industrial and commercial structural wood products. "Extended-life building materials" was a favorite phrase of the late William Plant, one of the co-founders of the business. To him, it summed up the company's products and the company's focus on helping to build structures that last. 
The roots of American Pole and Timber's product lines and manufacturing capabilities began in the marine and shoreline construction industry. Before brothers-in-law Plant and Dorian Benn, president, started their first company, Building Products Plus, in 1993, both had been working for a wood treating plant. While working there, it didn't take long for Plant to realize the market opportunity for specialty treated wood products in the region. Living on the Texas Gulf Coast, marine and shoreline construction was and still is a bustling industry. Building Products Plus was born from that recognition. The name American Pole and Timber was added shortly after to reach a broader national and international market and they still operate under both names. Plant and Benn founded the business on the model: Consult, Inform and Supply. 
Plant said in 2015, "I was frustrated with the lack of knowledge about treated wood and its specifications by builders. They would come to the suppliers with questions and if those suppliers didn't ask the right questions [in return], they wouldn't suggest the right product and the projects weren't completed as they should be." 
He said that asking questions and truly listening to the builders to understand their needs ensures that the company can properly meet their needs, with the correct materials for the application, to adhere to the superior standards to which he was accustomed. 
Focusing primarily on supplying treated wood materials for bulkheads, docks, piers, beach home foundations, marinas and other marine construction helped Building Products Plus quickly become a well-known and quickly growing company in the Texas Gulf Coast market. As time went on, they added new product lines and services such as vinyl bulkhead materials (they were the first distributors of vinyl sheet piling in Texas) and custom cutting and milling. The addition of vinyl sheet piling for bulkheads was an obvious extension of their dedication to longevity in the materials they supplied. Custom cutting and milling capabilities started as a way of fulfilling the many requests they received for value-add services such as bundle-cutting, planing rough timbers or cutting large timbers to specific lengths a task that isn't so easy in the field when you're working with a circular saw. "Custom cutting and milling" quickly began evolving with requests for custom-cut corbels and rafter tails, long arches and other complex cutting with multiple angles. Eventually, they moved into full production and assembly of structural timber components from engineered beams to massive custom timber trusses to built-to-spec industrial and commercial products for applications from pipelines to high rises. 
It is largely the company's culture of flexibility and willingness to serve their customers' requests for specialty products that has driven their development of new product lines. That willingness to serve specialty needs is so core to who they are that their motto even includes it with the words "...and if we don't have what you need, we'll make it." The same philosophy has also driven them into new markets including commercial construction, park and zoo construction, golf course development, industrial projects and more. 
"It's 'First Response,'" said Benn. "Our focus, our internal slogan is 'First Response'. That is what all our people know we are best at. We are the first to respond to inquiries, we are first to respond to special requests, we are the first to provide the best products to the market. Even internally, our people support each other with the 'First Response' attitude." 
The First Response slogan is, in fact, visible on signs in the company's offices, manufacturing areas and even on shirts worn by several employees.
Product lines that were initially born from simply serving their clients include structural timber trusses (they make them up to 100 feet long), Gun Barrel Pilings® (structural, round wood pilings with no taper available up 22 inches in diameter and 50 feet long), equipment saddles (for storage and transportation of pressure vessels) and polymer coated wood (a polyurea coating that encapsulates wood to protect it from virtually everything). 
While they have branched out into other markets since their humble beginnings, marine and shoreline construction is still at the heart of their operations. Their most recent product line addition is the SnapJacket™ piling protection jacket, a low-cost option to extend the usable life of pilings that can be installed without removing the pilings. They are always on the lookout for products like SnapJacket™ that fit their focus on extended-life building materials. 
"The SnapJacket™ is the best product we've seen in terms of offering customers an option that extends the life of even exceptionally deteriorated pilings at a very affordable price point," said Eric Lincoln, senior VP of sales. "Even the installation is simple." 
American Pole and Timber became a member of the Pile Driving Contractors Association around 2015. It was an obvious choice as they had worked with its members on numerous occasions. PDCA has been a hub for those who come together for the betterment of marine contractors everywhere and support their comradery. It is an association American Pole and Timber is proud to be part of.