Four Miyake-HPM Managers Embrace Merger

The four branch managers of Maui’s Miyake-HPM stores say the recent merger of Miyake Concrete Accessories, Inc. with HPM Building Supply forms a good marriage that’s beneficial for both employees and customers.

Collectively, the four leaders represent 100 years of experience serving Maui’s professional builders and homeowners. Each began their careers at Miyake on the bottom of the proverbial totem pole and worked their way up to become the managers of their respective branches.

Meet the Leaders

“It’s exciting,” Elesio Arreola, Miyake-HPM Kihei Branch Manager, said of the merger. “We’re both local, family-oriented companies that have been around for a long time and do our part to help the community.”

The two previous companies were both involved in the building and construction merchandising business, but specialize in different aspects of it.

“If you combine the two things, that’s a good thing for our customers and the communities,” Arreola said. “Everything in one place, one company, a one-stop store. And we have more branches on more islands!”

The Miyake-HPM Kihei store was recently updated “with new flooring, a new paint job, the whole works,” Arreola said.

Gil Tuquero, Miyake-HPM Lahaina Branch Manager, said the merger makes good sense because the previously separate companies specialized in different areas with different product lines that now, joined together, complement each other well. Miyake, for instance, has traditionally sold Euclid Chemical patching products. “We sell that by the pallet to the general contractors,” he said.

Tuquero said the merger has presented challenges, but in a good way, by pushing him to learn new things such as HPM’s more technology-based way of doing business. “We enjoy learning new things,” he said.

HPM Building Supply has implemented advanced inventory tracking technology across all the Miyake-HPM locations to maximize the ability of having the products that customers want in stock when they need it.

Brice Matsuda, Miyake-HPM Makawao Branch Manager and the “youngster” of the group with 15 years at the company, said the Miyake family’s genuine care for its employees is a key reason he and others have chosen to stay at the company.

“A lot of people used to do business with Miyake Concrete because it was a family-owned business and they stressed service to the customers,” Matsuda said. “Over the years, they got to know people personally. It wasn’t like going to a big-box store, you ask them for help, and you know them only by a name tag.”

Employees were well-trained in specialty areas. “They got a lot of training so they could succeed with what they were doing,” Matsuda said.

HPM has historically also placed a big emphasis on training and continues to do so now. Due to the pandemic, HPM has moved most of their employee training online to a virtual platform that ensures their employees are receiving beneficial and timely training. Myron Nakamura said the emphasis on customer service factors into his favorite part of the job — the ability of the company’s employees to provide their knowledge and expertise as dictated by a customer’s needs.

“We ask them ‘What is your objective?’” Nakamura said. Staff can offer recommendations for the type of concrete, sealer or other products depending on the customers goals and needs for their project. “There’s a lot of questions and answers.”

Customer service also means “getting the products to our customers as quickly as possible,” he said.

The marriage of HPM and Miyake not only means a broader inventory of materials and products for consumers, but a continued dedication to the strong customer service on which both franchises have staked their reputations for decades.

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