Sears Trostel Lumber & Millwork

Carl Trostel founded his lumber company in Fort Collins' original business district in 1929. The flagship store, on Linden Street, supplied lumber and building materials to the growing Northern Colorado construction industry. Bob Sears, son-in-law of Mr. Trostel, took over management and operations in 1948, and for the next 30 years, ownership remained with the Sears family as the company became a mainstay of the downtown business community. In 1981, two employees, Steve Schwartz and Curt Viehmeyer, purchased Sears Trostel Lumber from the Sears family and began to transform the company. The partners recognized and responded to a growing need for quality hardwood lumber and sheetgoods along the Front Range and in mountain communities, and restructured the company to better meet demand. This resulted in a dramatic expansion of the company's moulding inventory and custom millwork services throughout the 1980s.