The History of Little Falls Lumber and Concrete Forming
Hi, my name is Jim Filipski. Together with my wife, Karen, we operate both Little Falls Lumber Co., Inc. and Little Falls Concrete Forming Co. Inc.. This is the story of our companies.
On a Sunday morning back in 1946, my dad, William Filipski, told my mom that he was going to the local lumber yard to pick up some 2x4’s and nails for a project at home. After several hours, dad returned home and told my mother, “We own a lumber company”.As you may have assumed, she almost passed out. The next morning at 6:00 AM, Little Falls Lumber was born. Bill and Kitty Filipski opened the doors with no knowledge of the lumber or building material business. The first years were rough times with only the two of them running the entire business from bookkeeping and taking orders, to delivering materials after hours. As the company began to grow,more buildings went up, more employees and equipment were added.
Now for Little Falls Concrete Forming. My dad purchased 2000 pieces of used masonry scaffolding frame and began to rent and sell new and used scaffolding equipment. As time went on, we replaced the entire scaffolding inventory with a concrete forming and shoring system.
Around 1978, I started in the family business and soon after we added our first branch located at 220 Midler Park Drive, Syracuse, NY. It is a 40,000 sq ft warehouse with railroad service directly on the grounds. As Karen and I began to take over the business from my parents, we continued to grow with our second branch at 1187 Brighton-Henrietta Town Line Rd, Henrietta, NY. *This location is completely stocked with building materials and is a full service concrete forming yard. In 2006, our latest branch opened at 824 Main St, Clifton Park, NY. This branch services DIY'ers, home builders, and re-modelers as well as heavy commercial contractors in the Albany area.
From our humble beginnings of my mom and dad’s, to four locations, 50 plus employees, 35 delivery vehicles and a service area of all of New York and much of New England, we continue to grow.
*(Please note that the Henrietta branch has moved to 1005 Chili Avenue in Rochester)