From left: Chris Benson, Brad Benson, Andrew Benson, Scott Benson, Linda Benson, Grant Benson and Sarah Benson. (Photo by Christine Carignan)

It’s unusual for a family-owned business to make it to a fourth generation, “and I completely understand why,” says Bradley Benson, part of the fourth generation of his family to run Benson Lumber & Hardware in Derry. The company was started in 1939 by his great-grandfather, George Washington Benson, as a sawmill and lumber yard, and now has three NH locations.

Benson says the reason why succession in family businesses is so difficult is because it requires sacrifice to grow a company and careful intention to pass it on to the next generation. That intention goes back for decades in his family, Benson says. His older brothers, Grant Benson III and Scott Benson, got into the business in the early 1980s, and he followed in 1984. They’ve been working together since, all involved in day-to-day operations.

“We made the decision that in order to stay a family-owned business, we had to grow,” Bradley Benson says. They’ve expanded into hardware retail, added a second location in Londonderry, and acquired Boulia-Gorrell Lumber Company in Laconia, which was a third-generation family business that didn’t have a means for succession.

“We would love to find another location toward the Seacoast,” Benson says. “If we found the right opportunity, we would certainly consider expanding.”

The goal of the current management team is to put the company in the strongest possible position for the next round of Bensons—Bradley’s sons Andrew and Christopher—and are working to prepare them to take over the business. “They work in the lumber yard, they load and unload trucks, they got their CDL so they could drive a delivery truck,” Benson says, “We wanted them to learn every facet of what we do.” As they learn, they are also earning the respect of their co-workers and the trust of the company’s long-term customers.

“I’ve had the privilege of running the business since 1985,” Bradley says, “but it’s our business, it’s not my business. If you lose track of that, that’s when family businesses really struggle.” 

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