The Warsaw and Rochester stores are among 26 Carter Lumber locations that are closing. The Kent, Ohio-based building materials supplier said it is focusing on growth in its larger markets.

A total of 26 stores in 23 markets are being closed because, according to the company, they were in smaller markets or locations without the support the company wanted.

In Indiana, the stores that are closing are in Warsaw, Rochester, New Castle, Rockport (operating at Kight Home Center) and Shelbyville. Carter Lumber is also closing 13 stores in Ohio and one each in Michigan, Kentucky, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

The company operates in 11 states and has opened 10 new stores in the last 18 months in Baltimore-Washington, D.C., Chesapeake and Richmond, Va.; Cincinnati; Cleveland; Columbus; Indianapolis; Pittsburgh and a store that opened two weeks ago in the Outer Banks, N.C.

In a news release, Kip Glecker, senior vice president of field operations, said housing starts are increasing where the company is opening new stores.

Said Carter Lumber President Jeff Donley in a news release: “During the recent economic downturn, while many competitors were trying to survive, Carter Lumber transformed itself from a $500 million traditional lumberyard, into almost a $1 billion professional lumberyard.”

The company operates in 11 states.

Before the closures, privately held Carter Lumber employed 540 in Northeast Ohio and 2,700 overall.

Employees have been asked to stay with the stores as they go through the closing process, which will vary according to store and could take around four weeks. Workers who stay with the business until closure will receive severance pay and some will be offered positions to transfer to other stores or territories. The company anticipates losing about 30 full-time positions in the closures.

StaceyPageOnline.com was not able to reach the company for specific information on the local stores.