Star Lumber & Supply

In 1939 when most successful Wichita lumberyards were still located in the downtown area Star Lumber set up shop on a dusty corner well outside the city at West Street and Maple. Earl Goebel, Star's President, reasoned that the downtown area had already been built and the real need for lumber would be on the city's outskirts. He was betting that Wichita would grow. He was right. Over the ensuing seventy years, as Wichita expanded, so did Star Lumber, today the dominant building supply dealer in Kansas with over 300 employees, who also operates in Oklahoma. This is the story of how the Goebel family made it all happen through hard work, innovation, customer service and a willingness to take risks. "I don't think that any of us - my dad, or myself, or my brother Bob or anybody - were doing anything miraculous," says Bill Goebel. "We just weren't afraid to work, and we got with it. We did some things we wished we hadn't done. But we always turned them around and did the best we could." Mission:?Our mission is to lead our industry by providing the best value in quality products and customer service for the construction, improvement, and maintenance of the home. We will make fair profits and be a respected community citizen.