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by Rich Devine
After serving the Quakertown area for nearly 30 years, Country Structures is changing names, and merging with our longtime partner and exclusive shed manufacturer, Lapp Structures. While this may seem like a major change to our loyal customers, we want to assure you that this change will be in name alone.
To better understand why we’re making this change, it’s important to have a little history on Lapp Structures, and how they directly played a role in the founding of Country Structures.
Back in 1980, a man by the name of Amos Lapp opened up a stand at the now shuttered Zerns Farmers Market in Gilbertsville PA. It was here Amos sold handmade outdoor furniture under the name Lapp’s Woodcraft.
Amos wasn’t the only stand selling outdoor furniture though. He had stiff competition from another stand in the same market, run by Gary and Barbara Savastana under the name G&B Enterprises.
The two stands enjoyed a friendly rivalry over the years, each trying to outsell the other. As time went on, they realized some of their customers were looking for something a little more. The Gilbertsville & Boyertown areas were growing, and with more people moving in came a demand for more storage space. Customers visiting the two market stands began asking for sheds.
Being a hard-working farmer before working a market stand, Amos was confident he could build a quality product that would meet this new demand from his customers - so he began building small storage sheds and selling them from his tiny market stand. With this new business model, Lapp’s Woodcraft would evolve over the years into the fully custom shed manufacturer that it is today: Lapp Structures.
Gary and Barbara, on the other hand, did not have a reliable source for a product so complex. It was at this time that the friendly rivalry between these two owners transformed into a partnership that would last throughout the years.
The deal was simple: Gary and Barbara would move from their market stand and open two retail locations, in Limerick PA then later in Birdsboro PA, selling quality Amish-built sheds. Who would provide these structures, you may ask? None other than Amos Lapp!
G&B Enterprises transformed into G&B Sheds, and quickly became Lapp Structures’ largest distributing customer. Over the years both companies grew together, and G&B Sheds would go on to open additional retail locations in Wind Gap and the Poconos.
Now this is where the Country Structures tie-in comes in. When Gary and Barbara opened these two northern locations, they needed a manager to watch over things. They decided to hire a man by the name of Otto D’Angelis.
Otto spent a number of years working with Gary and Barbara to cultivate the two northern locations into the local staples they are today. He ensured the lots were well maintained and stocked with structures that he thought would sell in these northern markets.
Things were going smoothly, and Otto picked up valuable insight into the needs of his customers, as well as experience running a shed distributing business. After a number of years working for G&B Sheds, he decided it was time to put all this experience to the test.
In 1992 Otto purchased a lot in the Quakertown area and struck a deal with Amos Lapp that would allow him to sell his custom-built structures. Country Structures was born, and with it, Otto introduced the Quakertown area to quality Amish-made sheds, playsets, and outdoor furniture.
Business was good, and over time, Country Structures became Quakertown’s “go-to” spot for high quality outdoor furniture and sheds. Otto had a wonderful relationship with Amos that lasted many years, but after some time Otto decided he was ready for a break.
He realized that some customers outside of his market would go straight to the manufacturer to purchase their sheds and thought buying direct would make the most sense for his customers too. In 2013 Country Structures transferred ownership from Otto D’Angelis to Amos Lapp, and Lapp Structures took over all the back-end operations that come with running a business.
After so many years working directly with Lapp Structures as a top retail distributor, we’re excited to announce that the Country Structure brand will be merging with the Lapp Structures brand as of January 2021.
By merging brands, we hope to streamline the administrative costs associated with running two separate businesses. This means we can better control our expenses in a time when material costs have been steadily increasing due to COVID-19 shortages. It also keeps us more transparent, so our customers know exactly who they’re doing business with.
We’re excited to see where this change will take us! It will still be our goal to provide high-quality outdoor living products to our community, and we’re confident that Lapp Structures will continue this tradition as they have for the past years.
Come down to our Quakertown sales lot and speak with Jared and Melissa. They can provide you with a quote in a pressure free environment. Whether it is a shed, garage, animal-barn or pool house, if you can dream it, they can help you design it! Located at 1111 S West end boulevard, Quakertown PA, right next to the CVS on rt. 309.