Rough plumbing products manufacturer Sioux Chief recently hosted the Southern Wholesalers Association Leadership Development Council’s summer-fall meeting at company headquarters in Peculiar, Mo.
LDC members toured Sioux Chief’s more than 400,000-sq.-ft.
manufacturing facility and met with Sioux Chief executives, including owner Joe P. Ismert and Vice President of Product Development Rex Baer. After a barbeque lunch, LDC held its summer-fall meeting. The LDC and Sioux Chief contingent then attended a Kansas City Royals game in the evening.
“It was a tremendous benefit to get to meet Sioux Chief leadership and staff and see how a family company has developed over 50 years,” McKee-Nix & Associate’s Brad Hall told Supply House Times. “They opened their doors to us and we learned a lot.”
This was the third time the LDC has hosted a meeting in conjunction with a manufacturer event.
“It’s not just networking and training — it’s a combination of both,” LDC Chair Barry Jewell (W.M. McClain Co.) said. “These events are a way for us to get together and network and learn from each other. We mixed in training, guest speakers and the social component. Manufacturers have eaten this up. Sioux Chief did a great job with this.”
Sioux Chief National Sales Manager Mike Stallings was pleased with how the event turned out. “It absolutely was well worth the investment,” he said. “The LDC has wholesalers, manufacturers and manufacturers reps. These are the future leaders of our industry. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to host the event and show that Sioux Chief is a true American manufacturer.”
Hall liked the fact he was able to interact with fellow LDC members and Sioux Chief officials in a more relaxed setting at the baseball game. “We went to the Royals game and hung out and got to know each other on a personal basis,” he said. “You see each other in a different light away from a business setting and that only strengthens the relationships we’ve built through this group.”
Hall added the event highlighted the LDC’s continued growth. “The whole SWA organization is growing and one of the factors contributing to the growth is the LDC,” he said. “It’s exciting to see guys such as Coley Herrin and Travis Elrod come out of the LDC and go on to be SWA presidents.”
Looking ahead, Fluidmaster’s Mike Walter is the incoming LDC chairman. Hydrologic’s Chris Lynch is the incoming first vice chair and Hall is the incoming second vice chair.
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