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Gil Carlson, who was the first person to come up with many of the hydronic concepts we take for granted today, was also my teacher. He would often say, “For a difference to be a difference, it has to make a difference.”

Wherever we turn, people are telling us that working from home and shopping on the Internet are becoming the new norms. Is that true? Not yet, but COVID-19 has required many of us to work out of our homes and forced us to navigate the virtual mall — the Internet.

It’s no secret that 2020 was a year packed with challenges for the PHCP-PVF supply chain. Some areas of our industry, such as the residential construction and remodeling markets have flourished. No matter the market sector, distributors have entered 2021 with high hopes and are searching for answers when it comes the state of the industry.

Once upon a time — 2006 to be exact — in a not far away land, Home Depot sold MRO products to the industrial and commercial markets. Top executives at Home Depot determined their strategy should be to focus on homeowners and home contractors, so they spun off MRO products into an entity dubbed HD Supply.

Many plumbing distributors have been in business for more than 50 years — and they have always found opportunities to thrive regardless of Congress and presidential executive orders.

In January 2021 American Underground Supply (AUS) will open its fourth branch in De Soto, IA. This facility sits on 1.5 acres with an 8000 square foot warehouse. De Soto is the first AUS location in the state of Iowa.

IMARK Plumbing and Luxury Products Group (LPG) have launched a partnership with Fitbit to promote health and wellness for its members, and encourage networking through the platform with the help of key sponsors.

Oatey Co. announced the acquisition of Contact Industries, S.A. de C.V., based in Guadalajara, Mexico. Contact is a leading manufacturer and distributor of products serving the plumbing markets in Mexico.

Victaulic announced the appointment of Rick Bucher as chief executive officer, succeeding John F. Malloy, effective January 31, 2021. Dr. Bucher was named President of Victaulic in April of 2020, following a June 2019 appointment as chief operating officer.

RectorSeal announced its acquisition of TRUaire to provide residential and commercial grilles, registers and diffusers to its expanding product line designed for professional contractors.