Hancock Lumber plans to buy Tiny Homes of Maine

File Photo / Fred Field Corinne Watson, with co-founder and husband Thomas Small, said they will sell Tiny Homes of Maine to Hancock Lumber.

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By Laurie Schreiber

Hancock Lumber, headquartered in Casco, plans to expand its manufacturing capabilities with the acquisition of Tiny Homes of Maine, in the Aroostook County town of Dyer Brook.

Tiny Homes is a manufacturer of tiny homes on wheels. The parties signed a letter of intent on Tuesday and said they anticipate closing at the end of October. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Tiny Homes of Maine is a natural extension of our component manufacturing and value-added construction initiatives, helping alleviate housing demand issues and offer more affordable options,” said Paul Wainman, Hancock’s president and CEO.

Provided Photo

Paul Wainman

Tiny Homes

Tiny Homes was co-founded in 2016 by Corinne Watson, a 2020 Mainebiz Next List honoree.

Formerly an engineer at Fairchild Semiconductor, Smith & Wesson and IDEXX Laboratories, she left all of that to co-found Tiny Homes of Maine with husband Thomas Small, who is the design engineer and operations manager.

The company has been designing, selling, manufacturing and delivering finished tiny homes — movable structures that are 400 square feet or less — for customers across Maine.

Watson and Small said their plan is to continue with Hancock Lumber and manage the Dyer Brook manufacturing facility, daily operations and team.

Their expertise includes advanced home design, 3D modeling, engineering and lean manufacturing capabilities. They were instrumental in passing legislation in Maine to set a single common building code standard for tiny homes.

"We’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on our vision for Tiny Homes of Maine’s future and we believe that Hancock Lumber is the ideal partner to help us realize our long-term goals,” the couple said in a joint statement. “Their commitment to quality and innovation mirrors our own — with their resources and support, we can focus on implementing innovative ideas and streamline our operations with additional lean manufacturing processes.”

Hancock Lumber

Acquiring Tiny Homes of Maine is expected to be a natural extension of Hancock Lumber’s manufacturing capabilities, which include Mainely Trusses roof and floor component manufacturing, wall panel production, and eastern white pine sawmills. Hancock acquired Mainely Trusses in 2018.

In 2019, Hancock moved into new headquarters at 1267 Poland Spring Road (Route 11) in Casco. Two years later, the company acquired Lapointe Lumber, a building materials supplier with sites in Augusta and Gardiner.

Founded in 1848, Hancock Lumber is a seventh-generation, integrated forest products company with over 700 employees and operating white pine sawmills, a network of lumberyards, truss and wall panel manufacturing facilities, and kitchen design showrooms

Tiny homes and accessory dwelling units are an emerging segment of the housing market that helps accelerate the building cycle and provide more affordable and flexible housing options, the company said.

Hancock Lumber expects the acquisition to leverage the company's buying power, network of lumberyards and customers, and manufacturing expertise to scale and grow the business while honoring Tiny Homes of Maine’s mission to make tiny homes attainable for more individuals.

“We are confident the companies will complement one another and together we’ll be able to scale and grow the tiny home business,” said Wainman.

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