Our Story
Experience World Class Customer Service and build your next project with Turkstra!
We are invested in you, we are invested in your projects and we want you to be successful with whatever you are hoping to build. From a simple project like a mail box, to the most complex beam designs we are here to help you every step of the way. With services such as design, delivery, an endless range of products with industry leading technology and over 70 years of industry experience, we are confident that we have what it takes to help you get the job done.
Our motto “Always on the Level” is as old as the company itself and we still proudly stand behind and try to live our motto with every interaction.
THE TURKSTRA LUMBER COMPANY
Turkstra Lumber is family owned company first established in 1953 by Peter Turkstra Sr. It began to take shape into the company it has become today when Peter amalgamated his business with another family business J.R. Hardware. From the very foundation, Turkstra Lumber is built on traditional values and will always be a traditional lumber yard, where you will always be able to buy your nails and screws by the pound.
We have become so much more than a lumber yard while still managing to maintain those traditional values set forth by our founder, and we continue to develop and find new ways to support our communities by providing quality services and building products, creating job opportunities and working with various community outreach programs, food banks, after school programs and so much more.
TURKSTRA MISSION & VALUES
MISSION
We are a family of great people who are committed to helping you Build-It-Better. We strive to earn 100% of your business and a positive referral.
VALUES
Health and Safety
Always on the Level
Community Minded
Positive Attitude
Teamwork
Respect
Continuous Improvement
Over 70 years and 3 generations
OUR HISTORY
Over seventy years ago, an intrepid and hardworking Dutch immigrant realized his dream of opening a lumberyard in the industrial heartland of southern Ontario. Guided by faith and ambition, Peter Turkstra founded Turkstra Lumber upon a set of core personal values. These values continue to guide those of us who work at Turkstra, especially our commitment to “build our future based on traditional values.”
What does this mean?
It means we pride ourselves on delivering quality products and world-class service with integrity and respect. It means we stand behind our products and services and ensure we support our employees, customers, suppliers and the communities we serve.
This is no idle commitment. It requires a level of dedication to doing business in an intentional and deliberate way. There is strength in our history. Our founder left a strong impression on the character and reputation of our company that still resonates two generations later.
The History of Turkstra
ALWAYS ON THE LEVEL
Always on the Level - A History of Turkstra Lumber is a book based on family memoirs, records, memorabilia and a series of interviews conducted with the Turkstra family and Turkstra Lumber’s leaders, employees and longtime customers. It is an account of Dutch immigration and settlement in mid-twentieth century Canada; a corporate history of how one lumberyard expanded into multiple industries and eleven branches; and a story of community development and philanthropy.
TURKSTRA CARES
One of our core values as a company is to give back and support the communities where we live and work. It's a tradition that has spanned for 3 generations and over 70 years.
