PEOPLE NEWS

Stanley Graser has been appointed director of plumbing to oversee F. W. Webb’s markets within New York City’s five boroughs, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Nick Snell continues to serve as the company’s director of plumbing with a focus on New England and Upstate New York. “We are continuing to expand our presence across the Tri-State area. Since each market is unique, we have made the decision to divide our plumbing territories to better support our customers,” F.W. Webb COO Bob Mucciarone said. “Stanley has a great reputation in these key areas and has tremendous relationships in the building industry. I am confident he will help grow our name within the Tri-State area as a first-class supplier.”

An industry veteran with more than 35 years of experience, Graser has held a number of managerial roles and built territories, promotional programs and e-commerce initiatives from the ground up. He spent the majority of his career at Ferguson where he worked on residential and light commercial plumbing projects. Under his leadership, he and his team provided competitive solutions and value engineering to builders, architects and designers, the New England-based distributor explained. Graser is also knowledgeable on the different plumbing brands and the latest technology innovations, Webb added.

Bradley Corp., announced the appointment of Mark Whittington to vice president, business development. Whittington will join Bradley’s leadership team, and in his role is responsible for growing Bradley’s plumbing products business. He has held various sales, operations and supply chain leadership positions in the plumbing industry for 20-plus years, most notably with Elkay Manufacturing as executive vice president-plumbing. “Mark possesses extensive knowledge of the plumbing wholesale industry, knows many of our sales representative agencies and the leading wholesaler customers,” said Luis de Leon, Bradley’s chief operating officer. “We are excited that he has joined Bradley’s leadership team, and is already making a positive impact on our business.”

Gary Boshart, founder and chair of the Boshart Group, and its newly appointed CEO Jeremy Kuepfer, announced new leadership appointments and transitions in its North American operations. The Boshart family and its key leaders have been assembling a world-class team that manufactures and distributes high-quality products to support the global plumbing, water well, industrial, HVAC, PVF, waterworks, wastewater, irrigation and pool & spa industries, the company noted.

Gary Boshart officially announced Kuepfer, his son in law, has been appointed as the CEO of the Boshart Group. Kuepfer has most recently served as the senior VP of IT and operations at Boshart Industries. The extensive experience he has gained over the past 21 years in his various roles has allowed him to form a strong foundation to build upon and lead the group into its next season of growth and development, Boshart noted. 

Additionally, Julie Storey continues as president of Boshart Industries, a promotion that occurred in November 2019. Bo Andersson, who served Flomatic for more than 50 years, most recently as president, will transition to a new role as director or research and development for Boshart Group. Nick Farrara was named president of Flomatic, effective March 1. Farrara has been an integral part of the Flomatic team since 1996 and was most recently executive vice president.

The Boshart Group includes Boshart Industries, founded by Mel Boshart in 1955, and joined by Gary Boshart in 1970, and Flomatic Corp., founded in 1933 and acquired in 2012.

RectorSeal announced EDOS Manufacturing Representatives has expanded the sales territory for RectorSeal products. EDOS adds Maine, eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island to its coverage area. RectorSeal also announced an association with EDOS in June 2020 to serve plumbing and HVAC customers in Vermont, western Massachusetts and Connecticut. “We offer our customers superior service, comprehensive and reliable information, timely communication, and the most progressive training programs and support possible,” said Robert Os, president and outside sales manager at EDOS. “We are unrelenting in our commitment to represent superior product and systems knowledge, market and industry expertise, and business integrity.”

COMPANY NEWS

Reliance Worldwide Corp., a manufacturer of  push-to-connect plumbing products, valves, secondary pipe supports, firestopping solutions and fluid control technologies, is partnering with Home Builders Institute, a national leader in career training for the building and construction industry, as the exclusive trade sponsor for its 22 plumbing programs across the U.S., primarily serving Job Corps students and justice-involved individuals. These HBI programs provide students with the skills, experience and placement services they need to have a successful career while helping the trade address labor shortages, RWC noted.

