After cancelling our 2020 in-person conference due to the pandemic, members of the association were able to come back together for an in-person meeting. The event welcomed 401 wholesaler attendees from 153 member companies for a grand total of 1,525 attendees from 578 member companies present at the event. The booth program sold out with 241 vendors participating.

Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) announced the hiring of Zachary Perge as the organization’s first vice president of distribution strategies. Perge comes to HARDI from Deloitte Consulting where he was senior consultant, consumer M&A division. Perge was the integration lead for a $38 billion merger of two semiconductor companies, developed a $30-$50 million cost reduction program for a Fortune 500 consumer company, and generated more than $46 million in new projects for Deloitte during his time there.

The latest people news within the PHCP-PVF industry and supply chain.

The annual competition among Heating Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) members recovered 239 pounds of mercury from 70 member companies, increasing more than 16 pounds from last year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, more than 380 branch locations returned collection bins during the contest period, from May 1 to October 31.

There are very few work-related emergencies that carry more risk and danger than fire events. Many regulations related to fire prevention have been developed to protect workers and facilities with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) being responsible for many of them.

Net sales of $6,803 million were 26.6% ahead of last year, 24.5% higher on an organic basis with 1.8% from acquisitions and a further 0.3% from the impact of foreign exchange. Inflation in the first quarter was in the low teens.

Munch’s Supply a Chicagoland area-based heating, air conditioning and plumbing distributor, has acquired TML Supply and its 13 branches servicing the province of Ontario, Canada. This will expand Munch’s geographic footprint to 64 locations serving 16 U.S. states and one Canadian province.

I read somewhere that the most prevalent machine in the world is the electric motor. I thought about that for a while and it made sense. Just look around. But then I began to wonder what the second-most prevalent machine in the world is. Turns out it’s the pump! And most pumps are connected to electric motors of one kind or another, so there you go. Throw a rock and you’ll hit a motor. Or a pump. They’re everywhere.  

The topic of labor has been front and center for quite some time now inside and outside of this industry. But it wasn’t until the recent Thanksgiving holiday break that it really hit home as to just how bad the current situation is. While waiting for my daughter to finish a recent fitness class, I decided to run a quick errand to mail a package. While driving down this road in an industrial park setting, business after business had roadside signs looking for labor — virtually every business on this busy road.

Plumbing and Heating Wholesale (PHW) announced the acquisition of Sioux City, Iowa-based industrial supplier Wigman Co. Wigman will initially continue to operate in their current location under the same name, plans will be made in the future to identify a new home for Wigman Co. and the industrial team.