PHCP-PVF Top Stories - Articles - Page 2

Built to Scale, Designed to Stay Local: Lessons From Winsupply at 70

Winsupply’s 70-year model underscores how decentralized decision-making and strong leadership pipelines can sustain growth in a shifting market.

Natalie Forster

May 11, 2026

Seventy years in, Winsupply occupies a unique position in the PHCP-PVF distribution landscape. It is, by every measurable standard, a national player. Yet, it operates in a way that looks fundamentally different from the centralized models that have come to define much of the industry’s consolidation era.

Premier 150: The Top PHCP-PVF Distributors of 2026

Commercial strength, consolidation and a sharper focus on profitability defined a year of steady, more intentional performance across the channel.

Natalie Forster

May 7, 2026

Combined revenue across this year’s Premier 150 once again underscores the immense scale of the channel, with distributors collectively generating hundreds of billions in annual sales.

Why Good Businesses Sell for Less Than They Should

Strong profits alone don’t guarantee a premium valuation.

Brad Williams

May 6, 2026

Understanding how buyers view a business can help explain why valuations sometimes fall short of expectations.

Winsupply Acquires Rural Pipe & Supply in Texas

Rural Pipe & Supply was founded in 1999.

Supply House Times Editorial Staff

May 5, 2026

Rural Pipe & Supply is a first-generation, family-owned and operated business founded in 1999 by Tommy and Amanda Shaver. Headquartered in Jasper, Texas, the company operates two locations: Rural Pipe & Supply in Jasper and Rural Pipe & Plumbing Supply in Livingston, Texas.

Why Day-To-Day Firefighting Douses Distributors’ Profit

A shift to order-level visibility and process discipline can help distributors eliminate margin leaks and regain control of performance.

Michael Biwer

May 4, 2026

Ask a distributor to describe their day-to-day, and there’s an excellent chance that they’ll use the term “fighting fires.” It makes sense that this term has become so popular – the work sounds urgent and important, even heroic.

Guest Column | Savanna True

AI at work: Hide or thrive?

As automation handles routine tasks, creativity, critical thinking and ethical leadership will define the most valuable employees.

Savanna True

April 29, 2026

By learning to use AI wisely in our daily work, prioritizing ethical use, and nurturing essential human skills, we’ll not only get more done and spark innovation, but ultimately build a more effective and rewarding future for ourselves and our organizations.

ASA News

How fast AI has changed since last year

April 27, 2026

One of the clearest ways to understand what has changed since last year’s Applied AI for Distributors event is this: some of the things that were being discussed as next are now showing up as current.

ASA News

Are people your greatest strength?

Don’t keep it a secret

Steve Edwards

April 24, 2026

With a company’s website and social media accounts being the first places candidates often look to learn about opportunities, it’s surprising how many in our industry offer little or no information about what it’s like to be an employee at the company.

ASA News

How distributors are winning with business intelligence

Advanced data tools are helping wholesalers forecast demand, optimize pricing, and improve performance across every level of the business.

April 22, 2026

Strong business intelligence (BI) data has become a competitive necessity for distributors operating in increasingly complex and fast-moving markets.

Christy Malone, ASA's 2026 Woman of the Year.

Coburn Supply’s Christy Maloney named 2026 Alice A. Martin Woman of the Year

Maloney’s career spans decades of leadership, adaptability and service.

April 21, 2026

The Woman of the Year Award is named in honor of NIBCO’s Alice A. Martin, who served as president and cofounder of the Rex and Alice A. Martin Foundation, a charitable foundation headquartered in Elkhart, Indiana, which donates to major projects for children.