Longtime manager buys paint store

TRAVERSE CITY — Knowledge and experience rule when it comes to doing a good job. That's true of any business endeavor, from choosing the right paint to managing a business.

Chris Demeter has what it takes in both fields. He became manager of Northwood Paint & Supply in 2000, just a year after the business launched. Fifteen years later, the original owner retired. Demeter and his wife, Caroline, purchased the business at 1299 W. South Airport Road, across from Cherryland Center.

"Now it's up to me to take care of my employees," Chris said. "I'm not just an employee."

He and the crew of six workers possess a wealth of paint experience. One of his key employees has been on staff since 2001.

"We just don't have turnover," Chris said.

Those years of accumulated experience with paint, varnish and other coatings don't rub off easily. That hard-earned knowledge is one of the things the Demeters believe sets Northwood apart from the competition. Another is ownership.

"We're the only locally owned paint store in town," said Chris.

Business activity increased for the store every year since he's been on board, Chris said. Northwood recorded $1.7 million in sales in 2014.

"We plan to grow," Caroline said.

The business sells a variety of paint, coatings, brushes and rollers. It rents paint sprayers. Household paints are a mainstay. The business handles many commercial accounts. It is supplying paint for new Meijer stores in Acme and Alpena. It sells paint that keeps the fleet at Elmer's Crane and Dozer sparkling. It provided the coatings for the exterior of the control tower at Cherry Capital Airport, Chris said. It sells paint to Actron Steel and a host of local contractors.

"That keeps up going in the slow winter months," Chris said of the commercial sales.

Mid-winter business revolves around interior paint. Come summer, exterior paint splashes across town and sales jump in the Northwood showroom. Chris said an average of 50 to 65 customers visit the store each winter day. That number blossoms to more than 100 per day when the weather is hot.

"In the summer, it gets crazy in here," he said.

Caroline came on board after she and Chris bought the business. She is handling the books in her spare time. She retained her full-time job as office manager at the local office of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

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