MILFORD – New doors to more job opportunities will be opening soon in Milford at the old N.K.S. Distributors plant.
Pierce Hardy Limited Partnership recently purchased the former N.K.S. distribution plant in the West Milford Industrial Park at 759 E. Masten Circle. for about $3.3 million, paving the way for Pennsylvania-based building materials company 84 Lumber to open a door manufacturing shop at the location.
Pierce Hardy Limited Partnership shares an address in Eighty Four, Pa., with national building materials supplier 84 Lumber, which was founded in 1956 by Joseph Hardy. Similar to this new spot in Milford, Pierce Hardy Limited Partnership is also listed as the owner of the 84 Lumber retail location in Dover.
While 84 Lumber already has a retail location in Milford on McCoy Street which does manufacture custom doors on a smaller scale, the new location would 84 Lumber’s first site in Delaware to solely produce the product.
The 38,000 square foot warehousing property, along with an adjoining 2.6-acre parcel, changed hands several times over the last few years. N.K.S. Distributors sold the spot in 2012 for $1.25 million, followed by a sale in 2022 from 399 Associates to Columbia Care for nearly $3 million.
The recent sale from Jan. 15 starts a new journey for the property, confirmed by 84 Lumber, bringing job opportunities for possible dozens of people in the area. 84 Lumber did not comment on how many jobs this site will bring to Kent County.
The growth for 84 Lumber falls in line with a strategy announced in 2023 seeking to accelerate its expansion plans across the country. At the time, the company had 234 retail stores, 14 component manufacturing plants, 28 engineered wood product centers and 34 door shops. The plan, at the time, was for the company to open an additional 54 locations by the end of that year.
Since then, 84 Lumber has continued to grow. The LBM Journal reported a new 41,250 square foot door shop in Lawrence, Pa. in August of 2024 and a 29,016 square foot component manufacturing plant on 8.8 acres focused on truss making in Bloomsburg, Pa. just this month to name a couple of up and coming locations for the company.
Before its expansion moves, 84 Lumber touted about 6,700 employees nationwide as recently as 2022 with a sales revenue of around $7 billion and charitable donations of more than $1 million.
