General Info

Our company, Peters Coal and Supply Company had its beginning as Gorman Coal and Supply Company. The president and general manager, Mr. E. A. (Ed) Gorman executed a lease of the Bellevue property with Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company on March 1, 1919. Mr. Frank B. Peters, and his family later acquired the business and incorporated in Kentucky in 1933 and they operated the business through the 1960s, when two fires occurred at the company. A third fire occurred in 1970 and, while no one was injured, these fires took a toll on the Peters' family business. On April 1, 1971, Fred W. Grause purchased Peters Coal and Supply Company and soon after constructed a six thousand square foot concrete building. In 1971, Fred's youngest son, Kenneth, began his career with Peters Coal and Supply Company as a part-time counter sales, yardman and truckdriver. In January of 1975, Ken was assigned the position of general manager of Peters Coal and Supply Company. The company's name was then changed to d.b.a. Bellevue Home Improvement Center, which was later shortened to BHIC. Coal was dropped from inventory by the end of the nineteen seventies when Ken and his new bride Denise took over ownership from his father. Ken became president and general manager. In 1980, the Bellevue property was purchased from Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company. Immediately following, improvements were made to the property, including a six thousand square foot addition to the main store building, which doubled the square footage of the retail store. In 1987, a 26, 000 square foot home center was opened for business in Fort Mitchell, KY followed by an overhaul to the lumber yard at Bellevue and remodeling of the main building into a Do it center. The Fort Mitchell store was also remodeled in 1995 and the names of both stores were changed to "Pilot Do it center". In 1998, Peters Coal and Supply Company, Denise and Ken Grause purchased the assets of Hess and Racke, Inc, a leading lumber company in Alexandria. During that first year, two new lumber buildings were erected, totaling 17, 000 square feet. This became the second lumberyard of Peters Coal and Supply Company, d.b.a. Hess and Racke Do it center and the acquisition brought the company back to its roots, with its main focus again on the professional residential builders and remodelers. In 2004, Peters Coal and Supply Company opened a 4, 000 square foot Design Center on the second floor of the Bellevue property. The showroom was designed with Pilot's professional customers in mind; providing access to the showroom seven days a week, 365 days a year. Featured products include kitchen cabinets and countertops, wood and vinyl windows, interior and exterior doors, fiber cement sidings, specialty moldings and trims, shingles and a full time Kitchen Designer to bring it all together. That same year, the Fort Mitchell store was sold. Today, Pilot Lumber is not only focused on the building and home improvement needs of professional contractors and homeowners, but also on providing the Northern Kentucky-Greater Cincinnati region with premium composite deck and porch products that are nearly maintenance free for years of enjoyment.