Ar-Jay Center in Cedar Rapids sold to new owner

The Ar-Jay Center, a Cedar Rapids home improvement retailer, has been sold to Ferguson Enterprises of Newport News, Va.

Ralph Palmer, president of the Ar-Jay Center, and his son, Jeff Palmer, purchased the company in 1997 from Richard Felter. The business sells lighting and ceiling fans, clocks and artwork, kitchen and bath fixtures, windows, and aluminum, vinyl and steel siding.

Jeff Palmer, vice president of the Ar-Jay Center, said the decision to sell the majority of the company's assets followed two years of discussions.

'Ferguson Enterprises will do $14 billion of business this year,” Palmer said. 'As the economy is pulling out of the recession, the company is going through the process of acquiring key players in some determined markets.”

Palmer said some challenges needed to be overcome in the form of product lines that were not part of Ferguson's core business and the company's desire to lease only a portion of the Cedar Rapids building that houses the Ar-Jay Center.

Palmer was able to lease a portion of the building to the local franchisee of Sky Zone for an indoor trampoline park. It required the relocation of Ar-Jay's showroom, bathrooms and elevator.

Palmer sold Ar-Jay's exterior siding, windows and doors business to ABC Supply, a $5.5 billion company that has been a competitor.

'I needed to make sure my guys will be going to work for the company,” Palmer said. 'They have been with us for many years, and I wanted to make sure they were protected.”

Palmer said Ferguson will retain the company's roughly 30 employees. The Council Street building will house a builder, contractor, and consumer showroom that will offer appliances, kitchen and bath cabinets, fireplaces, lighting, and plumbing.

A Ferguson spokesman said the Ar-Jay Center brand will continue under the new ownership.

'Ar-Jay Center is a brand in the marketplace that people are very familiar with,” said Nate Knollenberg, Ferguson's Eastern Iowa general manager. 'We definitely plan to keep it and support it.”