Bill is the fourth generation to operate the business, after his great-grandfather Homer T. Hayward started in Los Angeles. Wanting a less-rushed pace, Homer moved to Salinas, Calif., in 1919 and opened his new business. His son and grandson followed his path. Bill’s father Homer M. Hayward, ran the business from 1946 to 1991, and Bill took over in 1992.
“Before that, I worked virtually every position in the store— driving trucks, driving forklifts, outside sales, counter sales, everything.” A number of stores have been revamped, consolidated and changed over the years as better opportunities arose and the markets altered. Seven stores operate today, with six adjacent design centers, as well as a truss-manufacturing plant and office. In August, Hayward built a new 6,000-square-foot lumberyard and design center on two acres in Silicon Valley, relocating another facility. “This is going to be a hot, hot market,” Hayward predicts. “It’s especially good to be able to grow again after the recession, which was a near-death experience for most of us. We are anticipating great things.”
New Opportunities
Hayward remains open to new possibilities, committing to one new store annually, preferably in the Bay Area. “We’re definitely looking for more opportunities,” he adds.
The company’s advanced building techniques will gain traction as California standards demand Net Zero homes to be built by 2020. Already a leader in passive-house technology, Hayward sees a healthy home as a better approach to energy efficiency, achieving energy goals, and health and comfort objectives.
“A healthy home is appealing to a far larger audience than sustainability,” he notes. “Only the deep green have been willing to pay for sustainability. But many are willing to choose health when they understand it’s an option. By doing so, they inadvertently choose sustainable building systems, too. Health is the next generation of how we’ll sell highperformance building systems.”