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Stud's Building and Home opened its second location in Sanders County this week. Joel and Wendy Collett said the new location in Thompson Falls was already busy as they announced the opening of the Thompson Falls store.

The new Stud's is located at 4879 Highway 200, just west of Thompson Falls, and was previously a tire shop. The company also still operates out of Plains at 103 S. Hubbard.

"This is going to make us more efficient and will help us feel more a part of the community" on the west end of the county, Joel stated Monday. He said they already do a lot of business with contractors and homeowners throughout the county, and they are excited to be able to offer additional services with the opening the second location.

Stud's purchased the 5,000-square-foot Thompson Falls building last fall. The store includes 84 feet of Diablo cutting tools and accessories, as well as a full line of Stihl tools. Stud's also offers repair and maintenance of Stihl equipment. Joel is also excited about the hardware offerings at the new location, saying it might be the biggest selection of nuts and bolts in the county.

Stud's employees about a dozen people in Thompson Falls, along with 17 at the Plains location. Joel said they will be looking to add staff members in the coming months. Wendy added that they have several students who work for the company.

Initial feedback from customers coming into the Thompson Falls location was positive Monday. Joel said their employees have been working hard to open the new store. "Our employees have done a really good job at making our stores attractive for our customers." While much of Stud's business is with contractors, the employees have worked to connect more with homeowners and make the stores attractive to them.

The Thompson Falls location required minimal renovations for Stud's to open, but Joel said the increase in demand for building supplies made getting some products in stock more difficult. The company will offer transfer services between the Thompson Falls and Plains stores daily.

Along with hardware, electrical, plumbing, tools, garden, lumber and other building supplies, Stud's offers propane tank sales and fills. Joel said that he knows shopping locally is better, and that Stud's works hard to be competitive with larger stores in Missoula. "We buy everything as close to home as possible," he noted, adding that they sell paint made by Rodda, an independent west coast company. The paint departments in both the Plains and Thompson Falls locations have new color matching technology which Joel said was very impressive.

The Thompson Falls location will have a design center, which Plains does not. Customers or contractors can come to the Thompson Falls store and visit the center to design projects with everything from paint samples to roofing and siding samples, as well as kiosks with specific manufacturer information. The Stud's staff, Joel said, is constantly training in design to be able to better serve their customers.

Stud's has been investing in additional equipment in the last several years. Joel said additional equipment helps them improve their delivery and allows them to move more material and make the building supplies more mobile. For example, they have trucks with forklifts and booms that make it possible for them to make rooftop or second-story deliveries of building materials.

Stud's has scheduled a grand opening for the Thompson Falls store for August 6. Stud's is open 8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Monday - Friday and 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturdays. Reach the Thompson Falls store at 827-4001 and the Plains store at 826-4240.