About Us > History

History of a family business . . .

Kitchen Views is a division of National Lumber Company, New England's largest independent supplier of building materials and experts in building related services. With pride, this family owned and operated business has been supplying and serving the building industry since 1934.

National Lumber - A Solid Foundation

In 1934, Morris Kaitz started the National Lumber Company in Roxbury, serving builders in the Boston area with the professional service prevalent in those days. At that time, all the lumber was stocked by hand - very labor intensive, but they moved a lot of lumber for their growing customer base.

The Tradition Continues

The Kaitz family is still involved in all aspects of daily activities to ensure the satisfaction of each of our customers. Now into our third generation, we are the largest independent lumber dealer in New England.

Lou Kaitz, the last of Morris's four sons, still comes in to the office daily. His wealth of experience and knowledge still guides company decisions. His proudest accomplishment is to be providing health and retirement benefits to his employees. He always puts the workers first, having worked hard himself when the family business was still small but growing. Lou remembers when they got their first forklift in the 1950s, and declares that it was like a "gift from heaven!" A load of lumber that once took hours to load manually is now loaded in minutes! Most of the materials in our lumberyards today are never even touched by human hands.

National Lumber has consistently led the industry. In the 1980s while competitors struggled and closed, belt-tightening and wise planning prepared the company for future growth. We built the best staff of outside sales and service personnel, created an inside sales support staff, and embraced developing computer and communications technologies to work smarter and faster. Keeping our customers projects moving on schedule is good for everyone!

Steven Kaitz, a recognized leader in the industry, had the vision of providing amazing showrooms with the priorities of talented designers and support staff providing excellence in customer service and outstanding project results. Knowing that our loyal customer base of builders and contractors required these services for their clients, he carefully planned and boldly invested in the development of the kitchen division.

Margie Kaitz, well known in the industry for her marketing abilities, developed an in-house marketing department to serve the growing business divisions. She also oversees the technical infrastructure that keeps sales and accounting departments up to speed with the fast-paced building industry. She led the development of computerization with customized software in the 1980s.

Suzi Kaitz, Lou's daughter, joined Kitchen Views in 2003. Bringing 20 years experience in marketing and PR, Suzi is the general manager of the six Kitchen Views showrooms and the driving force behind the partnership with Waterworks in Chestnut Hill.

Today, National Lumber and its divisions employ over 500 people, providing competitive wages and strong benefits!

Through product excellence, extraordinary personal attention, and the support of state-of-the-art technology, National Lumber and the Kitchen Views teams pledge to provide a memorable and enjoyable experience as you imagine the beautiful things you can do.