“We are thrilled to engage with HBI and believe this is the beginning of an important, long-lasting partnership,” said Chris Carrier, marketing director, Americas at RWC.“HBI’s ability to connect, train and place potential new talent into the trades makes them an ideal partner. Not only do we see this as an opportunity to helpour trade, but also an opportunity to help the local communities that these programs are in.”

RWC noted this partnership was a natural opportunity to double down on its commitment to promote and further the plumbing trade after its Careers in Construction Month efforts, through its SharkBite and HoldRite brands, in October.

Website visitors to the newly designed IMARK Group website (at www.imarkgroup.com) will learn about all the benefits that accrue to members and suppliers in all IMARK divisions: electrical, HVACR and plumbing/irrigation, as well as Luxury Products Group, which supports decorative showrooms, and IM Supply, which is a national account sales solution for IMARK Group members. The website features videos from group leadership, as well as an introductory video on the home page. 

According to Bob Smith, president of IMARK Group, IMARK Group has always been known for “building success one member at a time.” “We take great pride in being a dynamic, member-owned, member-governed organization,” Smith added. “We are pleased to announce IMARK Group’s brand-new website, encompassing the core mission and purpose of IMARK Group and what it stands for.” Smith noted the group’s 2,300-plus members collectively generate in excess of $28 billion in annual sales.

LPG welcomed Commerce Township, Michigan-based Savance Enterprise as its newest supplier partner. Savance Enterprise’s ERP software will be the first new service partner to join the group in 2021. Savance Enterprise ERP software is uniquely positioned to provide wholesaler-distributors with a complete package of business operations software for one affordable, upfront price, LPG explained. In fact, Savance’s all-inclusive price model is one of the key factors that influenced LPG Executive Director Jeff MacDowell to evaluate the service provider.

“I was impressed by Savance’s 20-year proven commitment to the industry, standout customer service, and straightforward pricing,” he noted. “To me, that speaks volumes about a company. I am thrilled to have Savance as part of the LPG family of service providers. Savance works with other verticals within the IMARK group, so it made perfect sense to have them join forces with us. I am confident they will help our members become more successful by providing a comprehensive solution to support customer demand.”

Manufacturers representative firm HEBCO of Independence, Missouri has been awarded Milwaukee Valve’s 2021 Ron Stockstell Memorial Award for quarter-turn sales growth in 2020.

Milwaukee Valve created the Ron Stockstell Memorial Award to celebrate the agency that has shown the greatest sales growth in quarter-turn products over the past year. In 2020, HEBCO was able to increase quarter-turn sales by more than 40%. This growth occurred while the company was dealing with the transition of leadership from one generation to the next, and the trials presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, Milwaukee Valve explained.

Because of years of dedication to specification work, and building relationships and trust, as well as seeking and accepting guidance and help, HEBCO enjoyed substantial success, the manufacturer noted. The foundations that the business was built on remained strong, including acceptance by the engineering community, preference from the contractor and end-user markets, and continued support from distribution partners.

The Stockstell Award is named for Milwaukee Valve’s first quarter-turn valve product manager, who was hired in 1986 to supervise the development of the company’s bronze and brass ball valves and iron butterfly valves. Prior to his arrival, Milwaukee Valve imported a few brass ball valves and a very limited offering of iron butterfly valves. Under Ron Stockstell’s guidance, Milwaukee Valve designed and manufactured its own valves, and Stockstell spearheaded the projects, adding the industrial offering of carbon and stainless steel ball valves.

DDI System, a distribution software company for mid-market wholesalers, announced the release of Inform ERP software Version 22. DDI’s feature set, customer engagement tools, embedded ecommerce and warehouse management support more than 1,100 North American wholesale distributors competing in today’s transformational marketplace, the company pointed out. Inform ERP Version 22 offers dozens of new features. Drag and drop scheduling adds warehouse transfer shipments alongside customer delivery orders using Inform’s unique Truck Manifest. Track daily and operator picking status and completion rate for both warehouse transfers and customer sales orders on the Order Picker Progress screen.